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July 12, 2004 AMSA Fax Alert

Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts SpecialEdition - July 12, 2004

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July 12, 2004

Action Please by: July 30, 2004

Member Input Sought on Affordability Issues
AMSA has been asked by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Environmental Financial Advisory Board (EFAB) to participate on a panel at its Affordability Workshop in mid-August in San Francisco, Calif. The panel will consist of water and wastewater industry leaders, who will discuss affordability issues faced by utilities today and make recommendations on what path, if any, EPA should take on affordability issues. The EFAB was chartered in 1989 under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) to provide advice and analysis to EPA's Administrator on paying for the growing costs of environmental protection and how to increase investment in environmental infrastructure through the leveraging of public and private resources.

AMSA needs to hear from its public agency members to best represent the membership at EFAB’s workshop. Please take a moment to answer the following questions. Both statistical and/or anecdotal information would be helpful. AMSA encourages you to respond by July 30, 2004 to Adam Krantz at akrantz@amsa-cleanwater.org or by phone at 202/833-4651.

  • How does your agency provide assistance to economically disadvantaged customers?
  • What percentage of customers within your service area are paying unaffordable rates?
  • Is rate affordability a major problem in your service area? How will that change in the future?
  • How do federal mandates (i.e., combined and separate sewer overflows, stormwater, etc.) affect your affordability calculations?
  • Do state laws and/or local regulations in your area create barriers for implementing effective affordability programs?
  • Do you recommend that affordability issues be dealt with through local programs, regulatory agencies, such as EPA and state environmental agencies, or state and federal funding agencies, such as bond banks and state revolving funds?
  • Would you like to see additional guidelines related to affordability? Should they be punitive or incentive-based?

Your responses will provide valuable input for AMSA’s participation at the EFAB Affordability Workshop. Thank you.