Water Infrastructure Funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Water Infrastructure Funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
Author: Claudia Copeland
Publisher:
Total Pages: 16
Release: 2009
Genre: Water resources development
ISBN:

On January 28, 2009, the House passed H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. On February 10, the Senate passed an amended version of H.R. 1 (S. Amdt. 570). On February 13, the House and Senate adopted a conference report (H. Rept. 111-16) that reconciled differences between the two bills. The President is expected to sign the bill into law on February 17. This report identifies funding for water infrastructure programs and projects contained in the legislation, including amounts in the House- and Senate-passed versions that preceded the conference agreement. Among the purposes identified in the legislation are preservation and creation of jobs and promotion of U.S. economic recovery, and investment in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits. Under the legislation, additional appropriations are directed to a number of existing federal programs that either directly invest in water infrastructure projects or provide assistance to states and localities for such activities. Water infrastructure funding in the bill, which would be available for obligation for the remainder of FY2009 and through September 30, 2010, is provided to five federal agencies and one commission would total $13.5 billion. The bill provides funding for locally built wastewater and drinking water treatment projects through assistance programs administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). For the EPA wastewater program, the final bill provides $4.0 billion. For the EPA drinking water program, H.R. 1 provides $2.0 billion in additional funds. These funds will be allocated to states according to established formulas, and states will award actual assistance to projects and communities. For the USDA programs that benefit rural communities, the final legislation provides $1.38 billion in grants and loans. Additional funding in the bill for these programs would be three to four times more than the level of current appropriations. The final legislation provides funding for water resources development and management projects administered by four agencies. It provides $4.6 billion for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and $1.0 billion for the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation). The legislation also provides $340 million for USDAs Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) small watershed program, and $220 million for the Department of States International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) levee and dam upgrades. Little is publicly known about how most of these funds will be distributed among individual projects, because water resources programs generally do not distribute based on pre-defined formulas. Which projects and how much each state will receive largely will be determined by the Administration within the eligibility and prioritization direction provided in the legislation and its accompanying conference report. Even after enactment, implementation of the additional water infrastructure funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is likely to raise a number of issues, including how the additional funds included in this legislation will influence decisions on regular appropriations bills for the remainder of FY2009 and for FY2010. Another issue concerns matching fund requirements. Unless project assistance is provided entirely as grants, communities and project sponsors will need to come up with matching funds, which could be very challenging in the current fiscal environment.

Water Infrastructure Funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Water Infrastructure Funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2009
Genre:
ISBN:

Congressional Research Service 1 Water Infrastructure Funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The infrastructure activities discussed here comprise one of many broad categories of infrastructure that received additional funding under the legislation, for construction, repair, and modernization of a range of infrastructure categories both traditional (e.g., highways, airports, [...] Nevertheless, in the floor debates concerning the overall size and composition of the legislation, only one specific proposal to increase infrastructure funds in the bill was adopted.3 The enacted legislation includes some additional funds for high-speed rail projects that were not included in the House or Senate versions.4 Wastewater and Drinking Water EPA State Revolving Fund (SRF) Programs The [...] Implementation and Oversight Recovery Act funds for wastewater and drinking water projects are being disbursed by the federal government to states and localities where most of the actual project decisions will be made and spending will occur in the coming months. [...] EPA moved quickly after enactment of the legislation to issue guidance to states on how the agency will award and administer grants to wastewater and drinking water state revolving funds.12 The guidance addressed a number of issues unique to the ARRA SRF funds, such as how states are to meet the law's requirement that at least 20% of the funds shall be used for green infrastructure projects, addit [...] At the April hearing of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the EPA Inspector General (IG) testified that EPA and its grantees will be challenged to spend the Recovery Act funding in a timely manner, as required by the legislation.

