Background

The 35th anniversary of the Clean Water Act has focused the federal government’s attention on the state of the nation’s clean water infrastructure, especially on the need to solve the vast and growing water infrastructure funding gap.  This has garnered a great deal of attention in recent weeks and momentum is building in Congressional hearings and briefings, events such as the Clean Water America Gala, news stories and a flurry of legislative activity on Capitol Hill to address the issue through a long-term sustainable approach.  A clean water trust fund is a mainstream part of the water infrastructure funding discussion, and NACWA is pleased to provide you with this Legislative Alert providing insight into what the recent activity on Capitol Hill means for federal clean water funding moving forward in the 110th Congress.

NACWA Touts Trust Fund in Testimony on Capitol Hill

This past week, NACWA took a central role in testifying at two hearings in the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee.  On Oct. 16, NACWA Treasurer Kevin Shafer, executive director of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD), testified before the House T&I Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment on the Raw Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act of 2007 (H.R. 2452), which would mandate nationwide monitoring and notification requirements for all sewer overflows.  Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.) introduced the bill and chaired the hearing in place of Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Tex.).  A detailed analysis of this legislation can be found in NACWA’s Oct. 5 Legislative Alert (LA 07-3).  While Shafer’s testimony focused primarily on local and state sewer overflow monitoring and reporting requirements, he stressed also that “a renewed partnership between the federal state and local governments is important to make sure that what is proposed actually helps solve the problem,” and that “to further help cities address wet weather and other critical clean water infrastructure challenges, Congress should establish a national clean water trust fund.”

On Oct. 18, NACWA President Christopher M. Westhoff, assistant city attorney and public works general counsel for the City of Los Angeles, testified before the full T&I Committee at hearing titled “The 35th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act: Successes and Future Challenges.”  At the hearing, he announced a report with recommendations from NACWA’s Strategic Watershed Task Force.  The report, Recommendations for a Vital and Viable 21st Century Clean Water Policy (PDF), details how a watershed approach could improve the nation’s waters and meet the water quality challenges of the 21st century.  Westhoff warned that while a watershed approach will help prioritize investments and resource allocations, “a return to a sustainable federal-state-local partnership to bridge the funding gap is desperately needed,” and that “without a long-term clean water trust fund, clean water agencies will be hard-pressed to carry out their important mandate to protect the environment and public health in a sustainable manner.”  The testimony was well-received and during questioning, the Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.), raised the clean water trust fund as a viable long-term option and is seeking to identify a viable revenue source (see next story).

Key Members of the House to Ask GAO for Study on Viable Trust Fund Revenue Sources

Chairman Oberstar (D-Minn.) is currently working with Rep. Blumenauer (D-Ore.) of the House Ways and Means Committee on a letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) which would require a study of viable financial mechanisms for a trust fund.  NACWA understands that such a request would require GAO to complete the study within a year and possibly sooner.  This is a critical development as the Water Quality Financing Act of 2007 (H.R. 720), which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in March on a 303-108 vote and would provide $14 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), also calls for a GAO study of potential financial mechanisms.  The letter signifies that there is enough support for a federal clean water trust fund that the leadership in the House is prepared to move forward on a GAO study of potential financial mechanisms without waiting for similar legislation to be introduced and passed in the Senate.  To date, there has been no companion bill introduced in the Senate, but discussions with Ken Kopocis, the Deputy Staff Director/General Counsel of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, and Michelle Nellenbach, EPW staff to Sen. Inhofe (R-Okla.), suggest that a big four clean water infrastructure funding bill similar to H.R. 720 should be ready for introduction in the Senate soon.  The big four include Rep. Boxer (D-Calif.), who is Chair of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee with jurisdiction over this issue, the ranking minority member of the EPW Committee Rep. Inhofe (R-Okla.), Chair of the Transportation Safety, Infrastructure Security, and Water Quality Subcommittee any bill would likely be referred to Rep. Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Rep. Vitter (R-LA), who is the ranking minority member on the subcommittee.

