Ditchmen • NUCA of Florida Ditchmen - November 2019 | Page 10

Revamping the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund on the Horizon? The Delegation by A majority of the Florida delegation believes the Clean Peter Schorsch Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) needs revamping to ensure ample funding for water quality projects in Florida. A letter led by St. Augustine Republican Michael Waltz to the leadership of the House House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and signed by 15 members of the delegation, requested an update on the formula CWSRF uses for water allocation. “The inadequacy of the allotment, as illustrated in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2016 report to Congress, Review of the Allotment of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (Report), restricts states like Florida from addressing serious water quality needs,’’ the members wrote. “We seek your cooperation to modernize the allotment in any legislation that amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.” 8 DITCHMEN • NOVEMBER 2019 The CWSRF, established in 1987, provides states with an annual allotment for low-interest financing of local water infrastructure projects. Included are projects on wastewater systems and their treatment facilities, stormwater management, and estuary projects, among others. Additionally, the CWSRF’s method for the determination of state allocations has not been updated since its enactment in 1987. According to a 2016 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report to Congress, the method does not adequately reflect changes in population, nor does it meet the needs of most states. The CWSRF, established in 1987, provides states with an annual allotment for low-interest financing of local water infrastructure projects. Included are projects on wastewater systems and their treatment facilities, stormwater management, and estuary projects, among others.