For Immediate Release

November 9, 2001

COMBINED SEWER FUNDS, YWCA GRANT
INCLUDED IN HUD APPROPRIATIONS BILL

WASHINGTON, D.C. – An appropriations bill passed this week by the House and Senate contained a total of $4 million to assist the City of Bremerton in completing its Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) program, in addition to an allocation of $80,000 for the Bremerton YWCA's program for aiding victims of domestic violence, U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks said.

        Both houses of Congress approved the final version of the appropriations bill funding the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, Rep. Dicks said, sending the bill to the President for signature.

        Since 1993, the City of Bremerton has been implementing its CSO program to comply with the Clean Water Act requirements.   During heavy storms, untreated wastewater has been discharged from the City’s 15 CSO outfalls to Sinclair Inlet and Port Washington Narrows, and the remediation effort has been underway.  Combined with a substantial amount of local resources, the $4 million directed to the City through the EPA's wastewater infrastructure program will significantly enhance the City's ability to meet federal water standards, Rep. Dicks said.

       The bill also contains a specific appropriation within HUD's Economic Development Initiative for the Bremerton YWCA's successful program of providing care to local families in crisis, particularly women and children who are victims of domestic violence.  The YWCA has been expanding the program, and the federal grant will help assist a new effort to help women returning to the workforce who need professional clothing. 

        "I have been impressed by the remarkable work that the YWCA has been doing to address the truly urgent needs of women and kids who are caught in difficult family situations.  This program fulfills a vital need in our community, and I am pleased that this grant will provide federal recognition of the good work that is being done here," said Rep. Dicks.

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