Tina Smith: “Everyone wants clean, safe water for drinking and bathing. But the ability to provide this necessary commodity at an…”

“Everyone wants clean, safe water for drinking and bathing. But the ability to provide this necessary commodity at an affordable price has been a real challenge in recent years. I think we have gotten to this point because of the numerous problems encountered with the 1986 act. Many local governments and drinking water systems around the country, some of which are in New Hampshire as well as other States, have been struggling to comply with this long list of regulations while maintaining reasonable water rates. The legislation before us will help to address this problem. The folks who live in these communities do not want to drink dirty water, but they want to be able to do what they have to do and have the reasonable opportunity to do it. So when we talk about the issue of unfunded Federal mandates, the Safe Drinking Water Act is regarded by State and local governments as the king of those unfunded mandates. So to address it, the bill now authorizes $1 billion a year in a Federal grant to establish State revolving loan funds.”