By Judy Sheahan
July 25, 2005

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on July 20 passed S. 1400, a $38 billion bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and Safe Drinking Water Act to improve water and wastewater infrastructure.

The bill would authorize the following expenditures shown in the chart for each of the State Revolving Loan Funds (SRF).

This year the House Appropriations Committee has allocated approximately $850 million for each of the programs while the Senate Appropriations Committee has allocated $850 million for the Drinking Water Fund and $1.1 billion for the wastewater program which is closer to historical funding levels. The Administration has recommended $850 million for Drinking Water and $730 million for Wastewater program.

The bill also creates a demonstration grant program for municipalities seeking water quality enhancements. $20 million has been authorized for each fiscal year from 2006 through 2010. The program would allow ten projects each year that demonstrate a strategy that would effectively address water quality or water supply problems. The types of projects that will be considered address the following issues: excessive nutrient growth; urban or rural population pressure; lack of an alternative water supply; difficulties in water conservation and efficiency; lack of support tools and technologies to rehabilitate and replace water supplies; lack of monitoring and data analysis for water distribution systems; nonpoint source water pollution (including stormwater); sanitary overflows; combined sewer overflows; problems with naturally occurring constituents of concern; problems with erosion and excess sediment; new approaches to water treatment, distribution, and collection systems; and new methods for collecting and treating wastewater.

The only successful amendment added to the bill was a provision that would require all local sewer and drinking water system upgrades to comply with the Davis-Bacon Act – a 1931 law that requires the use of prevailing wages. The amendment was sponsored by Senators Joe Lieberman (CT) and Barbara Boxer (CA). The Davis-Bacon provisions have prevented similar legislation from passing in past sessions of Congress.

The committee also approved, on the same day, legislation that will provide $1 billion in grants over five years for diesel engine retrofits and various other initiatives to cut down on diesel emissions. There has been some discussion about including this provision in the exergy bill, but Senator Voinovich (OH), author of the bill, wants it to remain a stand-alone bill, due to the uncertainity surrounding the passage of the energy bill.