A fiscal year 2017 Interior and Environment appropriations bill approved by the House of Representatives on July 14 includes tens of millions of additional dollars for drinking water infrastructure, but further action on all spending bills will remain on hold until after Congress returns to Washington this fall.
As approved by the House, H.R. 5538 would fund EPA and Interior Department activities throughout the 2017 fiscal year. While the bill would reduce overall EPA spending by more than $150 million to $7.98 billion, it would increase Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) spending to its highest level since the 2010 fiscal year – partly in response to the nation’s water infrastructure needs that gained prominence in the aftermath of the Flint water crisis. DWSRF funding would increase by $207 million to $1.07 billion next year, and the bill would provide an additional $45 million for loan subsidies through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) pilot program – a sum that could likely be leveraged into anywhere from $450 million to several billion dollars worth of low-interest loans for major water and wastewater infrastructure projects. The bill includes an additional $5 million for EPA to administer the WIFIA program, though funding for the Clean Water SRF would be reduced by nearly $400 million to an even $1 billion.
Spurred by the events in Flint, an amendment added to the bill by Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) would allow states to set aside additional DWSRF dollars in FY17 to help cities and towns address public health emergencies related to elevated lead in drinking water supplies. Rep. Kildee also added another amendment that would provide $3 million for water testing in Flint.
Despite the bill’s strong investment in drinking water infrastructure, H.R. 5538 attracted broad opposition from Democrats due to numerous policy riders attached by Republican lawmakers. One rider attracting Democratic complaints would block implementation of the Obama Administration’s Clean Water Rule, while others would attempt to address the California drought by lessening Endangered Species Act protections for delta smelt. The White House cited these riders and EPA spending cuts in a veto threat against the bill, though the message also noted the Obama Administration’s support for the bill’s WIFIA and SRF funding allotments.
H.R. 5538 will not make it to the president’s desk in its current form, as Congress has departed Washington for its summer recess and lawmakers are expected to piece together an omnibus FY17 appropriations bill later this fall. But strong support on Capitol Hill for increased water infrastructure investment could lead lawmakers to include these elevated DWSRF funding levels in the omnibus bill that is eventually developed.