Major Water Bill Awaiting President’s Signature

Last week, Congress passed S 3021 by an overwhelming majority (99-1) and the bill is currently awaiting the President’s signature. The bill is supposed to be signed soon, but it’s challenging to predict exactly when soon will be, even with the current rumor being Monday.

This bill has 27 sections that impact drinking water, and there’s lots of good news with some potential regulatory streamlining and several authorizations for new funding or increased funding. For the state drinking water programs, authorizations have been increased for both the Public Water Supply Supervision Program (PWSS) Program and the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund (DWSRF). Now, the next step is ensuring that the appropriations match the increased authorizations, and there’s no guarantee of that happening in the current political/budgetary environment.

A detailed section-by-section breakdown of the bill is below.

America’s Water Infrastructure Act (S 3021) Section by Section