Katherine Boyle, E&E reporter

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is planning to tackle the reauthorization of the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds in early May amid a swell of congressional support for water infrastructure projects.

Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said yesterday she hopes the committee will look at reauthorizing the funds on May 7. Boxer and ranking member James Inhofe (R-Okla.) are working on the reauthorization with Water and Widlife Subcommittee Chairman Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and ranking member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho).

Inhofe spokesman Matt Dempsey said the senator wants to move quickly on a bill as long as it addresses lawmakers' concerns on both sides of the aisle. "He is confident that all sides are working in good faith," Dempsey added.

Democrats on the committee emphasized the ongoing need to shore up the nation's water infrastructure, though the issue already received $6 billion in the economic stimulus package this year.

"That was a shot in the arm to get the economy moving again," Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said. "There's a lot of work to be done."

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said a number of stakeholders in his home state of Rhode Island have told him they need funding for water infrastructure projects but do not believe they will receive any from the economic stimulus package. "There's an enormous need," he said.

Susan Bruninga, spokeswoman for the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, said the utility group is hoping to see a "big four" bill, sponsored by Boxer, Inhofe, Cardin and Crapo.

"The Clean Water State Revolving Fund has never been reauthorized, and we'd like to get it reauthorized with significant funding levels," Bruninga said. The fund, a low-interest wastewater loan program, helps states construct water treatment facilities.

A source off the Hill said cash for both funds in the reauthorization package would total about $39 billion. That matches funding levels in S. 3500, a bill sponsored by Boxer, Inhofe and Sens. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and David Vitter (R-La.) last session that did not pass the Senate.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee easily passed a major water infrastructure and cleanup bill, H.R. 1262, in March, authorizing $13.8 billion over five years for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. The House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, could not be reached for comment on reauthorization plans.

Davis-Bacon roadblock?

Though there is wide bipartisan support for reauthorization, a recurring controversy over pro-labor Davis-Bacon wage requirements could trip up the Senate Environment and Public Work Committee's efforts to pass legislation.

Support for Davis-Bacon falls roughly along party lines, with Democrats in favor of the requirements and Republicans opposing them. Last session, Inhofe strongly objected to an amendment to S. 3500 by Lautenberg that would have added the requirements.

It is not clear if Davis-Bacon wage requirements will be included in the bill being crafted by the EPW Committee this session, or if Lautenberg will again attempt to amend the legislation.

House lawmakers also squabbled over the Davis-Bacon wage requirements contained in H.R. 1262 before passing that legislation in March. Leading Republican members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said they objected to the requirements, though they supported the legislation on balance. House lawmakers also struck down a controversial amendment that would have removed the wage requirements from the legislation.