Breaking It All Down

(Originally posted on waterefficiency.net)

By Elizabeth Cutright
Editor
Water Efficiency


After months of anticipation, last week President Obama finally signed The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Known colloquially as the “stimulus package,” the Act promises to deliver $787 billion in funds with the purpose of shoring up our weakened economy through job creation and a variety of other incentives and government programs.
For a country anxious about the future and hungry for solutions, the hope is that the Act can breath new life into struggling local economies. With that in mind, many communities have spent the first months of 2009 tabulating and numbering their wants and needs. Will those wishes finally be fulfilled, or will tangles of red tape and armies of lobbyists divert the funds away from the very trouble spots that most desperately need help?
So far, the possibilities look promising. First off, the Act allocates $80.5 billion to repair and improve roads, bridges, mass transit, and waterways. According to a statement released by the EPA on February 19, $7.22 billion in stimulus money has already been allocated for EPA-administered water projects, including $4 billion set aside for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (which helps communities deal with their water quality and wastewater infrastructure needs). An additional $2 billion has been earmarked for other drinking water infrastructure projects under the same revolving fund, and a portion of that funding is specifically set aside for “green” infrastructure, including water and energy efficiency. Treatment and cleanup command the final $1.22 billion, which has been allocated for projects like industrial/commercial brownfields, superfund hazardous sites, and leaking underground storage tanks.
Some information on how individual states plan to handle their stimulus funds has already begun to make news. In Ohio for example, $59 million will be used to improve drinking water infrastructure, while another $224 million will be used for other clean water projects and programs. According to the EPA, Wyoming should receive approximately $39 million in stimulus funds for a variety of water and sewer projects. The EPA has also stated that Illinois will receive $258.5 million in stimulus money for local water projects. Utah has garnered $50 million in stimulus funds, some of which will go to water projects in the state, while Tennessee will receive $77 million for sewer and water treatment projects. So far, the big winner appears to be Colorado, which is in line to receive about $1 billion in stimulus money. More information on specific payouts will continue to trickle out over the next few days, and updates on state-by-state distributions of the clean water and drinking water state revolving funds will be available on the EPA Web site www.epa.gov/recovery.
Let us know what you think: Will the stimulus package provide the funds needed to finally fix our aging infrastructure, and promote and improve our water collection, treatment, and delivery systems? Do you anticipate seeing any direct effect in your own community? Or, are you skeptical that the stimulus package will be able to deliver on all its promises?