EPA Targets Historic Water Infrastructure Funding to Communities Most Impacted by Pollution
Contact: Lindsey Bacigal, BacigalL@nwf.org, (734) 887-7113Jordan Lubetkin, Lubetkin@nwf.org, (734) 904-1589
EPA Targets Historic Water Infrastructure Funding to Communities Most Impacted by PollutionCoalition: Agency's focus essential to protect drinking water, clean water, and public health of millions of people.
ANN ARBOR, MICH. (March 8, 2022)—The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is applauding the EPA’s plan to collaborate with states, tribes and local officials to ensure that historic federal investments to fix drinking water and wastewater infrastructure reach communities most impacted by pollution. The plan, released today, provides guidance on how more than $40 billion in federal funding will be spent as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law, known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
“For the millions of people across the country and in the Great Lakes region who still struggle with unsafe drinking water and inadequate sanitation services, this is welcome news,” said Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “We wholeheartedly support the EPA’s focus to tackle the biggest problems first in the communities most harmed by pollution as a way to protect the drinking water and public health of people in communities large and small. These investments are good for communities, clean water, and the Great Lakes. We look forward to working with the Biden Administration and the EPA to ensure the strong vision for these investments is realized so that we are helping the people who need it the most.”
The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition supported the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which invests almost $50 billion in drinking water and wastewater infrastructure and allows the federal government to boost funding for similar investments over the next five years. The law also contains $1 billion for Great Lakes restoration investments through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
Read more information on the EPA guidance.
Since 2004, the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition has been harnessing the collective power of more than 170 groups representing millions of people, whose common goal is to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Learn more at HealthyLakes.org or follow us on Twitter @HealthyLakes.