When the Department of Justice announced earlier this year that Unalaska's wastewater treatment plant was not in compliance with the Clean Water Act, local officials may have wished for a trust fund to pay for upgrades.

Under legislation introduced last week by Rep. Don Young, they might have a shot at getting one.

The bill calls for the Environmental Protection Agency to create an environmental compliance trust using fines collected from the federal government and private companies.  Communities would be able to use the grant money toward projects that would help them comply with EPA regulations. 

Young’s press secretary Luke Miller said in an email that the Congressman had taken Unalaska's wastewater treatment plant into account when crafting the legislation. 

Under the bill, projects approved for funding would receive 75 percent federal support.

In 2010 the EPA collected  $103 million in civil penalties from the federal government and private companies.