AAC
NEWS FROM NACo
www.naco.org
About NACo – The Voice of America’s Counties National Association of Counties (NACo) is the only national organization that represents county governments in the U.S. NACo provides essential services to the nation’s 3,068 coun- ties. NACo advances issues with a unified voice before the federal government, improves the public’s understanding of county government, assists counties in finding and sharing innova- tive solutions through education and research and provides value-added services to save counties and taxpayers money.
Trump Administration releases latest regulatory plan; includes updates to WOTUS By July Ufner, Zach George On May 9, the Trump Administration released its biannual
Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Ac- tions (
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaMain). Te Unified Agenda contains expected regulatory actions for all fed- eral agencies in the next six months. Included in the agenda are proposed U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) regulations that could impact coun- ties. A significant update in the agenda is the 2015 Obama- era Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule (
http://www.naco.org/ resources/waters-us-rule). Previously, EPA had promised that a proposed rule would be released [in May 2018] and finalized by the end of the year. However, the Unified Agenda indicates that the withdrawal of the rule will occur in November 2018. A new WOTUS definition will be proposed in August 2018 and finalized in September 2019. Due to confusion surrounding the withdrawal process, the EPA will release a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking for the 2015 WOTUS rule later this month. Tis supplemental rulemaking notice will be open for public comment for 30 days. In addition to WOTUS, the agenda includes publication and
final rule dates for several other regulations important to coun- ties. Some key regulations include: • Rewrite of EPA’s Risk Management Program rule for emergency management around chemical facilities
• Updating the Lead & Copper rule for drinking water systems
• Requiring waste streams to recycle aerosol cans • Revising rules for disposal of excess pharmaceuticals
House FAA reauthorization bill passes with Disaster Recovery and Reform Act attached By Jacob Terrell On April 27, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the
Disaster Recovery and Reform Act as part of the Federal Avia- tion Administration Reauthorization Act of 2018 (H.R. 4). Te Disaster Recovery and Reform Act would provide fund- ing for hazard mitigation programs, as well as new reforms to programs authorized under the Robert T. Stafford Act, which outline many of FEMA’s key roles in disaster response. Key funding for local governments authorized in the bill in- clude $950 million annually through FY 2022 for Emergency Management Performance Grants (EMPG), which provide fed-
COUNTY LINES, SPRING 2018
eral funds to assist state and local governments with hazard miti- gation assistance, including risk assessments, designing and con- ducting emergency exercises, training and funding support of emergency management personnel. Additionally, the bill would authorize $4 million annually through FY 2022 for Emergency Management Assistance Compact Grants, which are used sup- port coordination between the federal government with state and local governments in responding to disasters. Key reforms included in the bill are also designed to enhance
FEMA’s focus on predisaster and hazard mitigation benefitting county governments and residents, as well as providing tech- nical fixes to programs that have caused FEMA to de-obligate financial assistance that has been provided to state and local governments following a disaster. New provisions included in the Disaster Recovery Reform Act would prevent FEMA from de-obligating disaster assistance grant funding for projects that have been completed for at least three years, unless there is evi- dence of fraud, or in instances when local governments relied on inaccurate information from a technical assistance contractor. In addition to the reforms related to de-obligated financial assistance, the bill would direct the federal government to pro- vide direct funding to local governments to support base and overtime wages for new employees to facilitate the implementa- tion and enforcement of building codes. Te bill would also direct FEMA and the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) to develop and issue guidance for local governments regarding the identification, design and construction of evacuation routes to help move residents and workers away from hazardous areas impacted by disasters. Amongst other reforms included in the bill, it would also di-
rect FEMA to provide guidance and training to state and local governments, first responders and utility companies on priori- tizing assistance to hospitals, nursing homes and other long- term care facilities to ensure they continue functioning during power outages caused by natural disasters. Tese changes would also allow local governments to use federal funding to construct new facilities, or expand current facilities designed to replace an existing local facility damaged in a catastrophic disaster. NACo supports many of the key reforms and funding for authorized programs included in the Disaster Recovery and Reform Act. However, counties are also concerned with por- tions of the bill (section 609 in particular) which would redi- rect funding from the Disaster Relief Fund. Te Disaster Relief
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