NRWA Board Members Dedicate Countless
Hours to  Future of Water Industry

 

 

National Rural Water Association members are deeply concerned about the environment, drinking water, security and all legislation and regulations affecting water and wastewater.  Members feel so strongly about safe, clean and affordable drinking water that they dedicate countless hours serving on national committees to help influence the future of our industry.    

Current NRWA President, Bobby Scott, as well as Senior Vice President, Rodney Tart, both sit on the Water Industry Coordinating Committee (WICC), which is comprised of top officers of the five national water associations.  They regularly meet in Washington, D.C. to discuss current regulatory, legislative, and legal issues affecting the industry. 

Phil Bastin, Immediate NRWA Past President, sits on the Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center (WaterISAC) Board.  WaterISAC is a comprehensive and up-to-the-minute online resource of security information for America’s drinking and wastewater utilities. It provides a unique link between the water sector and federal environmental, homeland security, law enforcement, intelligence and public health agencies.  Subscribers are informed about and prepared for threats because they have access to a wide array of tools and facts including:  incident reports, government alerts and other expert analyses. 

Bastin, along with NRWA Executive Director, Charles Hilton and NRWA Environmental Engineer, Ed Thomas; also serve on the Water Sector Coordination Council (WSCC).  The WSCC serves as a policy, strategy and coordination mechanism that interacts with the federal government and other critical infrastructures.  Their primary aim is to reduce and eliminate vulnerabilities in the water sector. 

In addition to his work on the WSCC, Thomas, sits on the National Drinking Water Advisory Council’s Contaminate Candidate List Working Group which is charged to evaluate recommendations made by the National Academy of Science’s National Research Council, including methodologies, activities and analysis, and to make recommendations for an expanded approach to the CCL listing process for the purpose of protecting public health. 

Also, very active in NDWAC is Dennis Schwartz, NRWA Director and Past President, who sits on the full NDWAC Board. The council, comprised of members of the general public, state and local agencies, and private groups is concerned with safe drinking water.  The primary role of the council is to provide a formal means for advising the EPA Administrator on everything that the Agency does relating to drinking water. 

Doug Anderton, NRWA Treasurer, sits on the Water Security Working Group for NDWAC.  This working group meets to define, encourage and establish mechanisms for measurement on the features of active and effective security programs for drinking water and wastewater utilities. 

Mel Aust, NRWA Executive Board Member, sits on the Water Utility Council with the American Water Works Association.  Through the Water Utility Council a network of member volunteers provide expertise on problems in many technical areas. 

As you can see, through the dedicated efforts of our National Directors, NRWA is able to provide key information to critical groups.  All of this is done to continue the delivery of clean, safe and affordable water to the citizens of the United States of America.

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12/16/04