Press Release
35th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Association
of Water Companies (NAWC) today released the following statement
from Peter Cook, executive director, on the 35th Anniversary
of the Clean Water Act (CWA).
“On this 35th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act, let us all acknowledge and recognize the achievements of this important Act. There is no doubt that our nation’s waters are cleaner today and that is because of committed professionals, other interested parties, and the public, working hard and in tandem under the Clean Water Act.
“The Clean Water Act has been appropriately amended to adapt to the times it served. For example, the CWA has long since evolved from its wasteful Construction Grants Program days into a far more financially efficient and responsible long-term loan program, the State Revolving Fund (SRF). Sadly, there are many in the industry that want to return to the days of federal handouts (i.e. grants to utilities), which are essentially huge subsidies for a majority of a utility’s customers, including large corporations and wealthy individuals who are well able to pay a full cost of service utility bill. In addition, such subsidies send misleading price signals, discouraging conservation. The introduction of the SRF appropriately changed the old financial dynamic.”
“By 1987, the EPA had determined that the backlog of sewage treatment needs, which the Construction Grants Program was established to address, had been virtually eliminated and, that secondary treatment improvements had been made on a broad scale. Congress correctly concluded that large federal subsidies were no longer prudent or feasible and that the industry needed an alternative approach that would focus on long-term self renewing financing and would promote economic self-sufficiency — the solution was the State Revolving Fund program. NAWC supports using the established Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program as the major assistance vehicle for wastewater utilities.”
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