Washington DC - Today, Clean Water Action and Clean Water Fund released Equitable and Effective Water Infrastructure Spending: Increasing Transparency and Accountability in State Revolving Fund Programs. Clean Water Action and Clean Water Fund assessed State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs to develop a snapshot of programs accessibility and transparency and to identify areas of potential improvement.
"The Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will provide billions of dollars for updating our nation's water infrastructure. Needed improvements in State Revolving Fund accessibility and transparency are an opportunity to improve water quality nationwide and to ensure that all communities have access to new water infrastructure investments,” said Sean Jackson, National Water Campaigns Coordinator.
SRF programs are responsible for distribution of most of the historic water infrastructure funding made possible by the 2021 bipartisan Infrastructure and Investment Act (IIJA). To meet IIJA goals of effective and equitable distribution of water infrastructure funds, SRF programs need to be both accessible and transparent in order to dramatically broaden and diversify the number of communities and projects applying for funding.
Findings include:
- 20% of State SRF websites were not reasonably navigable (took more than five clicks or five minutes to reach an Intended Use Plan from the department or investment authority main page).
- 26% of States provided no information on how to apply for funding on their websites.
- 22% of States provided no personal contact on their websites to acquire more information on their programs.
- 58% of States’ programs provided very little or no information on what projects have been funded.
The recommendations in this report focus on improvements to both State Revolving Fund Programs in all 50 States. A focus on applicant accessibility would greatly improve the programs. This would ensure successful implementation of the requirements set forth in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Read the full report at cleanwater.org/SRF.
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Since the organization’s founding during the campaign to pass the landmark Clean Water Act in 1972, Clean Water Action has worked to win strong health and environmental protections by bringing issue expertise, solution-oriented thinking, and people power to the table. www.cleanwater.org