Washington Report – June 10, 2024

June 13-14, the Fourth Senior Executive Transportation and Public Safety Summit is being held at the U.S. Dept. of Transportation;
The summit, part of the ongoing work of the Executive Leadership Group (ELG) for Traffic Incident Management (TIM), will focus on next steps to cultivate a national network of engaged leaders and empower them to advocate and secure necessary TIM resources and programs at state and local levels;
APWA President-elect Dominick Longobardi is participating and will speak as part of a panel focused on local support and resources;
Additional participants include APWA Director of Government and Public Affairs Andrea Eales who will participate in two panels during the summit focused on funding for TIM and increasing awareness of TIM at the local and state levels;
APWA member representative to the ELG Dave Bergner of Arizona is attending the summit as is APWA Government Affairs Media Manager Mark Shade;
At least 100 participants are expected to attend the summit along with leadership from the Federal Highway Administration;
Follow @APWAGovAffairs at the summit on X and LinkedIn.

Government Affairs Manager Marty Williams and Government Affairs Associate Jeff Finegan will travel to Columbia, SC, to discuss advocacy at the national level during the annual SC APWA Conference, taking place this year from June 11-14;
The Government Affairs Team is here for you! If you or someone from your chapter would like to arrange a visit from Government Affairs, reach out to Director of Government & Public Affairs Andrea Eales at aeales@apwa.org or at (202) 218-6730;
Government Affairs presentations are tailored to meet your chapter’s needs, focus on advocacy, and how to best represent APWA’s priorities and interests to elected officials.

As part of the federal government’s increased response to cyber vulnerabilities, agencies are rolling out more resources, including:
- EPA’s Water Sector Cybersecurity Evaluation Program: The evaluation is a free program that provides direct access to a cybersecurity professional who can conduct a virtual cybersecurity assessment, staff can guide you through the assessment process and answer any questions you may have
- EPA’s Cybersecurity Helpdesk for the Water Sector: This helps water systems, primacy agencies, and technical assistance providers get answers to questions about cybersecurity and request direct consultation with subject-matter expert to help address cybersecurity questions
- Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency’s (CISA) Top Cyber Actions for Securing Water Systems Fact Sheet: This highlights the top cyber actions that water systems can take to reduce cyber risk and improve resilience to cyberattacks, it also provides free services, resources, and tools to support these actions, which can be taken concurrently
- EPA’s Water Sector Cybersecurity Case Study: This case study, “Take Charge and Take Advantage,” highlights a medium-sized utility and the actions it took to increase its cyber resilience through cultural change and staff awareness.

As members of Congress continue to earmark more funding, EPA is seeking to educate potential recipients in advance of rules surrounding Congressionally Directed Spending/Community Grants;
These training webinars are meant to help avoid compliance issues later in the process and will cover administrative requirements (June 4, June 26) and programmatic requirements (June 12, June 18).

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is soliciting applications for its Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program;
This second round of funding is available from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) with state and local governments, metropolitan planning organizations, public housing authorities, Native American tribal governments, amongst those eligible to apply;
Register for a webinar that will provide specific information about the application process taking place at 1 p.m. ET, June 11.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced $300M to assist National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy holders nationwide to enhance flooding resiliency efforts;
Funding is provided through enactment of Public Law (P.L.) 117-58 and the Flood Mitigation Assistance Swift Current program;
Examples of projects eligible for this funding include property acquisition and demolition, elevation, and relocation;
To be eligible, buildings must be insured through NFIP and have a history of repetitive or substantial damage from flooding;
To apply, use FEMA Grants Outcomes (FEMA GO). Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis;
The application period began June 1, and the last eligible disaster declaration date is May 31, 2025;
To apply, visit Grants.gov.

FEMA is soliciting comments on its Planning Considerations: Putting People First Plan;
The plan assists emergency managers and planning partners at all jurisdictional levels in identifying the needs of their communities, particularly those that are disproportionately impacted by disasters and populations who have been historically underserved;
FEMA will host three webinars to provide an overview of the draft and facilitate discussion on additional ways to improve the guide:

CISA released its Fiscal Year 2024 SAFECOM Guidance on Emergency Communications Grants (SAFECOM Guidance);
Updated annually, the SAFECOM Guidance includes information about policies, eligible costs, technical standards, and best practices for state, local, tribal, and territorial grant recipients investing federal funds in emergency communications projects;
All preparedness funding notices can be found at Grants.gov;
To apply before the June 24 deadline, use the FEMA Grants Outcomes (FEMA GO) system.

All times ET.

June 12 at 10 a.m., the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions committee will hold a hearing on the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act;
June 12 at 10:15 a.m., the House Natural Resources committee will convene to hold a markup, including water infrastructure;
June 13 at 11 a.m., the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Highways and Transit Subcommittee is scheduled to hold a hearing on Revenue, Ridership, and Post-Pandemic Lessons in Public Transit.