For years, community owners across the nation have complained about the uneven enforcement of EPA’s policy of requiring owners to test water for contaminants when they receive water from a regulated water system and then submeter and bill for usage. Some areas required testing and others didn’t. The policy on its face never made sense to any of us since the water was already treated and we often faced legal liability if we ever attempted to treat the water again. The end result was either we just didn’t submeter, which hurts water conservation, or pay for expensive testing which didn’t improve water quality and only increased costs for owners and their residents.

So we were encouraged last summer when EPA proposed a policy change lifting the testing requirements for submetered properties. The agency asked for comments on which properties should be covered by the exemption. The NCC met with EPA and also submitted comments which we felt addressed their concerns. In addition, the public comment record on the policy change overwhelmingly supported lifting the requirements for all submetered properties—a position supported by the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, the American Water Works Association and the National Submetering and Utility Allocation Association.

Unfortunately, EPA’s final policy on December 23 resulted in a change that limited the testing exemption to single apartment buildings—a position not supported by any of the public comments and, we feel, not supported by the provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Since the NCC felt this untenable situation could go on no further, we have filed suit in federal appeals court challenging the policy on behalf of community owners from across the nation. If ever there was a time for a community owner to become a member of the NCC, now is the time. Your support in this effort is critical. Call Lauren Lewis today at (703) 558-0670 or click here to join online.

On another front, the NCC continues to work with Freddie Mac on reviving the Leasehold Estate Mortgage Program. While Freddie removed the program from it’s seller-servicer guide on January 2, we have had extensive discussions with them to address their concerns with the program. They are now considering a resumption of the program with select lenders that have demonstrated knowledge of the industry. As many community owners know, being able to offer competitive mortgage rates for home buyers is critical to the survival of a new home sales program for many communities along with increased levels of occupancy. We feel that we are very close to making this program viable and a true option for communities in the future. This is an example of another NCC effort that will benefit the entire industry and MHI working to partner with a government-sponsored enterprise in order to provide financing for our residents.

As always, please feel free to email your thoughts and ideas to me at rrand@assetdevelopment.com.

Richard J. Rand
Chairman, National Communities Council
President, Asset Development Group, Inc.