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117th Congress Officially Begins The 117th Congress officially convened on Sunday, January 3 and a number of high-profile events are to take place in the first few weeks of the first session. After major upsets by the Democratic challengers in this week’s run-off Georgia Senate elections, the Senate will be split 50/50, with Vice President-Elect [...]

SWB Receives Update on Inaugural Volumetric Annual Reports of Wastewater and Recycled Water On January 5, during their first meeting of 2021, the State Water Resources Control Board (Board) heard an informational item on the results of the first annual volumetric reporting for wastewater and recycled water. The reports were due last summer following the Board’s [...]

In Memoriam It is with deep regret that we share that CASA Past President Raymond C. Miller, passed away on December 27, 2020. Before retiring, Ray was the general manager of South Coast Water District and executive director of the Southern California Alliance of POTWs. “Ray Miller’s passing was a bittersweet moment for me. Ray was [...]

President-Elect Joe Biden Selects Top Environmental Nominees After officially being declared President-Elect, following members of the Electoral College casting their votes for the Presidency on December 14, Joe Biden continues to make nominee selections for key environmental positions. This includes Michael Regan to be Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Brenda Mallory to [...]

Leadership Announces 2021 Policy Committee Assignments Last week Legislative Leadership announced the State Senate and Assembly policy and fiscal committee assignments for the upcoming 2021 Legislative Session. Leadership in Committees that our sector typical works with remained largely unchanged with a few noteworthy exceptions. Asm. Luz Rivas replaces Asm. Laura Friedman as chair of the [...]

APWA “Best Project of the Year” Award Congratulations to the Las Virgenes – Triunfo Joint Powers Authority for being awarded Best Project of the Year by the American Public Works Association (APWA) of Southern California for process air improvements at the Tapia Water Reclamation Facility. The project, completed in partnership with PACE Advanced Water Engineering, [...]

International Group Updates Flushability Specifications for Wipes “The International Water Services Flushability Group (IWSFG) has published an updated version of its flushability specifications. The original specifications were published in 2018 to provide a method for evaluating whether wipes and other products labeled “flushable” are safe for sewer systems. Problems caused by improperly flushed consumer products are experienced by clean [...]

CASA Winter Conference 2021: Let’s Talk Agency Finance It’s no secret that 2020 has thrown a wrench into many aspects of our lives. The state of municipal finance is no exception, and one which begs the question: Where do we go from here? Be sure to join us during CASA’s Virtual Winter Conference 2021 for [...]

The Future of Work – CASA Winter Conference 2021 Join us during CASA’s Virtual Winter Conference 2021 to hear from world renowned future-of-work strategist Heather E. McGowan. Heather helps leaders prepare their people and organizations for the Fourth Industrial Revolution through her illuminating graphic frameworks and powerful metaphors, all backed by deep research. In 2017, [...]

On Monday, December 7th the California State Assembly and Senate convened for an organizational session to start the 2021-2022 Legislative Session. The state’s constitution requires lawmakers to meet in person in order to swear in all returning and newly elected legislators. Extra precautions were taken to limit interactions between members and friends and family of [...]