Government Affairs

Who are we? 

The Government Affairs Unit is part of the Public Affairs Division of the Philadelphia Water Department. We are here to assist the Department on all matters related to government at the federal, state, and local levels.

What do we do? 

The Government Affairs Unit offers the following services:

• We provide copies of ordinances, bills, resolutions and other legislation from Philadelphia City Council, Harrisburg, and Washington D.C.
• We will determine what the impetus was behind the introduction of a particular article of legislation.
• We will furnish information regarding the current status of a particular bill, ordinance, resolution, or other article of legislation.
• We search for government-based funding and grants, which the Department may be eligible to receive.
• We schedule appointments with various members of government at the local and state levels in conjunction with the Office of the Mayor.
• We will provide information on committee membership of various legislatures.
• We assist in review of legislation for impact on PWD
• We will assist in drafting comments on proposed legislators.
• We provide maps of legislative districts.
• We obtain copies of government publications.
• We will conduct legislative research.
• Our job often includes briefings on how the U.S. government works and how legislation is developed and makes its way through legislative bodies.
• We conduct regulatory forecasting, or developing early warning about emerging regulatory changes.
• We will prepare information kits.
• We provide year-round reports on pending legislation and issues in national, state, and local legislatures.

Internship Opportunities: 

The Government Affairs Unit, along with various other units at the Philadelphia Water Department, participates in Drexel University's Co-op Program. The Government Affairs Unit reviews resumes, conducts interviews, and hires one intern who is qualified for each Co-op cycle. The work cycle of the intern is six months.

During this time, the student will gain knowledge and experience within a full-service government affairs unit of a large municipality owned water utility. For more information contact the Co-op Office at Drexel University.

Relevant Links:

• PA Homepage, http://www.state.pa.us/
• PA Legislature, http://www.legis.state.pa.us
• PA Department of State, http://www.dos.state.pa.us/
• PA Department of Environment Protection, http://www.dep.state.pa.us/
• Environmental Protection Agency, http://www.epa.gov/
• Water Environment Federation, http://www.wef.org/
• American Water Works Association, http://www.awwa.org/
• Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies, http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/
• Federal Register, http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/index.html
• U.S Legislative Branch, http://lcweb.loc.gov/global/legislative/
• National League of Cities, http://www.nlc.org/
• United States Conference of Mayors, http://www.usmayors.org/uscm/
• American Public Transit Association, http://www.apta.com
• THOMAS - Legislative Information on the Internet, http://thomas.loc.gov/
• C-SPAN, http://www.cspan.org/

The web addresses of the new compliance assistance centers are:

• Local Governments, http://www.lgean.org
• Paints and Coatings, http://www.paintcenter.org
• Transportation, http://www.transource.org

The web addresses of the existing compliance assistance centers are:

• Metal Finishing, http://www.nmfrc.org
• Automotive Service and Repair, http://www.ccar-greenlink.org
• Printing, http://www.pneac.org
• Printed Wiring Boards, http://www.pwbrc.org