Clean Water Advocacy - Newsroom - NACWA in the News
English Calls for Congress to Create Clean-Water Fund
By CAROLINE RUSE
caroline.ruse@timesnews.com
After high bacteria counts closed more beaches this week at Presque Isle State Park, U.S. Rep. Phil English of Erie said he is backing federal legislation to help cities face water-quality crises.
The Clean Water Trust Act of 2005, H.R. 4560, would create a
fund of $7.5 billion each year, and cities could compete for loans and grants to
upgrade their sewage systems, implement clean water projects and improve utility
management, said English, R-3rd Dist.
"The Clean Water Act's current funding mechanisms are failing," English said,
referring to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. "The
federal government needs to play a greater role. This act will re-engage
partnership between the federal, state and local governments to clean up our
water."
The proposed trust fund could offer assistance in the future for residents like
those of the Chapel Hill subdivision in Millcreek Township, which is in the
process of replacing septic systems with municipal sewer lines.
The project, estimated three years ago to cost $12,000 per household, now is
estimated at a maximum of $22,000.
In addition to addressing infrastructure problems, the fund would supply grants
to keep regional bodies of water, like the Great Lakes, clean, supporters say.
English, who appeared at a news conference with Erie County Executive Mark
DiVecchio and other local officials, said the money would "provide adequate
research, improve public access to fisheries and create water sewage plants."
Water pollution has become a growing national problem in recent years. A report
released this month by the Natural Resources Defense Council found the number of
health advisory days and closings at beaches nationwide is on the rise - up
nearly 5 percent between 2004 and 2005.
Officials at Presque Isle have not yet pinpointed causes for the E. coli
bacteria closing its beaches, but English said the region's failing water
infrastructure could be at fault, and money made available through the proposed
trust fund could help.
"Clearly, there is a problem there that is needing to be identified and taken care of," he said. "These are the kind of flexible dollars that would be useful in devising a solution."
English said resources already were available at the federal level for the project. He and his co-sponsors have identified $111 billion in reduced budget deficit, and they plan to get specific revenues earmarked, he said. They plan to push the bill for consideration by the House of Representatives early this fall.
DiVecchio said he strongly supports the legislation because of water's
importance to Erie's growth. About 4 million people visit Presque Isle each
year.
"Our water is not only an economic asset, but a tourist attraction as well,"
DiVecchio said. "To continue to have economic, tourist growth, we feel this is
very important."
Jerry Skrypzak, president of the Lake Erie fishing club S.O.N.S. of Lake Erie, also expressed optimism about what more funding could mean for Lake Erie.
"It will give the local and state governments a chance to look at the sewer
systems and find solutions, and also give industry a chance to curtail their
pollution," he said.
Skrypzak said there were sewage-related problems throughout Erie County,
including systems that overflowed when it rained, septic tanks without
appropriate outfall drains, and buildings whose sewage systems were not
assembled properly.
"All that human waste is going into the streams," Skrypzak said. "Now that all
has to go back and be fixed."
CAROLINE RUSE can be reached at 870-1687 or by e-mail.