Rep. Blumenauer (D-Ore.) has also invited a wide range of interests and organizations including NACWA to provide further technical and policy assistance to the development of national clean water trust fund legislation.  The information already put together by NACWA and the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN) identifying viable revenue streams for a clean water trust fund has been shared with his staff and other congressional offices to build upon the support and momentum gained during the House hearings and articulated in House Resolution 725.  NACWA will also make sure that it voices its position on a trust fund directly to GAO as it works on its revenue sources study.

House Resolution Calls on Congress to Address Aging Water Infrastructure

H.Res. 725 passed the House on Oct. 16, by a voice vote.  The resolution commemorates the 35th anniversary of the Clean Water Act and calls on Congress to “dedicate itself to working toward a sustainable, long-term solution to address the Nation's decaying water infrastructure.”  Sponsored by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), the resolution had 36 cosponsors and is a step toward raising awareness about our aging water and wastewater infrastructure.  Its easy passage is an indicator of the broad concern about this issue and the support for a long-term sustainable funding solution within the House.  Significantly, Rep. Blumenauer’s statement on the record is the first time he has voiced outright support of a federal clean water trust fund in the Congressional Record, saying “I hope our colleagues will do more than just vote for this resolution.  I hope we educate ourselves and our constituents about what it represents, what it represents in terms of the status of water quality and infrastructure in our own State and community, offer our own contributions to practical solutions, and, as I said, a dedicated trust fund and financial resources to do the job right.”  NACWA will continue to work closely with Rep. Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and the other cosponsors of the resolution on the introduction and passage of clean water trust fund legislation.

Clean Water Advocates Gain Media Attention for a Clean Water Trust Fund

NACWA’s partners in the trust fund effort are also playing an increasingly vocal role in garnering the attention of media outlets through targeted outreach efforts.  In particular, Food and Water Watch, a citizen action group, has made the drafting and enactment of federal clean water trust fund legislation their top issue.  Their report entitled Clear Waters, Why America Needs a Clean Water Trust Fund (PDF) received significant national attention and has been widely distributed.  Food and Water Watch, a member of WIN, relied heavily on the work of NACWA and WIN in their report and directly acknowledges both groups for their work researching and advocating for a clean water trust fund.

Food and Water Watch has also worked closely with NACWA members and other local leaders to place several opinion pieces in local papers on the 35th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, discussing the need for a federal clean water trust fund.  Mike Sobel, vice chairman of the Metropolitan Sewerage District of Buncombe County, helped write, “If Clean Water Matters to You, it’s Time to Speak up,” which ran in the Asheville Citizen-Times on Oct. 18.  Articles were placed in the Detroit Free Press, Hartford Courant and additional local newspapers, all calling for the creation of a national clean water trust fund.  NACWA Treasurer Kevin Shafer, Executive Director of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District was also able to place his own article in the Milwaukee Journal.  The efforts of Food and Water Watch to work with NACWA members offer a glimpse of how diverse partnerships can help inform the public and sway opinion in favor of the clean water community’s priorities.  NACWA will continue to work with these groups while reaching out to additional organizations on the importance of this issue.

NACWA’s Next Steps on Funding

NACWA will continue to work with a diverse coalition of municipal, state, environmental and other stakeholder groups to ensure the Senate introduces and passes companion legislation for H.R. 720 to increase funding for the CWSRF.  This effort remains a key focus for NACWA and the Water Infrastructure Network.  NACWA continues to express concern, however, that the federal government would be unable to sustain authorized funding levels, such as those contained in H.R. 720 ($14 billion over four years) without a long-term revenue source via a trust fund.  In short, NACWA continues to believe that the best method to ensure CWSRF funding is through the establishment of a trust fund, which would also be able to provide direct grants for essential capital replacement projects.  Such federal funding, however, would only be part of a sustainable solution to the funding gap, which will also have to continue to include local rate increases and ongoing efforts to continuously improve utility management.