As you are certainly aware, there is a lot of money available for water infrastructure funding in the economic recovery package passed by Congress in February. For the first time ever, the bill sets aside 20% of the funding under the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) program, a total of $1.2B nationally, for green infrastructure, water and energy efficiency, and other environmentally innovative projects. This funding represents an unprecedented opportunity to make a huge step towards smart, sustainable water management in the US.

Getting the funding set-aside in the legislation was only the first step, however. How states actually implement the program will be the crucial test. EPA recently issued its guidance to states for the stimulus funding.  It is essential for CWN members to engage with their state SRF staff to ensure that the green funding is used (and not allowed to lapse to conventional projects), and funds the best possible, truly green projects. Because of the need to create jobs quickly, many states are operating on an accelerated timeline to finalize their project lists. We must help state agencies, communities, and other stakeholders ensure that every dollar set aside is spent on good green solutions.

We urge you to contact your state SRF coordinators following the steps outlined in the attached flow chart. The other attachment is a "Stimulus and Water Infrastructure" factsheet, which explains the funding available and answers several frequently asked questions. (Since these files contain many web links, they are best viewed electronically. They are available, along with other stimulus information, at .) www.americanrivers.org/stimulus

We are also collecting information on how each state is processing the fiscal stimulus money through the State Revolving Funds. Please help us to ensure that the states are following the guidelines developed by U.S. EPA intended to promote "green infrastructure, water or energy efficiency improvements or other environmentally innovative activities." Please go to this link - - and take a few minutes to fill out the survey. We will bring this information back to EPA as evidence of where there are problems, and how great the demand is for this green funding. http://www.rivernetwork.org/forms/water-infrastructure-stimulus-survey

Finally, we will be scheduling follow-up calls with EPA to report problems - so stay tuned for further updates.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Thanks for the collaboration!

Katherine Baer, American Rivers

Gayle Killam, River Network

Betsy Otto, American Rivers