BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION TO HELP SMALL COMMUNITIES MEET SAFE DRINKING WATER STANDARDS PASSES HOUSE

WASHINGTON, DC – December 01, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.), today praised passage of S. 611, the “Grassroots Rural and Small Community Water Systems Act,” by the House of Representatives. The bill –would help small and rural communities comply with “safe drinking water” regulations. Rep. Harper and Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) introduced companion legislation to Senator Roger Wicker’s S. 611 earlier this year.

The Grassroots Rural and Small Community Water Systems Assistance Act would authorize the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make grants available that provide technical assistance and compliance training to assist these communities in meeting national water quality standards.

“Without these services, safe and clean water for rural communities and small municipalities throughout Mississippi would continue to be put in jeopardy,” Harper said. “This bill provides smaller communities – the exact areas intended to be reached by this program – with the necessary resources to fulfill federal clean water laws. I commend the hard work by Senator Wicker in helping to drive this legislation through the Senate and I am happy we are one step closer to signing this bill into law.”

Under the bill, $15 million will be directed to rural water technical assistance funds.