Water Infrastructure Financing: History of EPA Appropriations Page: 10 of 26
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CRS-7
requested and Congress agreed to provide funds to capitalize state drinking water
SRFs. However, until recently there was no statutory authority in federal law to make
such grants. While Congress had appropriated drinking water SRF grants three times,
those actions were contingent on enactment of authorizing legislation. In August
1996 Congress amended the Safe Drinking Water Act to authorize $1 billion annually
through FY2003 as federal capitalization grants for drinking water SRFs (P.L. 104-
182). As a result, grants for drinking water SRF programs were provided for the first
time in FY1997 and have been included in each subsequent appropriations bill. As
Congress continues to support both clean water SRFs and drinking water SRFs, the
two types of grants compete for whatever overall level of funding is available within
the account.
Appropriations Chronology
FY1986, FY1987
The authorization period covered by P.L. 100-4 was FY1986-FY1994. By the
time the amendments were enacted, FY1986 was over, as was a portion of FY1987.
Thus, appropriations for those two years only indirectly reflected the policy and
program changes for later years that were contained in P.L. 100-4. For FY1986,
Congress appropriated a total of $1.8 billion, consisting of $600 million approved in
December 1985 (while Congress was beginning to debate reauthorization legislation
that eventually was enacted as P.L. 100-4 in January 1987) and $1.2 billion more in
July 1986.
For FY1987, while debate on CWA reauthorization continued, President Reagan
requested $2.0 billion, consistent with his legislative proposal to terminate the grants
program by FY1990. In October 1986, Congress appropriated $2.4 billion (P.L. 99-
500/99-509). However, only $1.2 billion of that amount was released immediately,
pending enactment of a reauthorization bill, which was then in conference. Following
enactment of the Water Quality Act of 1987, remaining FYI 987 funds were released
as part of a supplemental appropriations bill (P.L. 100-71). Conferees on that measure
agreed, however, to shift $39 million of the remaining unreleased grant funds to other
priority water quality activities authorized in P.L. 100-4. The final total of
construction grant monies was $2.361 billion.
FY1988
For FY1988 the President again requested $2.0 billion. In December 1987
Congress approved legislation providing FY88 appropriations (P.L. 100-202, the
omnibus continuing resolution to fund EPA and other federal agencies). In it,
Congress appropriated $2.304 billion for construction grants. Final action on the
EPA budget and other funding bills had been delayed by budget-cutting talks between
Congress and the White House. Reduced construction grants funding was one of
many spending cuts required to implement a congressional-White House "summit
agreement" on the budget. The final construction grants appropriation was less than
funding levels that had been provided in separate versions of a bill passed by the
House and Senate before the budget summit, $2.4 billion.
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Copeland, Claudia. Water Infrastructure Financing: History of EPA Appropriations, report, December 3, 2001; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc817982/m1/10/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.