{ "id": "R45304", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R45304", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 585953, "date": "2018-10-02", "retrieved": "2019-12-20T20:49:38.381321", "title": "Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF): Overview, Issues, and Legislation", "summary": "The state of the nation\u2019s water infrastructure and the challenges many communities face in addressing infrastructure needs continue to receive congressional attention. In 1996, Congress authorized the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to help public water systems finance infrastructure projects needed to comply with federal drinking water regulations and to meet the act\u2019s health protection objectives. Under this program, states receive annual capitalization grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide financial assistance (primarily subsidized loans) to water systems for drinking water projects and related activities. Through FY2018, Congress has appropriated a total of $20.41 billion for the program. From FY1997 through FY2017, states provided $35.38 billion in DWSRF assistance to water systems for 14,090 projects.\nEPA\u2019s latest survey of capital improvement needs indicates that public water systems need to invest $472.6 billion on infrastructure improvements over 20 years to ensure the provision of safe drinking water. EPA reports that, while all of the projects identified in the survey would promote SDWA health protection objectives, $57.6 billion (12%) of reported needs are attributable to SDWA compliance. An American Water Works Association study estimates that restoring aging infrastructure and expanding water systems to keep up with population growth would require a nationwide investment of at least $1 trillion through 2035.\nProgram issues include (1) the gap between estimated needs and funding; (2) the growing cost of complying with SDWA standards; (3) the ability of small or disadvantaged communities to afford DWSRF or other financing; and (4) the broader need for cities to maintain, upgrade, and expand infrastructure unrelated to SDWA compliance. Several overarching policy questions are under debate, including the appropriate federal role in providing financial assistance for local water infrastructure projects and potential funding mechanisms that could supplement or replace a program reliant on annual appropriations.\nEnacted in 2014, the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA; P.L. 113-121,Title V) authorized a five-year pilot loan guarantee program to promote increased development of, and private investment in, primarily large water infrastructure projects. Congress noted that WIFIA was intended to complement, not replace, the DWSRF program and the similar Clean Water Act State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program for wastewater infrastructure. For FY2017, Congress provided $30.0 million for WIFIA ($25 million for EPA to provide loan guarantees for water infrastructure projects and $5 million for administrative costs). \nThe Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act; P.L. 114-322) made several revisions to the DWSRF program and authorized $100 million in DWSRF appropriations to Michigan to assist the City of Flint in repairing its water system. In P.L. 114-254, Congress appropriated the DWSRF funding authorized in the WIIN Act. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (P.L. 115-31), included $863.23 million in DWSRF program. \nFor FY2018, the President requested $863 million for the DWSRF program and $20 million for WIFIA. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-141), included $1.16 billion for the DWSRF program and $63 million for WIFIA. \nNumerous bills in the 115th Congress would expand DWSRF eligibilities, increase funding authority, and authorize new programs to assist water systems and improve infrastructure. Two such bills have been reported: (1) the Drinking Water System Improvement Act of 2017 (H.R. 3387), a SDWA reauthorization bill with provisions intended to improve water systems, SDWA compliance, infrastructure resilience, consumer confidence, and source water protection, among others; and (2) America\u2019s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (S. 2800), an omnibus water resources development act (WRDA) and infrastructure bill that includes SDWA, the Clean Water Act (CWA) and WIFIA SRF provisions. On September 13, 2018, the House passed (amended and renamed) S. 3021, America\u2019s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (AWIA), which includes elements of S. 2800 and H.R. 8, the House-passed WRDA 2018 bill. Title II of AWAI closely parallels H.R. 3387 and includes other drinking water-related provisions. Title IV contains WIFIA SRF, CWSRF, and other CWA amendments.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R45304", "sha1": "a1817bf7f92dd3f2836421d03a3d40bb59224401", "filename": "files/20181002_R45304_a1817bf7f92dd3f2836421d03a3d40bb59224401.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45304_files&id=/1.png": "files/20181002_R45304_images_d436e01819468a646a884b3ee23a38231ca677d7.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45304_files&id=/0.png": "files/20181002_R45304_images_b3534dc343bb8862e41f9e2ff41b06e3009f400d.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45304_files&id=/2.png": "files/20181002_R45304_images_a23b51b1929f4c10f7ebfa88c9684df27a180d72.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R45304", "sha1": "6b5dfef9d4cfa51bb96d460e6d65ce3672581c6e", "filename": "files/20181002_R45304_6b5dfef9d4cfa51bb96d460e6d65ce3672581c6e.