The Clean Water Act (CWA) prescribes performance levels to be attained by municipal sewage treatment plants in order to prevent the discharge of harmful quantities of waste into surface waters, and to ensure that residual sewage sludge meets environmental quality standards. Federal Aid for Wastewater Treatment

In addition to prescribing municipal treatment requirements, the CWA authorizes the principal federal program to aid wastewater treatment plant construction. State and local governments provide the majority of needed funds. Legislative Activity

Authorizations for SRF capitalization grants expired in FY1994, making this an issue of congressional interest. Although interest in meeting the nation's water infrastructure needs is strong and likely to continue, policy makers will balance proposals to assist local communities with policies to achieve greater fiscal discipline.
The Clean Water Act prescribes performance levels to be attained by municipal sewage treatment plants in order to prevent the discharge of harmful wastes into surface waters. The act also provides financial assistance so that communities can construct treatment facilities to comply with the law. The availability of funding for this purpose continues to be a major concern of states and local governments.
This report provides background on municipal wastewater treatment issues, federal treatment requirements and funding, and recent legislative activity. Meeting the nation's wastewater infrastructure needs efficiently and effectively is likely to remain an issue of considerable interest to policy makers.