On Wednesday, October 10, 2018, the Senate approved the biennial Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which included a provision that originated with, and was supported by NMSA. The bill, known as America's Water Infrastructure Act (S. 3021), was previously passed by the House of Representatives.

The bill includes a new stormwater financing federal taskforce.. The WRDA sets up a task force, "composed of federal, state, and local governments and private (including nonprofit) entities to conduct a study on, and develop recommendations to improve, the availability of public and private sources of funding for the construction, rehabilitation, and operation and maintenance of stormwater infrastructure to meet the requirements of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.)”

NMSA is dedicated to assisting permittees in implementing their stormwater programs. The task force created under the WRDA bill will assist permittees in improving funding for stormwater and helping to fulfill NMSA’s vision of providing clean water for the nation.

This is a great step forward. Thank you for your continued support.

Scott Taylor, P.E., D.WRE, FASCE

Chair, National Municipal Stormwater Alliance