NARUC urges passage of Clean Water State Revolving Fund Parity Act

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) sent a letter to lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives, supporting the passage of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Parity Act (H.R. 250).

The proposed legislation would ensure that tax-payer-funded, low-interest loans for wastewater infrastructure would be available for private wastewater utilities.

“NARUC urges Congress to hold a hearing on, and then quickly pass the bipartisan bill introduced by Representatives Garamendis and Bostl,” said NARUC President Michael Caron, of the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. “Currently, the Clean Water State Revolving Fund program discriminates against customers whose services are provided by America’s private wastewater companies, even though tax dollars from these same customers help fund the program. That is fundamentally unfair. H.R. 250 makes needed adjustments to the current program to assure a more equitable outcome, assuring that every American — no matter who their wastewater service provider is — has equal access to safe, reliable and affordable wastewater services.”

The letter was sent to Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA); Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries; Sam Graves (R-MO), Chairman of the Committee on Transportation; Rick Larsen, Ranking Member, Committee on Transportation; David Rouzer (R-NC), Chairman, House T&I Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment; and Grace Nepolitano (D-CA) Ranking Member, House T&I Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment.

“The restricted eligibility of the taxpayer-funded Clean Water SRF program leaves out millions served by regulated water utilities,” said NARUC Committee on Water Chair Jeff Hughes. “There may be a mistaken perception that utilities, and not their customers, benefit when they are permitted to access government-funded programs, but that’s just not true — it is the customers, not the companies, who suffer when their utilities are excluded from this crucial funding opportunity.”

The Clean Water SRF Parity Act only expands eligibility for dollars allocated to the program over and above current funding levels. This ensures that the expanded access to private regulated systems will not reduce investment levels in publicly owned systems.

The letter is available on NARUC’s website here.