Rural drinking water bill passes House

Passage of the Grassroots Rural and Small Community Water Systems Assistance Act on Monday by the House was led by U.S. Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL).

The bill – S. 611 – was passed by voice vote. It is meant to aid smaller and rural communities in dealing with the financial and technical challenges of the Safe Water Drinking Act’s regulations. The legislation previously passed the Senate in June and now moves on to the president for his signature to become law.

“A major source of financial stress for small and rural drinking water supply systems is compliance with a number of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations,” Shimkus said. “These communities depend heavily on federal and state grants, as well as subsidized loan programs, to finance their needs.”

Just giving money to communities to solve the problem, however, is not the answer, Shimkus said.

“These communities may need access to technical professionals to help find the most cost-effective way to comply with EPA standards,” Shimkus said. “Technical assistance offered by EPA allows small, public water authorities to identify affordable repair and replacement options for their systems.”

Under S. 611, the EPA’s technical assistance program would be reauthorized through 2020 for small, public water systems. The bill also maintains the existing $15 million annual funding level and authorizes funding used by non-profit organizations to provide technical assistance to small, public water systems.