Recovery Act: Funds Supported Many Water Projects, and Federal and State Monitoring Shows Few Compliance Problems

Recovery Act: Funds Supported Many Water Projects, and Federal and State Monitoring Shows Few Compliance Problems
Author: U. s. Government Accountability Office
Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub
Total Pages: 68
Release: 2013-03-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9781482778113

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) provided $4 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) and $2 billion for the agency's Drinking Water SRF. The Recovery Act requires GAO to review funds made available under the act and comment on recipients' reports of jobs created and retained. GAO examined the (1) status and use of Recovery Act SRF program funds nationwide and in nine states; (2) EPA and state actions to monitor the act's SRF program funds; (3) EPA and selected states' approaches to ensure data quality, including for jobs reported by recipients of the act's funds; and (4) challenges, if any, that states have faced in implementing the act's requirements. For this work, GAO, among other things, obtained and analyzed EPA nationwide data on the status of Recovery Act clean and drinking water funds and projects and information from a nonprobability sample of nine states that represent all but 1 of EPA's 10 regions. GAO also interviewed EPA and state officials on their experiences with the Recovery Act SRF program funds. The 50 states have awarded and obligated the almost $6 billion in Clean Water and Drinking Water SRF program funds provided under the Recovery Act, and EPA indicated that all 50 states met the act's requirement to award funds to projects under contract 1 year after the act's passage. States used the funds to support more than 3,000 water quality projects, and according to EPA data, the majority of the funds were used for sewage treatment infrastructure and drinking water treatment and distribution systems. Since the act was passed, states have drawn down almost 80 percent of the SRF program funds provided under the act. According to EPA data, states met the act's requirements that at least (1) 20 percent of the funds be used to support "green" projects and (2) 50 percent of the funds be provided as additional subsidies. In the nine states GAO reviewed, the act's funds paid for 419 infrastructure projects that helped address major water quality problems, but state officials said in some cases the act's requirements changed their priorities for ranking projects or the projects selected. In addition, although not required by the act, the nine states used about a quarter of the funds they received to pay for projects in economically disadvantaged communities, most in additional subsidies. EPA, states, and state or private auditors took actions to monitor Recovery Act SRF program funds. Also, in part as a response to a GAO recommendation, in June 2010 EPA updated--and is largely following--its oversight plan, which describes monitoring actions for the SRF programs. Furthermore, state officials visited sites to monitor Recovery Act projects, as indicated in the plan, and found few problems. Officials at EPA and in the nine states have also regularly checked the quality of data on Recovery.gov and stated that the quality has remained relatively stable, although GAO identified minor inconsistencies in the FTE data that states reported. Overall, the 50 states reported that the Recovery Act SRF programs funded an increasing number of FTE positions for the quarter ending December 2009 through the quarter ending June 2010, from about 6,000 FTEs to 15,000 FTEs. As projects were completed and funds spent, these FTEs had declined to about 6,000 FTEs for the quarter ending March 2011. Some state officials GAO interviewed identified challenges in implementing the Recovery Act's Clean and Drinking Water SRF requirements for green projects and additional subsidies, both of which were continued with some variation, in the fiscal year 2010 and 2011 appropriations for the SRF programs. Officials in four states said achieving the green-funding goal was difficult, with one suggesting that the 20 percent target be changed.

Recovery Act: Funds Supported Many Water Projects, and Federal and State Monitoring Shows Few Compliance Problems

Recovery Act: Funds Supported Many Water Projects, and Federal and State Monitoring Shows Few Compliance Problems
Author: David C. Trimble
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Total Pages: 66
Release: 2011-10
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1437988911

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provided $4 billion for the EPA Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) and $2 billion for the agency's Drinking Water SRF. The ARRA requires a review of funds made available under the act and comments on recipients' reports of jobs created and retained. This report examined the: (1) status and use of ARRA SRF program funds nationwide and in nine states; (2) EPA and state actions to monitor the act's SRF program funds; (3) EPA and selected states' approaches to ensure data quality, including for jobs reported by recipients of the act's funds; and (4) challenges, if any, that states have faced in implementing the act's requirements. Illus. This is a print on demand report.

U.s. Environmental Protection Agency (Epa) & Major Partners' Lessons Learned from Implementing Epa's Portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

U.s. Environmental Protection Agency (Epa) & Major Partners' Lessons Learned from Implementing Epa's Portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Author: U.s. Environment Protection Agency
Publisher:
Total Pages: 118
Release: 2014-10-09
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9781500821968

Enacted in 2009, ARRA bolstered the economy, in part, by funding six EPA programs. These programs included drinking water and clean water infrastructure projects through the State Revolving Funds (SRFs) and environmental initiatives through Superfund, Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA), Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) and Brownfields programs. The EPA contracted with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), and their subcontractor Toeroek Associates, Inc., to review the activities and process for funds distribution, management, and reporting for each of the six programs that received ARRA funding. The objective of the review was to capture, verify and analyze the critical lessons learned and successful strategies related to ARRA funds management. To achieve this objective, the SAIC Team gathered information on three specific aspects: timely obligation and expenditure of funds; additional mandates of ARRA (Section 1512 reporting requirements, Section 1605 Buy American mandate, Section 1606 Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage mandate and Green Project Reserve mandate); and grants management processes for the previously mentioned programs.

