The final version of the “Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2016” should include funding for the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan program as well as new program authorizations to help communities and homeowners replace lead service lines, AMWA wrote to the bill's lead negotiators in an October 12 letter.
Though Congress is away from Washington until after Election Day, staff members have begun the process of negotiating a final WRDA bill with the hope of making significant progress during the pre-election recess. One of the most significant negotiating points is expected to surround Title VII of the Senate’s version of WRDA (S. 2848). The Senate-approved bill would deliver $100 million for water projects in Flint, Michigan through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), $70 million in WIFIA funds that could be leveraged into loans for communities nationwide, as well as various other new program authorizations and revisions to parts of the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. The House-approved WRDA bill (H.R. 5303), in contrast, would only authorize up to $170 million in infrastructure assistance through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for Flint and other communities facing public health emergencies due to drinking water contamination.
AMWA has strongly supported the Senate’s inclusion of $70 million for WIFIA, alongside several WIFIA reforms also in the Senate bill like allowing recipients to finance application fees and eliminating the program’s designation as a temporary “pilot.” AMWA’s letter to the chairs and ranking members of the congressional committees heading up WRDA negotiations therefore requests that these provisions be maintained in the final WRDA legislation. AMWA’s letter also expresses support for a new lead service line replacement grant program and a school water testing program that were part of S. 2848 as well.
Congress is scheduled to return to Washington on November 14, and if WRDA negotiations go smoothly then lawmakers in each chamber could vote on a final version of the legislation by early December.