Meet the ACWA East Team by Dave Eggerton Oct 18, 2024 Voices on Water Maybe your agency is impacted by wildfires, or among those facing the possibility of legal exposure from PFAS contamination. Are you affected by the Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation or by any federal agency? Add acts of Congress and regulatory decisions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and that’s still not a complete list of boxes to check when considering how decision making in Washington D.C. can impact your operations. That’s why I cannot overstate the importance of our members having a voice in our nation’s capital. The decision by ACWA to open ACWA East more than 30 years ago established our association’s position as the leading voice for California water in Washington D.C. and a trusted voice in Western water policy. That incredibly effective resource works on your behalf every day, and its continued success relies on our small, but mighty ACWA East team led by Ian Lyle. Ian assumed the role of Director of Federal Relations at the beginning of this year, bringing with him invaluable experience in federal water policy, including having led the National Water Resources Association (NWRA) as its Executive Vice President. We’ve also hired Caleb Raspler as Federal Relations Representative. Caleb earned his law degree in San Diego while working for U.S. Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA-50) as a congressional staffer before managing the federal policy work of a national association of landscape architects that advocated on water policy. Caleb joined AnnaLee Taylor, who works for us on a contract basis as Office Manager. She is a proud Navy veteran with a wealth of experience working with water associations. AnnaLee and Ian worked together for many years at NWRA. Her experience also includes working with some of the absolute best leaders in our business, such as past Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Bob Johnson. The ACWA East team leverages the knowledge and experience of our members through ACWA’s Federal Affairs Committee, which is led by Chair Jolene Walsh and Vice Chair Scott Petersen. Together they have been working hard with elected and regulatory decision-makers on finding ways to fund water infrastructure, improve the federal regulatory process, and limit our members’ exposure to legal liability for passively receiving PFAS during water and wastewater treatment. Also, ACWA’s presence in Washington D.C. allowed us to actively engage members of congress to support Congressman Peters’ Fix Our Forest Act, which passed the House of Representatives in late September. These are only a few recent examples from a long list of how the ACWA East team consistently delivers value to our members. If you want to see for yourself, join us in our nation’s capital next Feb. 25-27 for our annual Washington D.C. Conference. Our members must continue to be represented by the best and brightest water professionals here in California and in Washington D.C., working as a team to effectively shape state and federal decisions in ways that benefit our member agencies and the communities they serve. I can say with absolute certainty that we have that team today with Ian, Caleb, and AnnaLee.
