Breaking News Senate Democrats have pulled a Jobs Bill (H.R. 4213) which included a provision to exclude private activity bonds used to finance water and wastewater infrastructure projects from the annual state volume cap. The provision is estimated to cost $372 million over 10 years.   EPA has released its Clean Water Needs Suver 2008 Report to Congress. The report is issued every four years to provide a comprehensive assessment of the capital needs to meet the water quality goals set in the Clean Water Act.   The House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment will hold a hearing on Thursday, July 15 titled "Putting America Back to Work Through Clean Water Infrastructure Investment." Last year, the Clean Water Council released a study that showed for every $1 billion in federal investment of water and wastewater infrastructure nearly 27,000 jobs are created.

Over the last few decades federal funding for clean water and drinking water has declined. Congress for many years has set aside reauthorizing the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act, which has led to significant reductions in the money states rely on for building and maintaining water and wastewater infrastructure.  

The time is now to make rebuilding America’s water and wastewater infrastructure a national priority.