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4929, "name": "Water Quality" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 584610, "date": "2018-09-05", "retrieved": "2018-09-07T13:51:57.058044", "title": "Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF): Overview, Issues, and Legislation", "summary": "The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the federal authority for regulating contaminants in public water supplies. The act includes the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program, established in 1996 to help public water systems finance infrastructure projects needed to comply with federal drinking water regulations and to meet the act\u2019s health protection objectives. Under this program, states receive annual capitalization grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide financial assistance (primarily subsidized loans) to public water systems for drinking water projects and other specified activities. Through FY2018, Congress has appropriated a total of $20.41 billion for the program. From FY1997 through FY2017, states provided $35.38 billion in DWSRF assistance to water systems for 14,090 projects.\nThe latest EPA survey of capital improvement needs indicates that public water systems need to invest $472.6 billion on infrastructure improvements over 20 years to ensure the provision of safe drinking water. EPA reports that, while all of the projects identified in the survey would promote the health protection objectives of the SDWA, $57.6 billion (12%) of reported needs are attributable to SDWA compliance. A study by the American Water Works Association estimates that restoring aging infrastructure and expanding water systems to keep up with population growth would require a nationwide investment of at least $1 trillion through 2035.\nProgram issues include (1) the gap between estimated needs and funding; (2) the growing cost of complying with SDWA standards (particularly for small communities); (3) the ability of small or disadvantaged communities to afford DWSRF financing; and (4) the broader need for cities to maintain, upgrade, and expand infrastructure unrelated to SDWA compliance. Several overarching policy questions are under debate, including the appropriate federal role in providing financial assistance for local water infrastructure projects and potential funding mechanisms that could supplement or replace a program reliant on annual appropriations.\nEnacted in 2014, the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA; P.L. 113-121,Title V, Subtitle C) authorized a five-year pilot loan guarantee program to promote increased development of, and private investment in, primarily large water infrastructure projects. Congress noted that the pilot program is intended to complement, not replace, the DWSRF program and the similar Clean Water Act State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program for wastewater infrastructure. For FY2017, Congress provided $30.0 million for the program ($25 million for EPA to provide loan guarantees for water infrastructure projects under WIFIA and $5 million for administrative costs). \nThe Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act; P.L. 114-322) made several revisions to the DWSRF program and authorized $100 million in DWSRF appropriations to Michigan to assist the City of Flint in repairing its drinking water system. In P.L. 114-254, Congress appropriated the DWSRF funding authorized in the WIIN Act. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (P.L. 115-31), included $863.23 million for the DWSRF program. \nFor FY2018, the President requested $863 million for the DWSRF program and $20 million for the WIFIA program. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-141), included $1.16 billion for the DWSRF program and $63 million for WIFIA. \nThe state of the nation\u2019s water infrastructure and the challenges many communities face in addressing infrastructure needs continue to receive congressional attention. Numerous bills have been introduced in the 115th Congress to expand DWSRF eligibilities, increase funding authority, and make other revisions to the DWSRF program and to authorize new funding programs. Two such bills have been reported: the Drinking Water System Improvement Act of 2017 (H.R. 3387) and a broader water resources infrastructure bill, America\u2019s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (S. 2800), which would add new DWSRF and CWSRF provisions to WIFIA.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R45304", "sha1": "04037639db8a7bb1a16a998323297c986813fc17", "filename": "files/20180905_R45304_04037639db8a7bb1a16a998323297c986813fc17.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45304_files&id=/2.png": "files/20180905_R45304_images_a23b51b1929f4c10f7ebfa88c9684df27a180d72.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45304_files&id=/0.png": "files/20180905_R45304_images_b3534dc343bb8862e41f9e2ff41b06e3009f400d.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45304_files&id=/1.png": "files/20180905_R45304_images_d436e01819468a646a884b3ee23a38231ca677d7.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R45304", "sha1": "c053c92874e330ebee4dc2752dd880069e03b51d", "filename": "files/20180905_R45304_c053c92874e330ebee4dc2752dd880069e03b51d.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4929, "name": "Water Quality" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Appropriations", "Environmental Policy" ] }