Draft national Water Reuse Action Plan released
The draft Water Reuse Action plan (WRAP) seeks to foster greater consideration of water reuse across the water sector, such as agriculture, industry, potable water, national security, environmental restoration and more. In its comments on a pre-draft framework of the WRAP, the Code Council stressed the need for greater harmonization of water quality standards for non-potable sources and urged the agency to leverage water reuse provisions within the International Codes to encourage water reuse.
The draft reflects both of the Code Council’s proposals. First, it commits the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to developing a quantitative risk framework to include both microbial and chemical hazard requirements, which would inform water reuse best practices across use applications and aid states in establishing reuse recommendations for potable and non-potable applications. Second, the WRAP proposes aligning and coordinating federal, state and local policies to encourage consideration of water reuse, a process that has historically integrated state and local codes.
Comments on the draft plan may be submitted and viewed through the public docket at regulations.gov (docket number: EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0174) on or before Dec. 16, 2019.
About the Author
Gabe Maser is the vice president of government relations and national strategy for the International Code Council, where he manages and directs its federal and national policy and legislative priorities agenda, and maintains and enhances the Code Council’s advocacy presence in Washington, D.C. Maser brings an extensive background in government relations and federal policy to his role at the Code Council. Most recently, he served as a regional director for market expansion and policy at Renovate America. Previously, he worked as the director of federal-state relations for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a legislative assistant for a member of Congress and an associate at Baker Botts L.L.P. Maser has a bachelor’s degree in biology from McGill University and a juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center. He is a licensed lawyer in the District of Columbia and Massachusetts.
