EPA’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) and Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) pilot program would each see a dramatic funding increase next year under versions of FY17 Interior and Environment spending legislation approved last week by the House and Senate appropriations committees. Both bills appeared to be heavily influenced by the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
The full House Appropriations panel voted last Wednesday to pass its FY17 Interior-EPA spending bill. The bill would reduce overall EPA funding to $7.98 billion, while increasing DWSRF spending by $207 million, to $1.07 billion – the highest level of DWSRF investment since the 2010 fiscal year. The bill would deliver $45 million for loan subsidies through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) pilot program and an additional $5 million for WIFIA administration. Conversely, the Clean Water SRF would receive only $1 billion – representing a cut of $394 million.
Several lead-related policy items were included in the legislation. The bill would permit states to use a portion of DWSRF funds to reimburse communities for previously incurred debt for projects that reduce lead in drinking water, and the committee report accompanying the bill would direct states, “to the extent possible,” to give greater weight to projects on state DWSRF priority lists that would “remove lead pipes from existing infrastructure.”
The spending bill approved by Senate appropriators last Thursday was more generous to EPA overall, delivering $8.1 billion for the agency. The bill would provide the DWSRF the full $1.02 billion requested by President Obama, while trimming CWSRF funding to $1.35 billion. WIFIA would receive $25 million for loan subsidies and an additional $5 million for program administration. The bill would allow states affected by an emergency declaration related to lead in drinking water to use a portion of its DWSRF funds to buy or restructure debt communities incurred to address the contamination.