Committee Approves Senator Murkowski's Bill to Reauthorize Village Safe Water Program
COMMITTEE APPROVES SENATOR MURKOWSKI'S BILL TO REAUTHORIZE VILLAGE SAFE WATER PROGRAM
ALASKA TO RECEIVE INCREASE IN CLEAN WATER ACT FUNDS
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee today approved Senator Murkowski's bill to reauthorize grant funding and technical assistance to small, rural communities in Alaska for critical water and sewer projects.
This funding was originally authorized as part of the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996 and was reauthorized in 2000. The authorization for this program expires at the end of fiscal year 2005. Every fiscal year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) transfers funding authorized by this program to the State of Alaska's Village Safe Water Program, which is managed by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
The legislation reauthorizes EPA funding for this program through fiscal year 2010. It maintains the federal cost-share at 50 percent and increases the authorized funding level from $40 million to $45 million. This increase in authorized funding is necessary to adequately address the remaining $565 million in remaining need for water and sewer projects in Alaska's rural communities.
"The Village Safe Water program has been a success over the years," Sen. Murkowski said. "Many homes in Alaska's rural communities now have plumbing due to funds authorized by this program. However, 33 percent of homes in these communities still do not have in-house plumbing. It is unacceptable that all Alaskans still do not have access to conventional plumbing in their homes in 2005. It is imperative that we reauthorize this critically important program before the end of this fiscal year. The health and well-being of rural Alaskans is at stake."
The Committee today also approved the Water Infrastructure Financing Act, which reauthorizes the Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water programs and contains a change in the formula used to calculate Alaska's share of Clean Water program funding. The new formula guarantees Alaska a minimum of one percent of available funds. Alaska has traditionally received just over .6 percent. The change will increase federal funding for Clean Water Act programs in Alaska from $6.56 million a year to $10.58 million annually.
http://murkowski.senate.gov/pressapp/record.cfm?id=241059