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America far-right wants to cut funding for Clean Water Programs by 64% (www.commondreams.org)

submitted 1 year ago by Raphael@lemmy.world to c/worldnews@lemmy.ml

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The Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, chaired by U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), on Thursday marked up a GOP appropriations bill for fiscal year 2024. A Republican fact sheet celebrates proposed "cuts to wasteful spending" and "claw-backs of prior appropriations," highlighting that it "reins in" the Environmental Protection Agency, "limits abuse of the Endangered Species Act," and provides protections for the fossil fuel industry.

The GOP proposal would slash appropriations for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF). The former provides low-interest loans for infrastructure projects like wastewater facilities while the latter provides assistance for initiatives like improving drinking water treatment and fixing old pipes.

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[-] can@sh.itjust.works 37 points 1 year ago

How can they possibly spin this as a good thing?

[-] JustAManOnAToilet@lemmy.world -5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Are the programs shown to actually improve anything or does it become a slush fund? Don't get caught up in the name of something, look into what it actually does (or doesn't do).

Edit to add: that's just one avenue, then you have alternate strategies to tackle the same problem

[-] 133arc585@lemmy.ml 31 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Here's the eleven categories of projects that CWSRF loans can be used for.

Here's the six categories of projects that DWSRF loans can be used for. The DWSRF also publishes a periodic Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey that lays out approximate costs for various system sizes, and the distribution of system sizes across communities.

There is also a lot of overlap; quoting the OP article:

The [CWSRF] provides low-interest loans for infrastructure projects like wastewater facilities while the [DWSRF] provides assistance for initiatives like improving drinking water treatment and fixing old pipes.

The CWSRF Environmental Benefits Report from 2014 says:

14,838 Projects Financed

To 5,222 Communities

with one of the highlights being:

95% of Subsidy Goes to Recipients that Could Not Otherwise Afford the Project

With the variety of activities they support, and the fact that they are permitting projects that communities could not otherwise afford to engage in, I'd say they're very valuable.