Peter Silva, the top water quality official at the Environmental Protection Agency, is leaving EPA In February. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, in a memo to staff, said Silva is stepping down as assistant administrator for water on February 12, 2011.

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) announced the chairmen for each of the subcommittees under him for the 112th Congress.

As the 112th Congress convenes and the new legislative season begins to take shape, the picture for water infrastructure funding becomes a little clearer.

AGC has been meeting regularly with the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) and other industry stakeholders concerning an upcoming rulemaking on federal enforcement for 3rd party excavation damage where state damage prevention programs are deemed inadequate.

The 111th Congress saw Democratic control of both chambers by significant margins and the White House. The Senate Democrats had a 60 vote supermajority for a time and the House Democrats held an overwhelming majority of the seats. Several key bills advanced through significant legislative hurdles, but much work was left unfinished at the end of the 111th Congress, setting the stage for future legislative action.

This month’s edition of the Common Ground Alliance Monthly Update features an overview of a new partnership with United Rentals that includes adding 811 decals to more than 12,000 pieces of equipment as well as information about the upcoming CGA Annual Conference and Meeting.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus introduced his bill to deal with the Bush era tax cuts, and it included the provision to remove the private activity bond volume cap for water and wastewater projects.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce kicked off its “Invest in Water” series of regional events last week at the New Jersey American Water Company. The summit on Aging Water Infrastructure was held with the Somerset County Business Partnership on November 23.

Two documents have recently come out of the Environmental Protection Agency that help shed some light on the future direction of EPA and its State Revolving Loan Fund program. The first document is EPA's fiscal year (FY) 2011 to 2015 strategic plan, which provides a blueprint for advancing EPA's mission and Administrator Lisa Jackson's priorities. Congress requires all federal agencies to develop a strategic plan covering a five-year period, which is updated every three years.This plan presents five strategic goals for advancing the agency's mission, and five strategies that seek to adapt the EPA's work inside and outside of the agency to meet growing environmental protection needs. The plan will guide the agency over the next five years to foster a renewed commitment to new possibilities for achieving the vision of a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable environment.The five strategic goals for advancing the agency's mission are:Taking action on climate change and improving air quality;Protecting America's waters;Cleaning up communities and advancing sustainable development;Ensuring the safety of chemicals and preventing pollution; andEnforcing environmental laws.The Protecting America's Waters goal calls for greater attention paid to storm water runoff and drinking water quality. Within the Protecting America's Waters Goal, there are two specific objectives - protecting human health, and protecting and restoring watersheds and aquatic ecosystems. To achieve the goal of protecting human health, EPA specifically outlines its desire to continue financing public water system infrastructure to protect and maintain drinking water quality. EPA is also actively working Agency-wide and with external partners and stakeholders to implement a new, multi-faceted drinking water strategy. It is designed to streamline decision making and expand protection to meet the needs of rural, urban, and other communities. To meet the watershed objective, EPA specifically highlights their desire to protect, restore, maintain, and improve water quality by financing wastewater treatment infrastructure. EPA intends to improve the way existing tools are used, explore how innovative tools can be applied, and enhance efforts and cross-media collaboration to protect and prevent water quality impairment in healthy watersheds.A second document released is EPA's Clean Water and Drinking Water Infrastructure Sustainability Policy. This policy certainly reflects many of the goals expressed in the Strategic Plan as part of its efforts to promote sustainable infrastructure within the water sector. Through this policy, EPA intends to ensure that federal investments, policies, and actions support water infrastructure in efficient and sustainable locations to best aid existing communities, enhance economic competitiveness, and promote affordable neighborhoods. The policy was released in response to a request in the FY 2010 President's budget.The policy emphasizes the need to build on existing efforts to promote sustainable water infrastructure, working with states and water systems to employ robust, comprehensive planning processes to deliver projects that are cost effective over their life cycle, resource efficient, and consistent with community sustainability goals. The policy encourages communities to develop sustainable systems that employ effective utility management practices to build and maintain the level of technical, financial, and managerial capacity necessary to ensure long-term sustainability.AGC will closely monitor the Agency's implementation of these policies for any impact they may have on the construction process.For more information, contact Scott Berry at (703) 837-5321 or berrys@agc.org.

The Water Issues Working Group is an effort led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with AGC to raise awareness of the concept that water is an investment, not a cost. The group is launching an initiative to demonstrate the value of water to our economy through targeted regional events across the country that address the full range of water cycle issues.Through wide-ranging dialogues in local communities there will be an opportunity for audiences and stakeholders to discuss regional needs and for participants to explore a full spectrum of governmental and private sector policy and funding solutions.The official roll out for this series of regional water events series is Tuesday, November 23, 2010 in Somerset, New Jersey. We are partnering with the Somerset Business Partnership and American Water for the first program to discuss Aging Water Infrastructure challenges and solutions. Tentative dates, locations and topics for upcoming events can be found below:November 2010, Somerset, N.J. -- Aging Water InfrastructureJanuary 2011, Austin, Texas -- Water Supply/Sustainability/ConservationFebruary 2011, Miami, Fla. -- Desalination/Innovative Water TechnologiesApril 2011, Lincoln, Neb. -- Agricultural Water UseJune 2011, Los Angeles, Calif. -- Energy-Water NexusAugust 2011, New York City, N.Y. -- Water ReuseAGC will continue to play a key role in this group and contribute to this valuable discussion about the importance that water and the infrastructure associated with it plays in the economy and our lives.For more information, contact Scott Berry at (703) 837-5321 or berrys@agc.org.