Please reach out to your Members of Congress on the two important pieces of legislation below:
Ask your Members of Congress to Co-sponsor The WIPPES Act (S. 1350/H.R. 2964)
Please reach out and ask your Members of Congress to co-sponsor S. 1350/ H.R. 2964 - the Wastewater Infrastructure Pollution Prevention and Environmental Safety Act (WIPPES Act) introduced by Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) and Rep. Mary Sattler Peltola (D-AK) in the House and by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) in the Senate. This legislation helps address the extensive and expensive problems caused by non-flushable wet wipes.
Often times, these wipes are marketed as flushable, although they are not. Frequently these products are composed of synthetic, plastic materials that are not compatible with the sewer systems and infrastructure.
As a result, when these products travel through the sewer systems they do not break down, but rather accumulate with fats, oils and grease and become large obstructions in the pipes that ultimately clog pumps, collection systems, and motors, causing backups, treatment equipment failures, and pipe ruptures and system overflows. If the wipes manage to make it through the treatment process, the products are broken down into smaller microfibers and microplastics that are infeasible to stop from being released back into the environment, thereby contributing to the problem of microplastics in the environment.
Ask your Members of Congress to Co-sponsor the Water Systems PFAS Liability Protection Act
Over the past several years, Congress has considered several pieces of legislation to address the chemical family known as PFAS.
WEF’s water advocates have done a tremendous job reaching out to Congress and actually making a difference, including a successful campaign on this very same issue in 2019. We need your help again!
Please reach out to your Members of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor the Water Systems PFAS Liability Protection Act. Let them know of your concerns about the ongoing efforts to address threats posed by PFAS and, specifically, proposals to designate PFAS as a hazardous substance under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).
As Congress continues to consider legislation to address PFAS contamination and liability for cleanups, please ask Congress to explicitly exempt public and private drinking water utilities, wastewater agencies (POTW), stormwater utilities, and biosolids management programs from CERCLA liability and ensure that the polluter pays principle remains the foundation of CERCLA. To be clear, utilities are willing to do their part to address PFAS issues and remove it from their systems to protect public health and the environment. But we can’t expose utilities and ratepayers to legal and financial liabilities that CERCLA will create.
