Click Here to see previous Fax Alerts
April 30, 1999
AMSA/WEF Report Plays Role In Federal Budget Discussions
The Cost of Clean's message is figuring prominently in clean water funding discussions on Capitol Hill. This week, both the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on VA, HUD & Independent Agencies, which have jurisdiction over EPA's appropriations, held hearings on the Clinton Administration's proposed Fiscal Year 2000 environmental budget. And, as expected, the $550 million cut in the State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF) was a hot topic.In the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on VA, HUD & Independent Agencies hearing on April 29, Chairman Christopher Bond (R-Mo.) and other subcommittee members heard testimony from EPA Administrator Carol Browner defending the president's proposed FY2000 budget. Bond said that “ slashing vital programs that ensure we have clean water is not only unacceptable, it defies logic.” The senator pledged to do his utmost to restore the SRF cuts. In her testimony, however, EPA Administrator Carol Browner defended the cuts by reiterating EPA's position that the SRF is three years ahead of schedule for full capitalization. Browner also said that there is a need “to look beyond just wastewater” because “polluted runoff” negatively impacts water quality nationwide. But she noted that the Clean Water Act must first be strengthened to focus on all sources of pollution. Bond responded by citing EPA and the AMSA/Water Environment Federation (WEF) wastewater needs estimates and questioned the administration's commitment to clean water by “underfunding wastewater.”
AMSA Provides Key Information to Lawmakers
In preparation for the budget action in the House and Senate, AMSA has provided testimony and important background information to key lawmakers and their staff in both chambers of Congress. On the House side, AMSA and the WEF submitted joint testimony on EPA's proposed FY 2000 Budget to the House VA, HUD & Independent Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee. AMSA and WEF called on the subcommittee members to restore the SRF to $1.35 billion; explore expanded clean water funding sources; and appropriate the requested $1.775 million for the National Biosolids Partnership's continued work in enhancing biosolids management.The testimony emphasizes The Cost of Clean's message that more federal funding is necessary for local communities to keep pace with the skyrocketing costs to operate, maintain, rehabilitate and replace wastewater treatment plants and address wet weather needs. The testimony cites the Rebuild America Coalition's survey, which shows broad public support for wastewater infrastructure spending. AMSA and WEF also provide the subcommittee with information on EPA's preliminary figures from the agency's gap analysis. EPA's latest numbers support the 20-year needs estimate in The Cost of Clean and significantly revise the agency's 1996 sanitary sewer overflow correction cost estimate from $10.3 to $81.9 billion. AMSA members have also responded to a mini-survey on the negative impacts of the SRF cut to selected communities. The information will be used to generate further support among members of Congress for restoring the administration's SRF cuts.
AMSA Writes Lawmakers in Support of Clean Water Funding. . .
The National Office would like to thank AMSA members for their strong response to the call for letters to Congress. Communicating with lawmakers will not only help the Association reach its funding goals, it also paves the way for future AMSA efforts. If you have not already done so, it's not too late to write your lawmakers expressing support for a fully funded SRF and a wet weather grants program. Legislative Alert 99-7 contains a sample letter and other useful information for corresponding with Congress.