Food & Water Watch Lauds House Appropriations Committee for Approving Water Infrastructure Funding, Urges Congress to Adopt Clean Water Trust Fund
2009-06-19
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Food & Water Watch Lauds House Appropriations Committee for Approving Water Infrastructure Funding, Urges Congress to Adopt
Clean Water Trust Fund
Statement of Food & Water Watch Executive Director
Wenonah Hauter
Washington, D.C.—“This week, the United States House of Representatives Appropriations Committee passed the Environmental Protection Agency appropriation, which allocates $3.9 billion to help over 1500 communities improve their drinking water and wastewater systems. This legislation includes $2.3 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to ensure that our nation’s waters meet the goals of the Clean Water Act; $1.4 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to protect public health by improving drinking water systems; and $160 million for direct grants to communities for water infrastructure. Food & Water Watch applauds the Appropriations Committee and urges Congress to pass this important piece of legislation.
“Most Americans –– 77 percent –– get their household water services from a public utility. But public utilities are struggling financially to meet federal clean water standards and to maintain and modernize water systems. While American tap water is still among the safest in the world, our water infrastructure is aging and deteriorating in the face of less money for renewal and repair, and of more people needing household water service. The consequences include sewage spills that render our water unsafe for drinking, swimming, fishing, and wildlife.
“While this appropriation is a great step forward for upgrading our nation’s ailing water infrastructure systems and potentially boosting the economy by offering as many as 40,000 new construction jobs, it is merely a proverbial drop in the bucket of what is actually needed. Even with this funding, the United States will fall $ 25 billion short of the amount required to modernize our water infrastructure systems in 2010. Moreover, we cannot always rely on Congress and the President to allocate money for such projects. That is why Congress needs to create a dedicated source of support such as a Clean Water Trust Fund so that communities across America can keep their water clean, safe and affordable.”
Food & Water Watch, a nonprofit consumer organization based in Washington, D.C., works to ensure clean water and safe food in the United States and around the world. We challenge the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by empowering people to take action and transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink. For more information, visit www.foodandwaterwatch.org.