The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would see its budget for State Revolving Funds decrease and spending on categorical grants to states and tribes increase under President Obama’s 2015 budget plan.
The newly released budget proposal to Congress would provide $1.8 billion for the Clean Water and Drinking Water SRFs, which is $581 million below the 2014 enacted level.?The EPA budget overview states that the agency will focus on communities most in need of assistance and continuing to allow financing of approximately $6 billion annually in wastewater and drinking water infrastructure projects.
Nearly $60 billion has been provided for the programs to date, including more than $21 billion since 2009. Going forward, the agency will continue efforts to target assistance to small and underserved communities that have a limited ability to repay loans including Tribes, the EPA says.
The budget would provide $76 million more than in 2014 for categorical grants to states and tribes to implement their delegated authorities, including $20 million for implementing the President?s Climate Action Plan, $31 million to build tribal capacity and $18 million for water permitting and nutrient management initiatives.