Recovery Act: Clean Water Projects are Underway, But Procedures May Not Be in Place to Ensure Adequate Oversight

Recovery Act: Clean Water Projects are Underway, But Procedures May Not Be in Place to Ensure Adequate Oversight
Author: David C. Trimble
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Total Pages: 19
Release: 2010-11
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1437934145

The Amer. Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) included $4 billion for the EPA Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF). This testimony addresses: (1) state efforts to meet requirements associated with the Recovery Act and SRF program; (2) the uses of Recovery Act funds; and (3) EPA's and states' efforts to oversee the use of these funds. This review focused on 14 states and selected localities -- known as sub-recipients -- in each of these states. These 14 states received approx. 50% of the total appropriated under the Recovery Act for the Clean Water SRF. Data included the amounts and types of financial assistance each SRF program provided, and which sub-recipients were first-time recipients of Clean Water SRF funding.

Recovery Act

Recovery Act
Author: Government Accountability Office
Publisher:
Total Pages: 66
Release: 2017-08-17
Genre:
ISBN: 9781974639144

"The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) provided $4 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) and $2 billion for the agency's Drinking Water SRF.The Recovery Act requires GAO to review funds made available under the act and comment on recipients' reports of jobs created and retained. These jobs are reported as full-time equivalent (FTE) positions on a Web site created for the Recovery Act on www.Recovery.gov.GAO examined the (1) status and use of Recovery Act SRF program funds nationwide and in nine states; (2) EPA and state actions to monitor the act's SRF program funds; (3) EPA and selected states' approaches to ensure data quality, including for jobs reported by recipients of the act's funds; and (4) challenges, if any, that states have faced in implementing the act's requirements.For this work, GAO, among other things, obtained and analyzed EPA nationwide data on the status of Recovery Act clean and drinking water funds and projects and information from a nonprobability sample of nine states that represent all but 1 of EPA's 10 regions. GAO also interviewed EPA and state officials on their experiences with the Recovery Act SRF program funds.GAO is making no recommendations..."

Recovery Act

Recovery Act
Author: U S Government Accountability Office (G
Publisher: BiblioGov
Total Pages: 22
Release: 2013-06
Genre:
ISBN: 9781289061005

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) included $4 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF). This testimony--based on GAO's report GAO-10-604 issued on May 26, 2010, in response to a mandate under the Recovery Act--addresses (1) state efforts to meet requirements associated with the Recovery Act and SRF program, (2) the uses of Recovery Act funds, and (3) EPA's and states' efforts to oversee the use of these funds. GAO's review of the Clean Water SRF program focused on 14 states and selected localities--known as subrecipients--in each of these states. These 14 states received approximately 50 percent of the total appropriated under the Recovery Act for the Clean Water SRF. GAO obtained data from EPA and the 14 states, including the amounts and types of financial assistance each SRF program provided, which subrecipients were first-time recipients of Clean Water SRF funding, and which projects serve disadvantaged communities.

Water Infrastructure Needs and Investment

Water Infrastructure Needs and Investment
Author: Claudia Copeland
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Total Pages: 42
Release: 2010
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1437919723

Contents: (1) Intro.; (2) Background: History of Fed. Involvement; Wastewater; Drinking Water; USDA Assistance Programs; (3) Water Infrastructure Debate: Invest. Needs; EPA Needs Surveys; Drinking Water and Wastewater Needs; Future Investment; Gap Analysis Report; (4) Issues: (a) Priorities: What are the Problems to be Solved?: Infrastructure Replace.; Security; Funding Other Priorities; (b) Fed. Role; (c) Delivering Fed. Support: Admin. Entity; Type of Assistance Provided: Grants and Loans; Fed. Funds for Private Infrastructure Systems; Fed. Tax Issues; Fed. Cross-Cutting Requirements; Set-Asides; Allotment of Funds and Congress. Directed Project Grants; (d) Res. on New Technol.; (5) Congress. and Admin. Activity, 107th-110th Congress. Tables.