Congress gave final approval in January to a long-awaited Hurricane Sandy relief bill that includes a $600 million infusion to the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs) to help water systems in New York and New Jersey build resiliency to future floods and natural disasters.
As approved by both the House and Senate, the bill allocates $500 million to the CWSRF and $100 million to the DWSRF and stipulates that the dollars shall be provided to New York and New Jersey for projects at water and wastewater facilities “impacted by Hurricane Sandy.” The funds would not necessarily have to be used to repair damage caused by the storm, but instead could be spent on projects “to reduce flood damage risk and vulnerability or to enhance resiliency to rapid hydrologic change or a natural disaster.” The states would be required to use between 20 and 30 percent of these funds to deliver principal forgiveness, negative interest loans, or grants to recipients.
The final bill includes somewhat less water resiliency funding than had been originally approved by the Senate in December. The original Senate relief bill would have provided $810 million divided among the SRFs of states covered by a federal disaster declaration related to Sandy – totaling twelve states and the District of Columbia. Each of these states and DC would have been entitled to at least two percent of the total SRF funds in the bill, but instead the final measure only allocates funding to New York and New Jersey.
Other sections of the final bill would provide the Army Corps of Engineers’ construction account with just under $3.5 billion to repair and rehabilitate corps projects and protect projects along the Atlantic Coast from future large-scale flood and storm events. The Corps would also receive additional funding to support emergency operations and complete studies on flood risks to vulnerable coastal populations.