Clean Water Advocacy - Newsroom - AMSA in the News
American Water Works Association Journal
Copyright 2005 American Water Works Association
April 1, 2005
Volume 97; Issue 4
Water news roundup
DRAFT INFRASTRUCTURE BILL BOOSTS INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING
A $50 billion federal trust fund that combines current Clean Water and
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) resources with $40 billion to be
raised over five years by a fee on bottled beverages would be established under
draft legislation spearheaded by the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage
Agencies (AMSA).
Aimed to narrow the looming water and wastewater infrastructure financing gap,
the early 2005 draft of what AMSA has termed "an evolving project" would
authorize $10 billion annually from 2006 through 2010 for a Water Assistance
Trust and Environmental Restoration (WATER) fund.
The draft assumes Congress will continue to appropriate $2 billion annually for
the two SRFs over the next five years, which would be combined with $8 billion
to be generated by a 6.6 percent fee on the price of beverages (including soft
drinks, bottled waters, and alcohol but excluding milk, medicinal products,
infant formula, and 100% fruit juices). Also in the mix are "additional and
alternative" revenue sources that are still being considered, including a clean
and safe water "restoration fee" on a broad range of unspecified activities.
The fund would allocate
* $5 billion a year for clean water matching grants and loans (75% of which must
go for grants),
* $4 billion annually for drinking water matching grants and loans (again, 75%
of which is for grants),
* $300 million for grants to support various technology research and development
programs (including to establish a utility management research center and
provide technical assistance to small and rural systems),
* $250 million for programs to improve fishery ecosystems,
* $200 million for improving control of nonpoint sources of water pollution, and
* $250 million for programs to improve specified regional waterways such as the
Great Lakes and the Chesapeake Bay.
The draft legislation, which is expected to undergo additional revisions, would
establish the trust fund as an "off-budget" account not subject to
administration or congressional appropriations actions and exempt from general
budget limits imposed by statute. AWWA especially urged this so-called
"firewall" provision to ensure that all revenues are allocated annually.
The draft would also ban use of funds to subsidize growth while expanding
project eligibility to include enhancing security, replacing aging
infrastructure and lead service lines, extending sewer service to areas with
failed septic systems, improving water quality monitoring, consolidating
drinking water systems, implementing water conservation projects, and providing
for alternative supplies, including through desalination.
It would also increase funding for state administration of the funded programs,
require that all engineering and architecture contracts be awarded in compliance
with Brooks Act procurement processes, and authorize states to provide
additional forms of financial assistance, including extended loan repayment
periods and principal subsidization.