Clean Water Advocacy - Newsroom - NACWA in the News
House Wants EPA Water Budget Cuts
WASHINGTON — A 2007 budget proposal by a House appropriations subcommittee would cut funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund (CWSRF), from $887 million to $688 million, according to a May 4 press release from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA).
The CWSRF is the primary US Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) loan program that helps communities repair and replace aging treatment
plants; many communities oppose the cuts, saying there will be a $300 billion
infrastructure funding gap over the next 20 years, NACWA said.
To help give a voice to the opposition, the NACWA, a national trade association
representing publicly owned wastewater treatment facilities, is calling on
Congress and the White House to support legislation which would create a
long-term clean water trust fund to support US infrastructure improvement, the
release said.
The Clean Water Trust Act of 2005, H.R. 4560, would provide approximately $7.5
billion a year (from 2006-2010) in loans and grants that would be available to
cities, states and towns for a wide variety of improvements, according to NACWA.
NACWA and other utility organizations hope H.R. 4560 passes, noting that
Congress has passed similar legislation to fund highway and airport
infrastructure, the report said.