Clean Water Advocacy - Newsroom - AMSA in the News
Waste News
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Monday, July 21, 2003
Volume 9 Publication number: 6
Briefs
Waste Industry Briefs
Wastewater Association Calls on Congress For Funds
Washington - A national association representing wastewater
agencies has released a white paper calling for Congress to increase funding to
local governments to improve sewer systems and to protect the nation's rivers
and lakes.
The Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies' report, released July 11,
states that many small cities and towns face shrinking budgets and cannot afford
the cost of making significant upgrades to their wastewater systems. In
addition, many urban centers are seeing a decrease in population as residents
move to the suburbs, making the option of raising sewer fees to close a funding
gap impossible, according to the AMSA.
The association prepared its position paper following a 2002 report from the
Environmental Protection Agency that estimated a clean water funding gap in the
hundreds of billions of dollars.
The bulk of the burden for protecting the quality of the nation's waters cannot
be placed on local governments, according to the association.
"Other critical infrastructure sectors, such as highways and airports, enjoy the
benefits of dedicated federal trust funds, and it is time for the nation's
waters to receive equal treatment," the association said in a written statement.