[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 107 (Tuesday, July 20, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S6023]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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              NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CLEAN WATER AGENCIES

 Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I wish to take this opportunity to 
congratulate the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, NACWA, 
on the occasion of its 40th anniversary. NACWA is a dynamic national 
organization, involved in all facets of water quality protection. As a 
key stakeholder in the legislative, regulatory, and legal arenas, NACWA 
has built credible collaborative relationships with Members of 
Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal courts and 
other governmental bodies.
  The emergence of NACWA as a nationally recognized leader in 
environmental policy and a sought-after technical resource on water 
quality and ecosystem protection issues has paralleled the maturation 
of one of the Nation's most successful environmental laws--the Clean 
Water Act. NACWA was established in 1970 by a group of individuals 
representing 22 large municipal sewerage agencies to secure Federal 
funding for municipal wastewater treatment and serve as a forum to 
discuss the emerging national interest in improving the quality of the 
Nation's waters. Based upon the shared goal of effectively representing 
the interests and priorities of public clean water agencies and the 
communities they serve, they formed NACWA.
  Over the past 40 years, NACWA has expanded its member base and issue 
platform. It has changed its name, replacing the word ``sewerage'' with 
``clean water'' to better reflect the end-product of its members' 
treatment services--clean water. The organization also partners with 
diverse stakeholders while always advocating for sound science in 
advancing water quality protection. Today, as the leading clean water 
association, NACWA represents nearly 300 member organizations.
  Recent years have reflected heightened involvement for the 
association in a broadening array of complex 21st century water quality 
issues, including green infrastructure, climate change, watershed-based 
approaches, and clean water funding and financing. As chairman of the 
Senate's Water and Wildlife Subcommittee, under the Environment and 
Public Works Committee, I am in a good position to observe that NACWA 
has met the goal that its founders established 40 years ago. NACWA 
continues to pursue every opportunity to develop and implement sound 
water quality policies that advance clean water and a healthy 
environment.
  It is my sincere pleasure to congratulate NACWA on the occasion of 
its 40th anniversary. This committee has relied on NACWA's strategic 
input for decades and will undoubtedly continue to do so as we shape 
the course of environmental protection for our Nation's waters in the 
decades to come.

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