forgivable financial assistance; cesspool remediation
HB2096 expands the authority of the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona (WIFA) to provide financial assistance, including forgivable principal, for the remediation, closure, or replacement of cesspools that pose a demonstrated risk to surface water, groundwater, or public health. The bill allows counties to apply for this assistance even if they do not operate sewage systems, and it specifies that the money may be used only to eliminate existing cesspools and replace them with an approved on-site wastewater system or a connection to a wastewater treatment facility. Counties receiving assistance must prioritize projects in groundwater-vulnerable areas, near surface waters, and in low-to-moderate income communities, and may use income-based eligibility criteria for owner-occupied properties, but not means testing for abandoned or uninhabitable properties.
The bill also makes conforming changes to WIFA statutes governing definitions, powers, fund uses, and reporting. It authorizes WIFA to award cesspool-related forgivable assistance, permits use of both the clean water revolving fund and the drinking water revolving fund for that purpose, and requires an annual report detailing the number and location of cesspools remediated, the amount awarded and forgiven, and recommendations for improving administration. Legislative findings state that cesspools have been prohibited since 1976, that legacy cesspools remain a public health and groundwater concern, and that the program is intended to have no impact on the state general fund because it relies on federally capitalized revolving funds.
HB2096 amends Arizona Revised Statutes sections 11-671, 49-1201, 49-1203, 49-1204, 49-1223, and 49-1243 to create an explicit cesspool remediation funding pathway within WIFA’s existing water infrastructure financing framework. It broadens county eligibility for WIFA assistance, adds cesspool remediation to the authority’s powers, allows forgivable principal to be funded from the clean water and drinking water revolving funds, and adds reporting requirements for these awards. The bill does not create a new state general fund obligation and is structured to use federal revolving-fund monies already administered by WIFA.
The bill appears to have had strong and largely unanimous support throughout the legislative process. Committee votes were favorable and unanimous where recorded, and the House passed the measure 57-0. The Senate committee action was also favorable, and the bill was ultimately signed into law. The legislative findings frame the measure as a public health and groundwater protection response rather than a general infrastructure subsidy, which likely contributed to the broad support.
There is little evidence of substantive opposition in the available record, as all recorded votes were unanimous or non-opposed. The main policy issue addressed by the bill is whether counties that do not operate sewer systems should be eligible for WIFA assistance to address cesspools; the bill resolves that issue by expanding eligibility. Another potential point of concern is the use of forgivable principal and the allowance for income-based eligibility criteria, but the bill limits these funds to verified cesspool risks, prioritizes vulnerable areas, and expressly states that there is no general fund impact.