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AGC PURSUES FUNDS AS EPA MARKS 30 YEARS OF THE CLEAN WATER ACT
EPA looks back at a legacy of progress while AGC is looking forward to meeting future needs. The Clean Water Act is thirty years old today.
From WaterNews, a weekly on-line publication that announces publications, policies, and activities of the US Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water
EPA Assistant Administrator for Water, Benjamin H. Grumbles, will celebrate 30 years of progress under the Safe Drinking Water Act at the Clayton County Georgia Water Authority on Thursday, Dec. 16. Grumbles will visit the Clayton County Water Authority to observe the innovative technology being used there to make drinking water safer for the community.
The Safe Drinking Water Act, signed Dec. 16, 1974, governs a mandatory national program to protect public health through drinking water safety. In the United States, more than 53,000 community water systems test for the presence of up to 90 contaminants that are regulated in drinking water. In the last 30 years, the percentage of individuals and communities receiving safe, clean water that meets public health standards has increased significantly. For more information visit http://www.epa.gov/region04/oeapages/releases.htm
AGC BEGINS THE PROCESS OF CREATING A SUSTAINABLE LONG-TERM FUNDING SOURCE FOR WATER AND WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE
AGC in coaltion with the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN) www.win-water.org leads a legislative team exploring a tax on bottled beverages as one possible way to finance new Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act trust funds.
A WIN discussion draft explores this as one way to gain $5 billion annually for two trust funds administered under the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act. Wastewater plants would receive $3 billion for upgrades, while drinking water plants would get $2 billion, according to WIN figures.
In the proposed legislation, the clean water trust fund would provide $5 billion beyond the SRF for wastewater upgrades, while the drinking water trust fund would be receive $2 billion beyond SRF funding. Such legislation could raise total water and wastewater infrastructure spending to $9 billion each year. Introduction of innovative funding legislation will be the first step in a long process to realize a secure sustainable funding mechanism for water and wastewater infrastructure.
AGC visited every US Senate office in November to garner support for the SRF programs to be funded at existing levels instead of $500 million in cuts proposed by House Appropriators for the Clean Water SRF. Despite AGC efforts, Congress still cut $262 million from existing levels due to federal budget constraints. FY 05 Clean Water SRF funding will be at $1.09 billion (-$260 million from FY 04) and FY 05 Drinking Water SRF funding will be at $845 million (-$2 million from FY 04).
AGC will continue to fight to restore and increase federal funding for projects from existing sources and new, innovative means of financing our nation's critical infrastructure needs.
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