WEF Joins in Sending Letter to Congress Requesting FY 2017 Funding for SRFs

April 16, 2016

Laws & Regs

On March 8, the Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) joined nine other water and municipal associations in sending a joint letter to the U.S. Congress. The letter requests support for $2 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2017 for both the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs. This request is similar to another letter being circulated among Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In FY 2016, the Clean Water SRF received $1.39 billion, but President Barack Obama has only requested $979 million for FY 2017, which would be a $414 million cut.

Based on its last reported survey of 5-year needs, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently estimated $271 billion was needed in water infrastructure investments. The estimate is contained in the EPA’s “Clean Watersheds Needs Survey 2012 Report to Congress.”

The joint letter also requests that Congress fully fund the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program at the authorized level of $35 million in FY17, and it calls on Congress to provide $23.365 million for the Bureau of Reclamation’s Title XVI program, which is a grant program for water reuse projects in western states. In addition, the letter asks for $6.5 million to support EPA’s Integrated Planning for Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater approach to help communities better manage regulatory compliance.

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