$90 MILLION FOR SEWER OVERFLOW CONTROL GRANTS

On Monday, May 14, the House Appropriations Committee released the draft fiscal year 2020 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies funding bill, which includes funding for programs within the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other related agencies.
We are excited to announce that the bill includes $90 million for EPA’s Sewer Overflow municipal grant program! 

Many cities across the nation have inadequate water infrastructure resulting in combined sewer overflows, sanitary sewer overflows, and stormwater mismanagement. An overflow discharges excess wastewater directly to your community’s nearby streams, rivers, or other water bodies. The discharge may contain stormwater, untreated human and industrial waste, toxic materials, and debris. The overflows can also cause downstream flooding, stream bank erosion, increased turbidity, habitat destruction, and infrastructure damage.

While sewer overflows and stormwater management are regulated by EPA implementation and compliance can be very costly.  Many states and municipalities currently lack sufficient independent financing to effectively support initiatives to reduce sewer overflows and storm management. With that in mind, Congress authorized $225 million in grants annually in America’s Water Infrastructure Act to support both state and municipal grants for the planning, construction, design, and management of treatment works for combined sewer overflows, sanitary sewer overflows) or stormwater management. 

As the appropriations process moves forward, we will continue to work on increasing funding for this program to help fix our nation’s water infrastructure needs!