House bill boosts wastewater funding, faces veto threat

House bill boosts wastewater funding, faces veto threat
By Bruce Geiselman

March 12 -- The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a financing bill that would provide $14 billion over four years for communities to modernize their wastewater treatment systems.

While the bill would provide a huge benefit to wastewater system operators, the White House is threatening a veto if it passes the Senate and appears on President Bush´s desk. The White House is concerned about the amount of money being committed to the program, as well as a provision that would guarantee prevailing wages for laborers hired to perform the work.

The Water Quality Financing Act of 2007 passed the House on March 9 by a 303-108 vote. It would authorize $14 billion over the next four years for the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund.

"This bill has been a long time in coming," said Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Oberstar said he blames the Bush administration for not spending enough on helping local communities improve their wastewater systems and water quality.

"State and local governments have spent billions of dollars in improving water quality, and the federal government must keep its commitment to this partnership and to investing in the nation´s water infrastructure systems," he said.

The measure, formally known as House Resolution 720, also would allow increased flexibility in granting the money that would benefit economically disadvantaged and small municipalities. Among other changes, it would allow some communities to repay the loans over 30 years instead of 20 years, and some could be given additional subsidies, such as principal forgiveness.

"This is the mother of all unfunded mandates," said Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., the minority leader of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. "This unprecedented expansion of prevailing wage law is an earmark for labor union bosses that will cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars."

Eighteen states currently have no prevailing wage laws, but the House resolution would impose Davis-Bacon wage requirements upon them.

The White House issued a policy statement threatening a veto in which it said the bill would increase recent appropriation levels by 250 percent. It called the increase "unrealistic in the current fiscal environment."

The bill also would be contrary to the administration´s long-standing opposition to expanding or contracting the applicability of Davis-Bacon Act prevailing wage requirements, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, which represents wastewater districts, said the action is an important first step toward averting a crisis of crumbling infrastructure that threatens the water quality gains of the last 35 years under the Clean Water Act.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Government Accountability Office and the Water Infrastructure Network have estimated the funding gap for necessary improvements to the nation´s wastewater infrastructure at $300 million to $500 million over 20 years.