Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) is developing legislation to address a long-standing gap in federal support for water infrastructure needed for wildfire response. The senator's staff is circulating draft language that would amend the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) to allow funding for certain projects that support both drinking water systems and wildfire suppression.
Under current rules, the DWSRF excludes projects needed primarily for fire protection. The draft proposal would create a narrowly tailored exception for projects that provide both drinking water and wildfire suppression benefits, are located in communities at high wildfire risk, and serve rural areas with populations of 50,000 or less. The limited scope is intentional and reflects committee staff concerns about expanding eligibility to large-scale urban fire suppression infrastructure.
Senator Padilla’s team has begun bipartisan outreach to other Senate offices to gauge interest and build support and is seeking feedback from stakeholders on the draft proposal.
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