Rural Water - Quarter 4, 2008 - (Page 10)

RURAL WATER and Prepares for the Future CONTINUED FUNDING BY MIKE KEEGAN, NRWA ANALYST WITHOUT A CONGRESSIONAL directive to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on how to specifically use their approximately $8 billion budget, the EPA would not fund any relevant technical assistance to help small and rural communities comply with their rules and help improve water quality. In 2007, for the ﬁ rst time in 30 years, Congress did not direct the agency on how to use technical assistance funding for ﬁ scal year 2007 funds. This resulted in the EPA decision to allow the current assistance that small communities relied on to shut down. EPA told us that without any directive from Congress, they would not allocate any of their FY07 funding to continue the technical assistance operating in the ﬁeld. As Congress and the new President develop new polices to reduce Congressional earmarks, rural water is also planning new alternatives for ensuring that technical assistance remains available to the nation’s 150,000 small public water supplies. Rural water technical assistance has been historically funded through Congressional directives; however, this has only been the case because it is the best use of the federal funding and Congress is more accountable to local citizens and communities than the EPA. A new bill in Congress, HR 6313, introduced by North Carolina Congressman Bob Etheridge, would mandate that EPA prioritize technical assistance funding that is the most beneﬁcial to small communities. This would limit the agency’s ability to use the funding for less helpful and effective funding programs, which has been the case in the past. The bill is innovative because it includes a provision that would require that EPA prioritize technical assistance funding to organizations that are the most effective, qualiﬁed and have the most support of your state’s local communities. This will ensure that any funding used for technical assistance initiatives will work best and result in the most beneﬁt to your local small and rural communities. This provision was the core of Senator Craig’s (ID) Amendment included in the 2006 Senate Committee appropriations bill and Senator Klobuchar’s (MN) Small Community Amendment to FY2007 Supplemental Appropriations Act. Without a Congressional directive to EPA on how to use the funding, the technical assistance does not work in the most helpful manner for small communities in the states. Rodney Tart, former president of the National Rural Water Association, from Harnett County, NC, said, “We are grateful for Congressman Etheridge’s help and assistance to the states’ over 50,000 small and rural communities that are trying to provide safe and clean water to >>12 10 • Fourth Quarter 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Rural Water - Quarter 4, 2008

Rural Water - Quarter 4, 2008 Contents From the President Rural Water: Where are We Headed? The Future of Water in America Bank Collateral Controls in Nervous Times Bottle of Water or Billion Dollar Bully? Aqua Chocolate No Mas Why Even Small Water Systems Should Have Personnel Policy Manuals Safe Drinking Water Regulatory Update 2008 NRWA Industry Event Throwing My Loop Advertisers.com Index to Advertisers From the CEO

Rural Water - Quarter 4, 2008

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