Clean Water Advocacy - Newsroom - AMSA in the News
No. 27
Friday, February 8, 2002 Page A-8
ISSN 1521-9402
News
Water Pollution
Legislation Reauthorizing SRF Delayed; Treatment Officials Concerned About
Funding
ORLANDO--The introduction of a Senate bill reauthorizing infrastructure
financing provisions of the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act has been
delayed, possibly until Feb. 14, as staff struggle to reach a consensus on
funding levels, a Senate aide told BNA Feb. 7.
The legislation would reauthorize the state revolving loan funds for both
drinking water and wastewater facilities, but the reauthorization levels remain
in flux. It was initially expected to be introduced in late January.
Municipal officials attending the winter conference of the Association of
Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies said they expect the bill to authorize about $2.5
billion in annual funding for the clean water SRF. However, Senate staff would
not confirm that figure, with one staffer calling it "inaccurate."
The clean water SRF has been funded at about $1.35 billion annually for the past
several years and is appropriated through the Environmental Protection Agency's
budget. Funding for the drinking water SRF, also part of the EPA budget, has
fluctuated around $800 million for the past several years.
Even if the clean water SRF were funded at $2.5 billion, wastewater treatment
officials said the amount would be insufficient to cover their infrastructure
needs, which include repairs and upgrades to aging pipes and facilities, as well
as the increased cost to meet Clean Water Act requirements.
Coalition Seeks $1 Trillion
A coalition of drinking water and wastewater groups, along with various
municipal organizations, has been lobbying Congress to get increased funding for
infrastructure to avert what the groups contend could amount to a serious public
health emergency caused by the breakdown of aging treatment systems, some of
which are more than 100 years old. The coalition, known as the Water
Infrastructure Network, has put the cost of addressing water and wastewater
infrastructure needs at about $1 trillion over 20 years.
Efforts to increase congressional funding for infrastructure are opposed by
groups representing private utilities, who argue that the massive loan program
fosters inefficient public works operations that could be better managed by
private entities.
Meanwhile, the EPA Office of Wastewater Management is in the process of putting
the final touches on its analysis detailing the water infrastructure funding gap
and looking at ways to help reduce those costs.
Steve Allbee, project director of the gap analysis, estimated that annual
spending should be about twice current levels to address water and wastewater
infrastructure needs. Currently, about $13 billion is spent annually on capital
investments for wastewater infrastructure, a figure that does not include
operation and maintenance. Allbee said operation and maintenance is usually much
higher, but that many factors figure into that number.
He pointed out that a key to addressing water and wastewater infrastructure
needs is not just additional investment but improving asset management.
"We need to place equal attention on all aspects of asset management," Allbee
said. These include improved financial tools; innovations in technology with an
emphasis on efficiency; best management practices and environmental management
systems; affordable yet appropriate rates to cover costs while taking into
consideration low-income residents; and smart, efficient water use.
In addition, Allbee said publicly owned treatment works should integrate into
their thinking onsite, or septic, systems and the role they play in trying to
meet water quality objectives.
By Susan Bruninga