The proposed Fiscal Year 2020 budget for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) provides $6.1 billion to support the mission of protecting human health and the environment. The budget proposal maintains USEPA’s focus on its core mission – providing Americans with clean air, land and water, and ensuring chemical safety. In addition, the proposed budget … Read more
Affordability and revenue stability are two of the topics that often weigh heavily on the minds of utility managers and policy makers. As two equally important issues, it can be challenging to meet both due to potentially opposing objectives. The most straight-forward path to achieving a high level of revenue stability is to rely heavily … Read more
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has $392 million available to help rebuild and improve rural water and wastewater infrastructure in 42 states. The USDA is supporting investments in 120 infrastructure projects through the Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant program, which can be used to finance drinking water, stormwater drainage, and waste disposal … Read more
Thank you to all of the water systems and utilities that participated in the 2018 Annual Utility Rate Survey! The responses are being compiled, and the complimentary booklets will be delivered later this summer. In the meantime, here is a summary of the 2018 responses related to inclining block rates in water conservation pricing. Future … Read more
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) recently announced the Federal Clean Water Act Section 319 funding round is now open, with $1.4 million expected for grants to reduce water pollution. The program provides funding and technical assistance to groups and individuals who work with citizens to reduce non-point source pollution. To be eligible, projects must … Read more
U.S. Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) introduced legislation in late January to reauthorize the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA). The bill would help stimulate investment in water infrastructure, such as flood control, stormwater management, and wastewater treatment by supplementing Federal funding with long-term, low-cost loans and loan guarantees. Similar legislation has … Read more