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April 10, 2001
President, Senate Support New Sewer Overflow Grant Program
Yesterday President Bush released the details of the Fiscal Year 2002 budget, which provides $7.3 billion for EPA, including $850 million for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) and $450 million for a new sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) and combined sewer overflow (CSO) grant program. The President's commitment to fund wet weather grants, while shy of Congress' authorization target of $750 million, is a significant step toward full implementation and full funding of the AMSA-supported Wet Weather Water Quality Act of 2000 (WWWQA), part of the final Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2001 (P.L. 106-554). The President's Budget can be viewed at: http://www.epa.gov/ocfo/budget/2002/2002bib.pdf.
In a separate budget briefing yesterday, EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman showcased the sewer overflow grants as an example of the Administration's commitment to ensuring safe and clean water in American communities, stating "[t]his is good news indeed for every community that now has to deal with the messy results that can follow periods of heavy rainfall". Administrator Whitman's press release and related budget documents can be viewed at: http://www.epa.gov/ocfo.
With the Administration's support for wet weather infrastructure solidified, Congress has several tasks ahead. These include adding $300 million to the grant program to meet the WWWQA target authorization and increasing the SRF to trigger the grants-which under the WWWQA can only be issued in a fiscal year in which the SRF is at least $1.35 billion. The President's budget funds the SRF short of this amount at $1.3 billion. In an AMSA-supported effort, on April 6 the Senate took an important step to raise the SRF to the critical funding level. Led by Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Gordon Smith (R-OR), the Senate passed amendment 217 to provide $800 million in additional funding for wastewater infrastructure-$50 million more for the SRF to trigger the wet weather grants and $750 million to fully fund the program. In introducing the amendment Senator Clinton stated "[t]his amendment is an important first step towards meeting our country's enormous water infrastructure needs. This amendment will ensure that our beaches are safer for swimming . . . [and] lead to significant improvements in the quality of the Nation's rivers, lakes, bays and estuaries." In further support Senator Smith added, "[t]he condition of our nation's wastewater collection and treatment facilities is alarming . . . I strongly believe that Congress must make a firm commitment to helping cities . . ." View the Senate discussion and AMSA's letter of support at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/outreach/outreach.cfm.
This significant activity on infrastructure funding is one more reason you should attend AMSA's 2001 National Environmental Policy Forum and 31st Annual Meeting-The New Political Landscape . . . Moving the POTW Agenda Forward. It is essential that POTW's continuing presence in Washington be heightened through member participation at this excellent conference. Register now at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/mtgs/01nepf/.
AMSA will advocate full funding of key programs in the FY 2002 budget in the Budget Conference and in the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. Please contact Greg Schaner at 202/296-9836 or by email at gschaner@amsa-cleanwater.org if you have any questions.