	Introduction

In response to a deteriorating national economy and recession, in February 2009 the Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ( P.L. Among the purposes identified in the legislation are preservation and creation of jobs and promotion of U.S. economic recovery, and investment in transportation, environmental, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits. This report identifies funding for water infrastructure programs and projects included in the bill. The legislation directed additional appropriations to a number of existing federal programs that either directly invest in water infrastructure projects or provide assistance to states and localities for such activities. Water infrastructure funding, which was available for obligation through September 30, 2010, is summarized in Table 1 . The SRF capitalization grants are appropriated through the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) State and Tribal Assistance Grants account (in the Interior and Environment Appropriations bill) and are allocated among the states according to formulas. The Recovery Act provided an additional $4.0 billion for clean water SRFs and $2.0 billion for drinking water SRFs. Total stimulus funding for the two SRF programs was four times larger than the funding levels for these programs in regular FY2009 appropriations. States awarded ARRA SRF assistance to projects on their Intended Use Plans, lists that states develop to identify which projects in which communities will receive funding. EPA was directed to submit a report to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees within 30 days of enactment containing a general plan for expenditure of funds provided by the legislation, another report within 90 days providing detailed project level information associated with the general plan, and bi-annual reports on implementation, but there were no deadlines for actually awarding the funds in the bill. The guidance addressed a number of issues unique to the ARRA SRF funds, such as how states were to meet the law's requirement that at least 20% of the funds be used for green infrastructure projects, additional reporting requirements for accountability and transparency, and details that states must provide on their plans for using the federal funds, including principal forgiveness. For example, as of September 30, 2010, USDA had obligated its $1.38 billion in grant and loan funds that it received for rural water and waste disposal projects in more than 800 communities. During the 111 th Congress, committees held several hearings on implementation of the Recovery Act. The economic recovery legislation provided supplemental funding above regular appropriations for the Corps, Reclamation, and other water resources activities at the Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Department of State's International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC). 111-5 provided a total of $4.6 billion for the Corps. Bureau of Reclamation Projects and Programs

ARRA provided a total of $1.0 billion for Reclamation projects and programs. 111-5 provided ARRA funding for three agricultural watershed programs. 111-16 , provided further direction to USDA on prioritization of the funds. Implementation and Oversight

Unlike some of the other water infrastructure activities funded in the legislation (including the EPA wastewater and drinking water programs discussed previously), little was publicly known about how most of the water resources funds would be distributed when P.L. 111-5 and the conference report ( H.Rept. Army Corps of Engineers

In P.L.
On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5, the ARRA, or Recovery Act). Among the purposes identified in the legislation are preservation and creation of jobs and promotion of U.S. economic recovery, and investment in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits. This report identifies funding for water infrastructure programs and projects contained in the legislation.
The legislation directed additional appropriations to a number of existing federal programs that either directly invest in water infrastructure projects or provide assistance to states and localities for such activities. Water infrastructure funding in the bill, which was available for obligation through September 30, 2010, was provided to five federal agencies and one commission. This funding totaled $13.5 billion.
The bill provided funding for locally built wastewater and drinking water treatment projects through assistance programs administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). For the EPA wastewater program, the enacted bill provides $4.0 billion. For the EPA drinking water program, P.L. 111-5 provided $2.0 billion in additional funds. These funds were allocated to states according to established formulas, and states awarded actual assistance to projects and communities. For the USDA programs that benefit rural communities, the Recovery Act provided $1.38 billion in grants and loans; USDA state offices made individual project decisions. Additional funding in the bill for these programs was three to four times more than the level of recent appropriations.
The enacted legislation provided funding for water resources development and management projects administered by four agencies. It provided $4.6 billion for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and $1.0 billion for the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation). The legislation also provided $340 million for USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) agricultural watershed program, and $220 million for the Department of State's International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) for levee and dam upgrades. Congress directed that the funds be used consistent with the eligibility and prioritization constraints and direction provided in P.L. 111-5 and the accompanying conference report, H.Rept. 111-16, but discretion regarding which specific water resource projects received funds was largely left up to the these federal agencies.
Even after enactment, implementation of the additional water infrastructure funding in the ARRA has raised a number of issues, including how general restrictions in the legislation, such as "Buy American" requirements, will affect timely spending of ARRA funds and whether the funding will have the economic stimulative impact that Congress intended. Another issue concerns matching fund requirements. Unless project assistance is provided entirely as grants, communities and project sponsors need to come up with matching funds, which continues to be challenging in the current fiscal environment. During the 111th Congress, House and Senate committees held a number of hearings on use of ARRA water infrastructure funds, and additional oversight is likely in the 112th Congress.