Clean Water Advocacy - Newsroom - NACWA in the News
Congressman introduces bill to aid wastewater treatment operations
Dec. 19 -- A Congressman has introduced legislation that would
establish a trust fund to improve wastewater treatment facilities.
Rep. John J. Duncan Jr., R-Tenn., introduced the Clean Water Trust Fund Act on
Dec. 15 that would provide an assured source of funding to help local wastewater
treatment operators upgrade their infrastructure. The bill would provide about
$7.5 billion annually and help address the U.S. EPA’s estimated clean water
funding gap of about $400 billion over the next 20 years, according to the
National Association of Clean Water Agencies, a trade association that supports
Duncan’s measure.
The legislation also provides funding to address water quality issues in
critical regional waters and to improve and protect wetlands and fisheries.
``We have to do more to protect and enhance our clean water and wastewater
systems for the future,’’ Duncan said. ``We know our nation’s water
infrastructure is getting very old. In fact, it is common in older systems to
find pipes that were laid as far back as the 1800s.’’
Duncan, who chairs the House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee, has
presided over hearings that included testimony from municipal wastewater
treatment agencies about the funding problems they face.
NACWA Executive Director Ken Kirk called Duncan’s measure a bold move to address
an infrastructure funding crisis.
``The Clean Water Trust Act will help control sewer overflows, enhance fisheries
and wetlands, encourage research, spur new technologies, enhance investment in
small and rural utilities, and protect critical regional waters such as the
Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay and Gulf of Mexico,’’ Kirk said.
The NACWA is a national trade association representing hundreds of the nation’s
publicly owned wastewater treatment utilities.
The measure also has the support of numerous other trade and professional
associations representing manufacturers, building contractors, engineers,
fishermen, and fish and wildlife agencies.