Brian Fredieu

March 23, 2007

During the week of March 5, the U.S. House of Representatives passed two bills, H.R. 720 and 569, aimed chiefly at upgrading the nation's aging wastewater treatment infrastructure.

H.R. 720 authorizes $14 billion over four years for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, a federal low-interest wastewater loan program. Introduced by Representative Jim Oberstar (D-Minnesota), the bill seeks to make up for funding shortfalls in the Bush Administration's fiscal 2008 budget request for water programs. H.R. 720 also amends the Clean Water Act (CWA) to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make grants to nonprofit organizations to provide (1) technical assistance to rural and small municipalities for wastewater infrastructure financing and (2) technical assistance and training for rural and small publicly owned treatment works. The House passed the bill 303 to 108.

H.R. 569, titled the "Water Quality Investment Act of 2007" (WQIA), authorizes $1.8 billion in grants over five years to address the problems of sewer overflows. Sponsored by Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-New Jersey), the bill seeks to help cities address severe funding shortfalls for upgrading aging sewer systems that carry sanitary waste and stormwater runoff to treatment plants through the same pipes. H.R. 569 amends the CWA to require WQIA projects to comply with the requirements for the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Funds. However, state governors may modify the program requirements if the governor determines that the two programs are inconsistent. The House passed the bill 367 to 58. In the Senate, companion legislation was introduced by Senator Olympia Snow (R-Maine) and Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-New Jersey).

Sources:

H.R. 720, 110th Cong. (2007).

H.R. 569, 110th Cong. (2007).