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Water Protection and Reinvestment ActClean Water Trust Fund
WATER 
Clean Water
Forty-eight percent of the Trust Fund’s funding would be reserved for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund(CWSRF). Funds from the CWSRF are made availableto publicly owned treatment works for infrastructureprojects that fall under the U.S. Environmental Protec-tion Agency (EPA)’s regulations under the Clean Water Act. This legislation would expand the types of projectseligible for funding to explicitly allow funding of “greeninfrastructure” and for conservation projects. In addi-tion, the legislation would prohibit the use of funds fromthe CWSRF for the purpose of subsidizing new develop-ment. Funding would be limited to rehabilitating andrepairing existing infrastructure. The legislation also would provide grants for technical assistance for ruraland low-income communities.
Drinking Water
Thirty-ve percent of the Trust Fund’s funding would be
reserved for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund(DWSRF). Funds from the DWSRF are made availableto any public water system, whether publicly or privately owned, for projects that fall under the EPA’s regulationsunder the Safe Drinking Water Act and to further publichealth objectives. As with the CWSRF, this legislation would expand the types of projects eligible for funding,including those that replace and repair treatment and
storage facilities and those that increase water efciency.
The legislation would also fund a technical assistancegrant for small communities similar to the one availablefor wastewater infrastructure.
I
n July 2009 Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) introduced the Water Protec-tion and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 3202). This legislation would establish a federal Water Protection and Reinvestment Trust Fund for both drinking water and wastewa-ter infrastructure. The Trust Fund would provide between $10 billion and $13 billioneach year. It would use the current mechanism for distributing funds to the states,the State Revolving Funds (SRFs), but would provide increased levels of funding. Theincreased funds provided by the Trust Fund should allow for much-needed repairsand improvements to water and sewer systems and would potentially dissuade locali-ties from pursuing drastic rate increases and privatization schemes. Although the billprovides a dedicated source for this essential funding, it should be strengthened torestrict eligibility for funding to publicly owned and operated utilities.
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