Taken from the CQ Roll Call By Nathan Hurst
The Senate cleared legislation Tuesday to exempt fire hydrants from new lead-free requirements for drinking water systems scheduled to take effect in January.
The bill (HR 3588) was cleared for the president’s consideration by unanimous consent. The House passed the bill earlier this month, 384-0, under suspension of the rules.
The New York Rural Water Association strongly encourages each municipality to consider sending a similar letter to the one below written by one of our member systems with regard to the existing inventories of brass fittings, etc. This member took the initiative to write to his Congressman asking for support. As you may be aware, Congressman Tonko was the cosponsor of HR3588 which passed in Congress and we are hopeful will pass the Senate soon.
taken from the CQ Roll Call, written by Katey McGettrick
The House on Monday passed legislation that would exempt fire hydrants from new lead-free requirements for drinking water systems scheduled to go into effect in January.
The bill (HR 3588), passed 384-0 under suspension of the rules, would clarify that fire hydrants could be built with materials that do not meet the revised standards.
With the current low interest rates any municipal system thinking about a project should start the process.
Work is underway on a high-tech scientific monitoring system that’s designed to protect Lake George’s long-term water quality. This summer, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, IBM and The Fund for Lake George unveiled plans for a three-year, multimillion-dollar effort to counteract forces that threaten the lake, such as road salt, stormwater runoff and invasive species.
With support from USDA Rural Development, the Environmental Finance Center will fund up to three proposals for as much as $5,000 each to provide NYS rural municipalities with the proper tools and resources to fully conduct an Asset Management inventory for their water or wastewater system. All submissions must be received by 5:00pm on January 3rd, 2014, to be considered.