Clean Water Advocacy - Newsroom - NACWA in the News
Administration Proposes Dramatic Cut to Key Clean Water Program
CLEVELAND -- Cuts will directly impact the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District as well as wastewater treatment agencies across the nation.
On March 2, the Bush Administration proposed dramatic cuts to
clean water funding at the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior,
Environment, and Related Agencies hearing on the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's (EPA) fiscal year 2007 budget. This reduction would constitute the
third consecutive year of cuts to the State Revolving Loan fund under the Bush
administration. As a result, Ohio's share will continue to fall from $75.36
million in 2004 to $39.17 million in 2007.
"It's impossible to sustain the level of progress the EPA wants to see in
regards to our capital program with these kinds of cuts," said Northeast Ohio
Regional Sewer District Executive Director Erwin J. Odeal.
The Administration is seeking to cut EPA's budget for FY 2007 by over $300
million (from FY 2006's enacted level of $7.625 billion to $7.31 billion). The
vast majority of this reduction would be achieved by a proposed cut of
approximately $200 million (from $887 million to $687 million) to the Agency's
Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program. The CWSRF, a loan program that
helps local communities repair and replace aging treatment plants, has been the
primary source of federal support for clean water infrastructure projects since
its creation in 1987.
Studies by the EPA, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Government
Accountability Office (GAO), and the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN) estimate
a water infrastructure-funding gap exceeding $300 billion over the next 20
years. "Although wastewater treatment agencies recognize that improved utility
management and rate increases at the local level will help address this daunting
funding gap, we realize that it's not enough," said Odeal.
In response, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), of which
the District is a member, is calling on Congress and the White House to support
the recently introduced Clean Water Trust Act of 2005, H.R. 4560. H.R. 4560 is
landmark legislation that would create a deficit-neutral, clean water trust fund
to guarantee clean and safe water in America for the long- term. H.R. 4560 would
provide approximately $7.5 billion a year from 2006 - 2010 in loans and grants
to cities, counties, towns and townships to address the backlog of critical
clean water projects, meet unfunded mandates, and improve utility management
based on state-determined priorities.
According to NACWA's Executive Director Ken Kirk, pursuing other sources of
funding is not a choice. "Without a long-term, sustainable federal-state- local
partnership, communities will not be able to tackle essential capital
replacement projects needed to meet federal Clean Water Act mandates and improve
the quality of the nation's waters," said Kirk.
The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District operates three wastewater treatment
plants and related water pollution control facilities on Lake Erie, the Cuyahoga
River and Rocky River. The District serves 59 suburban communities and the City
of Cleveland and employs approximately 620 people.