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AMSA Legislative Alert LA05-3

Member Pipeline - Legislative - Alert (LA05-3)

To: Members & Affiliates,
Clean Water Funding Task Force, Legislative Policy Committee
From: National Office
Date: April 15, 2005
Subject: 3rd Draft – Clean Water Trust Act of 2005
Reference: LA05-3
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Background
Proposed legislation that would create a trust fund to provide a long-term, sustainable, and reliable source of federal funding for municipal wastewater projects was drafted in response to the overwhelming financial needs of local utilities and the lack of available federal funds in the U.S. general treasury to fund existing clean water programs.

In early February 2005, the Bush Administration proposed a funding cut of $361 million for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) in FY ’06 (from $1.09 billion to $730 million). The proposed one-third cut to the CWSRF follows a Congressionally-approved 18 percent cut to the program in 2005. The mounting federal deficit and a determination on the part of the Administration and many in Congress to hold spending to a minimum are expected to result in historically low funding for clean water infrastructure programs beginning next year. Additionally, EPA Assistant Administrator for Water, Benjamin Grumbles has stated that the widely accepted funding gap for wastewater infrastructure of $21 billion per year could be virtually eliminated through water conservation, asset management and rate increases.

With the future of the CWSRF in jeopardy, AMSA’s draft trust fund legislation provides a timely option for a serious dialogue over the future of clean water infrastructure in America between municipalities, Members of Congress, policymakers and interested stakeholder groups.

The Clean Water Trust Act of 2005
AMSA released the first draft of a proposed trust fund bill for review and comment in late 2004. After integrating many of the comments received from AMSA members, Water Infrastructure Network (WIN) organizations and environmental and conservation organizations, a second draft was distributed for another round of comment on January 4, 2005.

The second draft of AMSA’s trust fund bill was discussed in February at meetings of the Association’s Clean Water Funding Task Force and Legislative Policy Committee at the Winter Conference in San Antonio, Texas. The WIN coalition also discussed the second draft during its January and February meetings in Washington, DC. Several outstanding issues were subsequently resolved during a teleconference call of the Task Force and revisions were made to the second draft.

AMSA is pleased to provide you with a third draft of the bill, entitled the Clean Water Trust Act of 2005, a bill summary, and a list of significant changes from the January 2005 draft.

Significant changes to the third draft include, among other modifications, a change to the bill’s name, deletion of the drinking water title (with concurrence from AWWA and AMWA), deletion of the beverage fee as the revenue source, a new provision authorizing funding of state programs under Section 106 at $250 million a year, a separate provision authorizing funding for wastewater security, a statement that the clean water state revolving fund program will continue to receive funds, a provision making Indian Tribes eligible for the grant program, and the addition of public participation requirements in the grant program.

The only identified outstanding issue that currently needs to be resolved is the section that addresses the expenses of administering the state fund (page 12, line 20). We have conflicting information on the amount that states are currently receiving and have requested advice on that section from the Council on Infrastructure Financing Authorities (CIFA). AMSA also will soon receive the results of an economic analysis on additional sources of revenues to finance the trust fund and will continue to work with Congress and other stakeholders to identify an appropriate source of funding.

The Clean Water Funding Task Force will meet May 2 in Washington, DC during AMSA’s 35th Anniversary Annual Meeting to review the draft legislation and revenue options, and to develop a strategy to recruit both grassroots and congressional support for the bill.

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