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AMSA Legislative Alert LA06-1

Member Pipeline - Legislative - Alert (LA06-1)

To: Members & Affiliates,
Clean Water Funding Task Force, Legislative Policy Committee
From: National Office
Date: January 3, 2006
Subject: H.R. 4560 - CLEAN WATER TRUST ACT OF 2005
Reference: LA06-1
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NACWA is pleased to distribute this Legislative Alert, which provides an analysis and detailed overview of the Clean Water Trust Act of 2005 (H.R. 4560). This legislation marks a major milestone for NACWA and its Clean Water Funding Task Force (Task Force) and demonstrates the result of its hard work over several years to develop legislation creating a Clean Water Trust Fund, similar to those that exist for highways and airports. H.R. 4560 establishes a federal Clean Water Trust Fund that would provide approximately $7.5 billion annually from fiscal year (FY) 2006 through FY 2010, or total funding of nearly $38 billion, to local communities to address clean water infrastructure needs. Due to the bold leadership of Rep. John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-TN), Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, who introduced H.R. 4560 on December 15, NACWA and the Task Force are a major step closer to realizing the creation of a national, dedicated Clean Water Trust Fund. A copy of H.R. 4560 is available on NACWA’s Bill Tracker (http://www.nacwa.org/private/legreg/legupdate/leg_tracker.cfm).

Background
In early 2004, NACWA, through the Task Force, began to draft trust fund legislation that would create a dedicated, sustainable source of federal revenue to help the nation’s communities meet the goals of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and address a growing funding in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Before the drafting process began, NACWA had conducted a series of national and statewide surveys that demonstrated convincingly the support of Americans from coast-to-coast for a Clean Water Trust Fund.

NACWA also convened a series of meetings to receive input from NACWA members, Water Infrastructure Network (WIN) organizations, and environmental, conservation and industry groups to draft consensus trust fund legislation. These efforts led to Chairman Duncan holding a pivotal hearing on June 8, 2005 to gather more information on the viability of a Clean Water Trust Fund and demonstrated the clear support among Subcommittee members for the concept. After a complex, legislative drafting process, NACWA released in September 2005 a final, consensus draft of the Clean Water Trust Act of 2005 to Chairman Duncan and the Members of the Water Resources & Environment Subcommittee for their consideration and introduction. Chairman Duncan’s staff worked with NACWA, ultimately resulting in Chairman Duncan’s release of H.R. 4560.

Chairman Duncan is the ideal Member of Congress to introduce this bill for several reasons. First, he is Chairman of the key Subcommittee of jurisdiction and in his capacity as Chairman has a unique ability to help the bill’s progress through the Subcommittee and, ultimately, through the U.S. House of Representatives. Second, Chairman Duncan is a fiscal conservative who does not believe in large, new federal programs or new fees unless there is an absolutely urgent need for such legislation. His support on behalf of a new federal investment in clean water via a trust fund, therefore, lends immediate credibility to the effort. Finally, as Chairman of the Water Resources Subcommittee, Rep. Duncan has developed significant bipartisan cooperation on key environmental legislation, which will help ensure support on both sides of the aisle on behalf of H.R. 4560 as we move forward in 2006.

Overview of H.R. 4560
H.R. 4560 incorporates all the programs contained in NACWA’s draft trust fund legislation. Most significantly, the Clean Water Trust Act of 2005 establishes a federal Clean Water Trust Fund that would provide approximately $7.5 billion annually from fiscal year (FY) 2006 through FY 2010, or total funding of nearly $38 billion, to local communities to address clean water infrastructure needs. In addition to ensuring the viability of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) by providing $1.35 billion to the CWSRF, the bill targets $4.5 billion in grants for projects to upgrade the Nation’s clean water infrastructure. Additional funding is also targeted for sewer overflow control grants ($250 million), research and technology ($295 million), a Utility Management Center ($5 million), technical assistance for rural and small systems ($50 million), state management assistance ($250 million), fisheries enhancement ($250 million), wetlands program grants ($100 million), regional programs ($250 million), watershed pilot programs ($20 million), and alternative water source pilot projects ($120 million).

As NACWA members review the bill it is important to note that while the substance of H.R. 4560 mirrors the NACWA draft legislation, Chairman Duncan used the structure of the water quality funding legislation he introduced in the 108th Congress (H.R. 1560) to organize the legislation. In short, H.R. 4560 reflects the best structural and substantive elements of both the NACWA bill and H.R. 1560, as the attached section-by section walk-through demonstrates.

Please note that attached for your convenience, in addition to the section-by-section walk-through of H.R. 4560, is a one-page flyer that outlines the major programs and funding levels in the bill and includes a current list of Supporting Organizations. Feel free to share these helpful documents with your colleagues and with other interested groups and organizations.

NACWA Member Involvement . . . Next Steps
2006 is shaping up to be a busy year on the funding front. NACWA will need your continued support and advocacy efforts to move forward with H.R. 4560. As such, NACWA encourages its members to distribute copies of the bill and supporting materials contained in this Legislative Alert to local, state and federal officials, as well as to local and state stakeholder groups. It is critical that as broad an array of groups and individuals learn about, and lend their support to, this effort.

NACWA members are encouraged to meet with their congressional delegations and staff in their District and State offices to explain the importance of this legislation to the future integrity of the nation’s wastewater infrastructure. An effort is now underway by NACWA and other supporting organizations to recruit 200 Representatives as cosponsors of H.R. 4560 and to advocate for similar legislation in the Senate.

In the coming weeks, NACWA will make available to member utilities an array of educational materials to be used at the local level to generate support for the bill, including a Sample Letter to be sent to your State’s Representatives. If you have questions about The Clean Water Trust Act of 2005 or wish to become a member of the Funding Task Force, please contact NACWA’s Lee Garrigan at (202) 833-4655 or at lgarrigan@nacwa.org.

NACWA also will distribute educational and advocacy materials through its Clean Water America (CWA) website (http://www.cleanwateramerica.org) and urges your organization, if you have not already done so, to contact Adam Krantz, NACWA Managing Director of Government & Public Affairs at (202) 833-4651 or at akrantz@nacwa.org, to be listed as a supporting organization or to learn more about the grassroots CWA effort.

 

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