Criteria for determining economic priorities in awarding sewage facility construction grants

[Extract from Introduction] Public interest concerning the quality of our environment and, in particular, the water quality in the nation's waterways has resulted in the passage of federal and state legislative programs aimed at preventing, controlling, and abating water pollution. However, administration of these programs is costly. Recent estimates indicate that an expenditure of approximately $54 billion will be required over the next five years to clean up the nation's lakes, rivers and streams... The overall objective of this report is to examine possible alternatives to the present set of rules and regulations governing the construction grant program -- including a determination of the components of relative financial need and an evaluation of the merits of the present equal percentage grant. The specific objectives of the study are: (1) To analyze currently existing variations in annual sewer cost per customer; (2) To develop an alternative index to measure the financial need component used in setting priorities for sewage facility construction grants; and (3) To evaluate the relative merits of the current fixed percentage grant versus a flexible grant schedule.