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Wastewater Plant Operators Urge Congress To Sponsor Clean Water Trust Fund Bill
Operators of wastewater treatment plants are urging members of Congress to co-sponsor a bill that would establish a Clean Water Trust Fund to finance upgrades of aging sewage and drinking water plants, water quality improvements, wetlands research, and programs targeting regional water bodies such as the Chesapeake Bay and Great Lakes.
In an April 24 letter to all House lawmakers, the National
Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) urged members to co-sponsor the
Clean Water Trust Act of 2005 (H.R. 4560), which Rep. John Duncan (R-Tenn.)
introduced in December 2005 (242 DEN A-4, 12/19/05) .
Duncan, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on
Water Resources and the Environment, is the only sponsor of the legislation that
NACWA said would create a "dedicated, deficit-neutral, 5-year, Clean Water Trust
Fund, similar to those that finance highways and airports."
If enacted, the bill would raise $7.5 billion each year from "an equitable
system of user fees," which the Environmental Protection Agency would recommend
to Congress 180 days after enactment. Approval of Duncan's bill would not impose
fees directly. Congress would have to approve them in separate legislation.
Lack of Sponsors
In March, Jonathan Pawlow, majority counsel for the House subcommittee, told a
gathering of state water officials that the bill's inability to raise fees
directly was one of two issues holding back lawmakers' support.
The second issue, Pawlow said, deals with the fact the bill would not apply
Davis-Bacon Act provisions to projects financed by the trust fund. The
Davis-Bacon Act requires that workers be paid "prevailing wages" for any
construction project that is federally funded. Although there is bipartisan
support for the concept, the lack of Davis-Bacon provisions has kept Democrats
from supporting the bill, according to NACWA Executive Director Ken Kirk.
Despite the bill's inability to raise fees directly, Kirk noted in the April 24
letter to Congress that the bill has the backing of 24 national organizations,
including the National Association of Towns and Townships, American Council of
Engineering Companies, Design Build Institute of America, Plastic Pipes
Institute, American Rivers, Trout Unlimited, and the American Public Works
Association.
In the letter, Kirk warned that "if we fail to make this infrastructure
investment, EPA predicts that water pollution could get as bad as it was 35
years ago, before the Clean Water Act was passed by Congress."
Benjamin Grumbles, EPA's assistant administrator for water, told BNA the agency
supports sustainable investments in water and wastewater infrastructure through
a variety of tools, including full-cost pricing. Full-cost pricing is a concept
EPA floated in 2003 that would require wastewater utilities to recoup the costs
of operation, maintenance, and repair by charging its ratepayers for "full
value" of water and wastewater services they receive.
About 90 percent of wastewater utility funds come from ratepayers, local
governments, and states, Grumbles said. Ratepayers include residential,
commercial, and industrial users. "We think all ratepayers should pay a
full-cost price. Commercial and industrial should pay their full share as well
as residential users," he said.
Homeowner Rate Increases Opposed
NACWA spokesman Adam Krantz told BNA it was "unsustainable" for wastewater
treatment plants to keep increasing rates for homeowners. "Municipal wastewater
utilities are raising sewer rates beyond the rates of inflation," Krantz said.
Between 1985 and 2005, residential sewer rates rose $103.16 to $280.20, about
180 percent, according to NACWA's recently released residential rate index. That
far outstrips the 82 percent increase in inflation for that period.
Grumbles said EPA was not advocating sustainable infrastructure at the expense
of affordability. He said full-cost pricing embraces both sustainable and
affordable rates for all users. EPA is in the process of writing affordability
guidance for implementing Clean Water Act rules, which Grumbles acknowledged can
be costly to implement (46 DEN A-15, 03/9/06) .
Grumbles said EPA would review carefully NACWA's index and a NACWA white paper
issued in November 2005 that urged EPA to consider the full spectrum of Clean
Water Act rules for controlling sewer overflows when assessing the financial
capability of wastewater utilities, rather than the impact of one or two
isolated rules.
By Amena H. Saiyid