Mark Kelly, Rick Scott Push for Senators to Cosponsor Bipartisan Clean Water Allotment Bill

In a recent letter, Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Rick Scott (R-FL) called on their fellow Senators to support their bipartisan Clean Water Allotment Modernization Act, introduced earlier in July.

What the Bill Does: A Recap

The Clean Water Allotment Modernization Act updates the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) from its fixed percentage rate to a more dynamic, needs-based distribution, especially since states like Arizona and Florida have changed significantly since the CWSRF went into effect in 1988.

What Kelly and Scott are Saying

The Senators' letter notes that "the data Congress used to create this formula was never documented, and the law gives no authority to the Environmental Protection Agency—the agency responsible for administering the funding— to adjust it."

"In other words, the nation's principal clean water infrastructure program is running on an outdated, unexplainable formula that no longer reflects the needs of the communities it is meant to serve," they continue.

Their letter also provides greater detail on how the Clean Water Allotment Modernization Act is designed to function beyond the implementation of the needs-based distribution scheme recommended by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which is based on population and infrastructure levels.

For instance, the formula would be updated annually by the EPA based on the census, American Community Survey, and needs survey data.

Additionally, this new formula would be implemented over four years to ensure that no single state's allotment decreases by more than 25% or increases by more than 200%, with exemptions and carve-outs for Indian tribes and American territories under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act remaining in place.

"Rather than picking winners and losers, the Clean Water Allotment Modernization Act lets current, objective data drive the allotment, and it updates automatically so no state is permanently advantaged or disadvantaged," the Senators concluded. "Clean water infrastructure is a national priority, and it should be funded according to the needs of the country as it exists today, not as it existed in 1987. We invite you to join this bipartisan effort to bring the Clean Water State Revolving Fund into the 21st century."