Congress Considers Additional Funding for Water
Patrick Crow
World Water
02/10/2010
The Senate was expected to consider a bill
early in 2010 that would add $1 billion each for the Drinking Water and
Clean Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs). The House of Representatives
narrowly passed the $39 billion bill "Jobs for Main Street Act" (H.R.
2847), in December. The vote was 217-212.
The SRF provisions
would waive the requirement that states provide matching funds for
eligible water infrastructure projects. The bill directs states to use
at least half of their funding share for loan forgiveness and 20% for
"green infrastructure" projects.
States would prioritize projects
that could begin construction within 12 months. Funds not committed
within 8 months of the bill's enactment would revert to the federal
government.
The Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies
supported the funding of drinking and wastewater infrastructure on an
equal basis. It said under the February 2009 economic stimulus bill,
large drinking water utilities (serving more than 100,000 people)
received only 16% of the funds though they serve 46% of the U.S.
population and represent 35% of the long-term drinking water
infrastructure need.
The House-passed bill also would subject new
water infrastructure projects to "Buy American" requirements that limit
the use of foreign-made materials and equipment.
The Water and
Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association (WWEMA) urged the Senate
to drop that requirement. It was among 28 groups arguing that the "Buy
American" provision could be counterproductive.
They said, "The
vast majority of major inputs into drinking water and wastewater
infrastructure projects is already American-made, including pipe and
structural steel. This market, however, also depends on incorporating
numerous specialized pieces of equipment, a significant portion of
which is produced through international production and supply chains."
They
said the slow pace of drinking water and wastewater spending under the
2009 jobs bill was "largely due to delays, concerns and confusion
relating to 'Buy American' rules."
Meanwhile, the Alliance for
Water Efficiency was one of 16 groups to urge President Barack Obama to
seek more emphasis on water efficiency projects in economic stimulus
bills.
They said legislation should include plumbing and
irrigation efficiency retrofits, which would create near-term jobs
while saving consumers money, conserving water, reducing energy
consumption, and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
EPA Enforcement
EPA has elaborated on its refocused enforcement and compliance program for water systems, which took effect Jan. 1.
Assistant
Administrator for Water Peter Silva and Assistant Administrator for
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Cynthia Giles testified at a
recent Senate Environment and Public Works Committee oversight hearing.
They said EPA would concentrate enforcement activities on water systems
with the most serious or repeated violations in all contaminant
categories.
They said the new approach would permit EPA to
resolve underlying compliance problems at entire water systems, rather
than separately addressing non-compliance with each drinking water
rule. They said the approach particularly would help small systems,
noting that 96% of all health-based violations occur at systems serving
fewer than 10,000 people.
Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), the committee
chairman, said, "I am concerned that the federal government has not
done enough in recent years to maintain and improve drinking water
safeguards."
The hearing followed the publication of a New York
Times article that reported widespread Safe Drinking Water Act
violations committed predominantly by small systems over the past five
years. It said up to 20% of consumers might be affected.
That
newspaper report prompted the Water Quality Association to suggest that
consumers consider installing home filtering systems as a final barrier
for water contaminants.
Following the Senate hearing, the
National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) urged EPA to
develop an even better enforcement plan.
NACWA said, "EPA's
latest enforcement plan ... mirrors the flawed existing enforcement
model which focuses exclusively on point sources and does little to
address the significant contributions of nonpoint sources to water
quality degradation.
"The current focus on the quantity and
expense of enforcement actions has created a 'one-size-fits-all'
approach to dealing with CWA violations that assumes the same
enforcement paradigm will work in all parts of the country. The
existing enforcement model is not sustainable and will not address our
nation's continuing water quality problems."
NACWA suggested a
watershed approach to permitting and enforcement, more federal
cooperation with state and local governments, and how much communities
can afford to spend to meet clean water objectives.
Water Efficiency
EPA has issued the first national, voluntary, water-efficiency standard for new homes.
Water
Administrator Silva said, "Home builders can now partner with EPA and
earn the WaterSense label for their newly built homes. These homes will
save homeowners as much as $200 a year on utility bills compared to
their current homes."
The agency said it has worked with hundreds
of stakeholders to develop the specification, which was designed to
complement existing green building programs. WaterSense-labeled new
homes, which would be 20% more efficient than typical new homes, must
be certified by an EPA licensed inspector.
The new homes will
feature WaterSense labeled plumbing fixtures, Energy Star qualified
appliances (if installed), water-efficient landscaping, and hot water
delivery systems that deliver hot water faster, so homeowners don't
waste water or energy waiting at the tap.
EPA said that by
investing in WaterSense labeled houses, home buyers could reduce their
water usage by more than 10,000 gallons per year – enough to fill a
swimming pool – and save enough energy annually to power a television
for four years.
It said if all 1.27 million new homes built yearly were WaterSense labeled, it would save more than 12 billion gallons of water.
