Restoration of Loan Funds Unlikely, Hill Staff

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GREENWIRE: Tracking Policy, Politics And The Press 18. WATER Restoration of loan funds unlikely, Hill staff David Loos, Greenwirereporter Page 1 of 1 Restoring funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Loan ( CWSRF) fund to fiscal year 2004 or 2005 levels is unlikely, House and Senate staff members said yesterday. The deepest cut to the proposed fiscal 2006 U.S. EPA budget is a $361 million reduction in the fund, which provides states with loans to improve water treatment plants. The program, currently funded at nearly $1.1 billion, faces major cuts for the second straight year. Funding for fiscal 2004 was about $1.35 billion. "I'm not real optimistic that money can be restored to SRF funding," said House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee minority staff director Kenneth Kopocis. He was one of several congressional staff members to express pessimism during yesterday's panel discussion at the two -day National Clean Water Policy Forum in Washington. The meeting was organized by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (formerly the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies). "There are very serious concerns about SRF funding," said Jonathan Pawlow, counsel for the transportation committee's majority staff director. "We're trying for a realistic assessment, but the true dollar amount will not address the needs." The panel's comments echoed sentiments expressed during a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee meeting earlier this year, at which lawmakers from both sides of the aisle questioned EPA on its proposed cut to CWSRF. At that meeting, then - acting EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson remarked that the agency's $730 million request for the fund is part of a long -term commitment the administration has made for the program to provide $6.8 billion in federal dollars between fiscal years 2006 and 2011 (E&E ...-Dailv, Feb. 17). Officials urged local water managers yesterday to lobby harder for improved CWSRF funding, which goes toward an array of wastewater infrastructure projects as well as watershed and estuary management. "We need to personalize the cuts and show members how much each state will lose," said Michelle Nellenbach, a majority staff member for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. According to the Northeast- Midwest Institute, New York stands to lose the most CWSRF funding under the proposed fiscal 2006 budget, about $39.7 million. Last year, the state's allotment fell from $147 million to $120 million. California would receive about $25 million less next year under the current proposal. tai Aww.,eenews_net E &_EPu_bi_ishing_,LLC • E &_.EDai_ly • G_reenwi_re • _Land Letter About EE Publishing • Privacy Policy • Staff Directory • Contact Us O 1996 -2004 E &E Publishing, LLC http: / /www.eenews. net /Greenwire /include /Print.php ?single= 05040518 5/4/2005