Federal Sewer Improvement Bill Will Help Local Municipalities

Washington, DC – March 9, 2007 – U.S. Representative Mike Doyle (PA-14) joined a majority of Members of the House of Representatives in adopting legislation today that will provide $14 billion in federal assistance to local communities to improve their wastewater sewer systems.

“This legislation could help many of our local communities bring their wastewater infrastructure systems into compliance with federal pollution control laws,” Congressman Doyle said today.  “This bill is an important step in improving our nation’s environmental stewardship and in improving public health.”

“This bill could help a number of the 53 communities in Allegheny County that face serious financial obstacles in complying with federal environmental laws,” Congressman Doyle added.  “I’ve been working with the County and the Three Rivers Wet Weather Demonstration Project since 1997 when the problem first arose to help our local municipalities eliminate the Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs) and Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) that violate federal environmental law.”

This legislation, H.R. 720, would reauthorize the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and provide $14 billion over the next four years for the fund.  The Clean Water State Revolving Fund provides low-interest loans to local communities for construction of wastewater treatment facilities and other water pollution abatement projects.  Since 1987, when the Clean Water State Revolving Fund became the major federal source of clean water funding, the Fund has provided states with $53 billion for more than 18,600 low-interest loans to local communities.

Improvements in water quality in this country have resulted primarily from a significant investment in wastewater infrastructure since the passage of the 1972 Clean Water Act.  As a result of dramatic improvements in wastewater infrastructure, discharges of waste into the environment have decreased by one-half since the early 1970’s.    Today, the nation’s farmers, fishermen and manufacturing and tourism industries rely on clean water to carry out activities that contribute well over $300 billion to our economy each year.

Nevertheless, many experts are saying that, unless significant investments are made in clean water infrastructure in the next few years, water quality will decline back to the distressing levels of the early 1970s.  Much of the clean water infrastructure in this country is rapidly approaching or has already exceeded its projected life.  A key reason that the nation now faces a clean water crisis is that so many cities and communities throughout the U.S. are dealing with aging water infrastructure.  For example, several U.S. cities still rely on sewer pipes that were installed more than 100 years ago to collect and treat domestic sewage. 

The authorization for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund expired in 1994, and Congress failed to reauthorize it for the next 12 years.  Congress has continued to appropriate funding for the fund each year, but in recent years, Congress has cut funding for the Clean Water Fund by 34 percent.  Despite the enormous need, Congress reduced funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund from $1.34 billion in FY 2004 to $887 million in FY 2006.  Now, the President is proposing a further cut – requesting only $688 million for FY 2008. 

“I will continue to work to increase federal funding for wastewater infrastructure improvements across the country,” Congressman Doyle promised.  “The federal government has an important role to play in helping small communities across the country improve public health and the environment by reducing the amount of untreated sewage they discharge into local waterways.”

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