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Federal Document Clearing House
Congressional Testimony
February 28, 2002 Thursday
SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY
LENGTH: 1244 words
COMMITTEE:
SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
HEADLINE: WATER INFRASTRUCTURE & CLEAN WATER
PROGRAMS
TESTIMONY-BY: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING
COMPANIES
BODY: Statement of the American Council
of Engineering Companies
on S. 1961 The Water Investment Act of 2002
before the Committee on Environment and Public Works Fisheries,
Wildlife, and Water
Subcommittee U.S. Senate
February 28, 2002
The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACES) is pleased to
provide this statement in support of S. 1961, The Wastewater Investment Act of
2002. The Water Investment Act of 2002 would amend and reauthorize the Clean
Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act to provide substantially greater
funding for wastewater and drinking-water facilities. We commend the Committee
for taking the lead on the increased authorization for
water
infrastructure and we applaud this bi-partisan effort.
The
American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) is the business association of
America's engineering industry, representing 6,000 independent engineering
companies throughout the United States engaged in the development of America's
transportation, environmental, industrial, and other infrastructure. Founded in
1910 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., ACEC is a national federation of 51
state and regional organizations. ACEC is pleased to support passage of S. 1961,
the Water Investment Act of 2002. The proposed funding levels in the bill are a
far-sighted, responsible attempt to rebuild the nation's aging and failing
wastewater and drinking-water facilities and to upgrade their performance to
meet the nation's health and security needs in the 21st century. As a founding
member of the
Water Infrastructure Network (WIN), ACEC has
worked with our coalition partners to raise awareness among Members of Congress
and the public about the critical gap that exists between our nation's
water infrastructure funding needs and what is currently being
appropriated.
WIN has released reports that outline a projected
shortfall of $
23 billion per year over the next twenty years in
water infrastructure needs and what is currently being
appropriated. The report,
Water Infrastructure NOW:
Recommendation for Clean and Safe Water in the 21st Century, suggests that the
federal investment for
water infrastructure is
$
57 billion over the next five years. Although the
authorization in S 1961 does not reach that goal, it represents a significant
commitment on the part of the federal government to rectify the problems
associated with our nation's
water infrastructure. For too
long, the federal government has relied on states, local governments and
utilities to fill essentially all of this funding gap. Administrations have
failed to request, and Congress has consistently failed to appropriate, the full
authorization of $
1 billion for the Safe Drinking Water SRF.
With the implementation of S 1961, the federal government is taking a
significant step towards fulfilling its obligation.
During his State of
the Union speech last month, the President outlined his fiscal priorities of
defense and homeland security. These are important priorities, but we should not
lose sight of other critical national concerns. Improving the nation's water
quality and water systems through infrastructure investment makes good economic
sense. For every billion dollars we invest in environmental infrastructure we
create over 30,000 jobs. Beyond the creation of thousands of new jobs in the
design and construction industry, millions of existing American jobs depend on
clean and safe water including those in the $
45 billion
commercial fishing industry and the $
100 billion water
recreation industry.
The nation's 54,000 drinking water systems face
staggering infrastructure funding needs over the next 20 years. Although America
spends billions on infrastructure each year, we estimate that drinking-water
systems face an annual shortfall of at least $
11 billion to
replace aging facilities that are near the end of their useful life and to
comply with existing and future federal water regulations. The existing pipes,
bricks and mortar that are holding together our current infrastructure system
are severely outdated and in need of repair. States are forced to delay
construction projects in order to comply with important health and safety
mandates by the EPA. With federal requirements on TMDLs, combined sewer
overflows, SSOs and arsenic removal, states will likely fall further behind in
their efforts to repair and replace pipes. Without a significantly enhanced
federal role in providing assistance to drinking
water
infrastructure, critical investments will not occur. Federal assistance
can come in the way of grants, trust funds, loans, and incentives for private
investment. The question is not whether the federal government should take more
responsibility for drinking-water improvements, but how.
ACEC
acknowledges the Committee's efforts to streamline the federal requirements that
hampered accessibility to the SRF program. We support the provisions in S 1961
that broaden the definition of projects and communities that are eligible for
federal assistance through the
state revolving funds and the
flexibility with which those projects can be implemented.
The Water
Investment Act of 2002 could be amended to enhance its effectiveness and improve
on its ability to build modern wastewater and drinking-water facilities and
protect national security. ACEC strongly encourages the Committee to adopt the
following provisions to S. 1961 as it deliberates further on this legislation:
- The bill should expressly authorize the Environmental Protection
Agency to use the Clean Water Act SRF Loan Fund and the Safe Drinking Water Act
SRF to provide financial assistance for the construction of physical security
measures at wastewater and drinking water plants. Certain terrorist groups have
made it clear that the destruction of U.S. water-treatment facilities is one of
their aims. Federal funds should be made available through the SRFs to deal with
specific security needs, including improved building design and construction
requirements, fencing and other physical security measures. No funds should be
made available to hire security guards, establish private police forces or
implement other non-structural protections, which should be addressed through
operating funds.
- The bill should require that each contract and
subcontract for architectural and engineering design services, program and
construction management and other professional services should be awarded in the
same manner as contracts that are awarded under title IX of the Federal Property
and Administrative Services Act of 1949.
- The bill should give a state
the discretion to use the design- build project delivery method for each
facility financed under the SRFs. The use of this method should be consistent
with state law. Once a state decides that the design-build project delivery
system is appropriate for a given project, the recipient should be required to
the use of the two-phase competitive source- selection procedures authorized
under section 303M of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of
1949.
In conclusion, we would like to reiterate our support for S 1961
and we thank the four co-sponsors of the legislation, Senators Jeffords, Smith,
Crapo and Graham for their leadership on this issue. The engineering community
stands ready to help rebuild and replace the aging and failing infrastructure
that puts so many communities and citizens at risk.
LOAD-DATE: March 29, 2002