State Policy Showcases

State Policy Showcases are one-hour peer calls for organizations working and advocating for change at the state-level. They feature a state policy success that is part “policy nuts-and-bolts” (i.e. what the policy does, how it works) and part “how-to” (i.e. what it took to get the bill/policy/decision passed, advocacy strategy, etc.), followed by Q&A and discussion. Head over to our Events & Learning Sessions page to discover upcoming State Policy Showcases.

Reducing Exposure to Lead in Schools and Child Care Centers’ Drinking Water State Policy Showcase

Watch the recording here.

Resources:
Additional resources:

Addressing PFAS in Pollution Discharge Permits State Policy Showcase

Watch the recording here.

Additional resources:

Environmental Justice State Policy Showcase

New York and Oregon environmental justice policies are highlighted in this Showcase, Anthony Rogers-Wright, Director of Environmental Justice from New York Lawyers for the Public Interest discussed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and a new cumulative impacts bill. Jairaj Singh, Climate Resilience and Environmental Justice Director from United Oregon provided an overview of Oregon’s EJ policies, including recent legislation to create an EJ mapping tool. 

  • Slides from Jairaj’s Oregon presentation
  • Slides from Anthony’s New York presentation

Nutrient Reduction State Policy Showcase

This State Policy Showcase featured policies from Maryland and Illinois, with insights from Evan Isaacson with the Chesapeake Legal Alliance, Doug Myers with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and Cindy Skrukrud with the Illinois Nutrient Research & Education Council and Fox River Study Group.

Interested in further discussion and action on tackling nutrient pollution issues? Join the Nutrient-Reduction Forum here.

How States Can Use Federal Covid-19 Relief Funds to Pay for Equitable Water Infrastructure State Policy Showcase

We forgot to hit record on our Showcase about how states are allocating American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for equitable water infrastructure! Here are some helpful links to supplement the Showcase, including the slides from Anna Killius’ presentation on Virginia’s priorities for infrastructure investment.

 

U.S. Department of Treasury Resources:

Do you have additional news or resources related to ARPA funding for water infrastructure that you’d like to share? Let us know by reaching out to Policy Director April Ingle at or share in our online community.

Human Right to Water State Policy Showcase

Virginia and California’s Human Right to Water policies are highlighted in this Showcase featuring Jorge Aguilar from Food & Water Watch and Amanda Monaco from Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability.

  • The United Nations (UN) first adopted the “human right to water” in 2010 to address poverty reduction and sustainable development. The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights also adopted General Comment No. 15 on the right to water.
  • California’s Human Right to Water portal.
  • Virginia’s Human Right to Water resolution
  • Oregon passed a resolution in 2021 that included “the right of all people to clean air, safe and affordable drinking water and… Oregon will make investments in watershed protection and water infrastructure to safeguard the water on which we currently depend…”

Sewage Right-to-Know  State Policy Showcase

Katharine Lange, Policy Specialist at Massachusetts Rivers Alliance, and Paul Gallay, President at Riverkeeper, discuss Sewage Right-to-Know state policies in Massachusetts and New York.

LIHWAP State Policy Showcase

Max Gomberg with Water Foundation and former Climate and Conservation Manager at California’s State Water Resources Control Board discusses LIHWAP implementation. The  “Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program” (LIHWAP) was created as an emergency program to provide funds to help low-income households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic pay their water and wastewater bills, avoid water shut-offs and support water reconnections related to nonpayment. The program was funded through two Congressional spending packages: $638 million as part of the $2.3 trillion spending package passed in December 2020 and $500 million from the American Rescue Plan passed in March 2021.