Intense activity related to the proposed economic stimulus package is occurring on two fronts:

Senate debate: President Obama said Monday that "very modest differences" over the stimulus package should not delay its swift passage, making a fresh appeal to Congress as the Senate worked on its version (see "Latest Headlines" at right). With regard to infrastructure funding, Senate Democrats Patricia Murray of Washington and Dianne Feinstein of California offered an amendment — which the Republicans blocked — that would have added up to $25 million for highways, public transportation and water projects; investments in water and sewer infrastructure would be increased by $7 billion for a total of $13 billion, generating an additional 154,000 jobs.

WEF webcast: Many of the water sector professional organizations are providing guidance to their members as to how the stimulus funding will be implemented. For example, Monday, the Water Environment Federation sponsored a webcast on stimulus funding for water infrastructure, "How Much Is Available and What Could It Mean for My Community?” The webcast featured several speakers, including Jim Hanlon, director of the Office of Wastewater Management for U.S. EPA, offered more than 800 links, received dozens of questions and answered more than 30 inquiries during the 90-minute session.

The Q&A helped clarify many issues on the minds of the participants. Through an effort spearheaded by American Rivers, 250 ready-to-go green infrastructure projects were identified to help support the request to designate 15% to 20% of the water infrastructure funding for green infrastructure. This list (which is not intended to be all-inclusive) will be posted on WEF's website (see link at left).

Regarding what "ready-to-go" means, the House and Senate versions of the bill have different definitions. The House bill indicates that 50% of a project must have binding commitments for construction within one year and 100% within two years. The Senate bill requires a 100% binding commitment to proceed with construction within 180 days.

One thing to keep in mind is that the infrastructure stimulus is additional funds; these funds will supplement SRF money already in place.

The distribution of funds to the states is based on current formulae. For drinking water projects, the last needs survey was 2005, which is the basis for the current formula. The clean water projects are based on the current formula, which goes all the way back to 1987 statutes.

The EPA's Hanlon outlined the timeline for completing and implementing economic stimulation as follows: the Senate will complete the legislative drafting process through its Appropriations committee, which would be followed by a full committee vote and then a full Senate vote. A conference committee between the House and Senate would be convened to come up with a final version of the bill, which then would be voted on by both the House and Senate. Then, the legislation would go to the president for approval and his signature.

The EPA would issue some type of guidance or grant regulation shortly thereafter through a Stimulus Task Force, Hanlon says. The House bill calls for funds to go to the states within 30 days; there is no specific deadline outlined in the Senate bill.

The WEF webcast is now available in PDF form. Visit the WEF web site for more updates.