The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments of 1996
(Pub. L. 104-182) authorize a Drinking Water State Revolving
Fund (DWSRF) program to assist public water systems
to finance the costs of infrastructure needed to achieve
or maintain compliance with SDWA requirements and to
protect public health. Section 1452 authorizes the Administrator
of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to
award capitalization grants to States, which in turn
can provide low cost loans and other types of assistance
to eligible systems.
The SDWA Amendments also establish a strong new emphasis
on preventing contamination problems through source
water protection and enhanced water systems management.
That emphasis transforms the previous law from a largely
after-the- fact regulatory oriented program into a statute
that can provide for the sustainable use of water. Central
to this emphasis is the development of State prevention
programs, including source water protection, capacity
development and operator certification. States have
the option to use a portion of their capitalization
grant to fund these eligible activities as allowed in
the statute. The success of these activities will act
to safeguard the DWSRF funds that are loaned for improving
system compliance and public health protection, and
help determine whether the new law's potential as a
preventive environmental statute is realized.
The DWSRF program will help ensure that the nation's
drinking water supplies remain safe and affordable,
that drinking water systems that receive funding will
be properly operated and maintained, and that permanent
institutions will exist in each State to provide financial
support for drinking water needs for many years to come.
Congress has placed particular emphasis on assisting
smaller drinking water systems, and those serving less
affluent populations, by providing greater funding flexibility
for these systems under the DWSRF to ensure that systems
have adequate technical, managerial, and financial resources
to maintain compliance and provide safe water.
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