WASHINGTON – The Senate on Thursday passed the long-stalled Water Resources Development Act of 2016 that would provide millions of federal dollars to Flint, Mich. and any other community facing a water crisis.
The $9.4 billion bipartisan bill introduced in April by Sens. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., the chairman and ranking minority member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, passed the Senate easily by a vote of 95-3.
"What we just did was a major bill that took a lot of effort," Inhofe told the Senate Thursday. "I'm very proud to have that behind us now."
The House is expected to take up a smaller bill next week, but it does not include the Flint or Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) funding.
The Senate bill would provide $220 million in funding to any community facing a water crisis such as Flint, which has faced lead contamination in its pipes since April 2014. The Flint funding would be paid for using funds from the Energy Department's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing loan program.
WRDA would also make WIFIA permanent and provide $70 million for credit subsidies to allow the Environmental Protection Agency to make secured loans for infrastructure investments. Of that $70 million, $20 million could not be used in conjunction with tax-exempt bonds.
The bill would provide $100 million for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) that would be available to states that declare a drinking water contamination emergency under the Stafford Act. States that declare such an emergency would receive debt forgiveness on DWSRF loans incurred prior to the current fiscal year.
A total of $50 million would be provided for public health initiatives, including a health registry for any community with a lead-contaminated drinking water system.
In a joint release, Inhofe and Boxer called WRDA, which is passed every two years by Congress, a "major infrastructure bill," and lauded the bipartisan support it received this year.
"This bill … provides critical support and reforms to help small and disadvantaged communities improve access to clean and safe drinking water and to repair aging infrastructure that contributes to lead contamination nation-wide," the Senators said. "A critical component of the bill is that we specifically addressed the long-standing lead contamination in Flint."
The $220 million of immediate emergency funding to Flint and other cities experiencing water crises was proposed by Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Gary Peters, D-Mich. They both turned their attention to the House on Thursday.
"I am pleased the Senate came together to pass this bipartisan, fully paid-for legislation to provide much-needed support for Flint families," Peters said. "I urge my colleagues in the House to swiftly pass similar assistance to help Flint and other communities across the country make critical investments to upgrade their aging water infrastructure."
Boxer thanked Stabenow and Peters for bringing what she called an "unbelievable crisis" to our attention and staying on it day-to-day. "We've just been standing together on this," she said. "I'm thrilled to be part of this team."
Tommy Holmes, legislative director for the American Water Works Association, said that the group was excited to see the bill pass because of the low-cost capital that WIFIA can provide to projects. He said this could encourage innovative projects as well as public-private partnerships.
"We're very, very pleased to see strong funding for WIFIA in there," Holmes said. "For the first time WIFIA would be able to make loans."
WIFIA leverages federal investments on a basis of up to 60 to 1. The $70 million for credit subsidies provides "wiggle room," Holmes said, compared to the $35 million limit currently authorized under WIFIA.
Under the bill, a water infrastructure trust fund would be created to provide capitalization grants for Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water SRFs. The trust fund would be financed by fees collected for a voluntary labeling system.
Holmes said the AWWA opposes such a trust fund because Congress invariably holds a portion of funds back to offset federal deficit. Nearly all of the similar trust funds in existence have to be annually released by Congress, he said.
"It's a very inefficient way to manage money," he said.
Holmes does not expect to see any WIFIA or SRF funds in the House bill because of efforts to pass a streamline bill and the fact that drinking water and wastewater are handled by separate committees in the House.
Several Republicans, including Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., and Sen. David Vitter, R-La., as well as Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, who has come under fire for his handling of the Flint situation, said Thursday that they hope the House will act quickly in taking up the legislation.
"Federal, state and local officials continuing to work together are going to help restore Flint and help the people of Flint recover," Snyder said.
