Hearing

Mayor David A. Condon, City of Spokane, Washington; on behalf of the United States Conference of Mayors | Written Testimony
Mr. John Mokszycki, Water and Sewer Superintendent, Town of Greenport, New York; on behalf of the National Rural Water Association | Written Testimony
Ms. Catherine Flowers, Rural Development Manager, The Equal Justice Initiative, Montgomery, Alabama | Written Testimony
Ms. Maureen Taylor, State Chairperson, Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, Detroit, Michigan | Written Testimony
Mr. Andrew Kricun, P.E., BCEE, Executive Director/Chief Engineer, Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority, Camden, New Jersey; on behalf of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies | Written Testimony
Professor Jill Heaps, Assistant Professor of Law, Vermont Law School, Burlington, Vermont | Written Testimony

Opening remarks, as prepared, of Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-AR): 

Thank you, Chairwoman Napolitano, and thank you to our witnesses for being here.

I’m happy we have such a diverse panel here so that we can gain their perspectives on the issues facing local communities in addressing the Nation’s water and wastewater infrastructure needs.  These needs are substantial, and they continue to grow.

In many communities, water and wastewater infrastructure is long past its design life and in need of urgent repair, replacement, and upgrading.  As a result, leaks and blockages are all too common across the Nation and represent a massive waste of a vital, and sometimes scarce, resource.

Additionally, the needs are especially urgent for hundreds of communities trying to remedy the problem of combined sewer overflows (or CSOs) and sanitary sewer overflows (or SSOs).

Shrinking municipal budgets, insufficient independent financing capabilities, and increasingly burdensome regulations without the necessary federal support have strained communities’ efforts to address these critical needs.  This is especially the case for many of our small and rural communities.

According to EPA, the total documented needs for sustainable wastewater infrastructure, CSO and SSO correction, and stormwater management are over $270 billion over the next 20 years.  The needs for drinking water infrastructure drive this figure to over $600 billion. And these are considered conservative estimates.

In Arkansas alone, the total documented needs are approaching a billion dollars.

So with talk of a major infrastructure package, today we need to ask the not-so-simple questions:  What can we do?  How are we collectively going to pay for it?

I believe it is going to take an all-hands-on-deck approach to reverse the decline of our Nation’s water infrastructure.  Federal, state, and local investment will be necessary, but cannot be relied upon to solve all our problems.  Instead, we need to move away from “business as usual” and utilize every tool available. 

This means searching for new sources of funding, increasing collaboration between the public and private sectors, and improving federal regulations.

We need smarter asset management and increased efficiencies in our water systems, and to achieve that, we need to incentivize the adoption of new and innovative technologies that will cut costs and improve water quality.

In addition, communities – particularly those that are struggling to address their needs and reduce the financial burdens on households – need to be given greater flexibility, including through the implementation of a vibrant integrated planning and permitting approach, in addressing the compliance mandates that have been imposed on them.

Late last year, legislation that codified the EPA’s Integrated Planning Initiative was enacted.  EPA now needs to effectively implement the Initiative to help communities meet their needs in a more cost-effective manner.

We need to carefully prioritize our investments in water infrastructure to ensure that we are adequately protecting the public health, promoting the economic growth of our communities, and preventing the degradation of the environment.

I look forward to hearing thoughts from our witnesses today.