The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“WATER INFRASTRUCTURE” mentioning the Department of Interior was published in the Senate section on pages S9630-S9631 on Sept. 22, 2009.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
WATER INFRASTRUCTURE
Mr. CARDIN. I am happy that when morning business comes to an end we will resume consideration of the fiscal year 2010 Interior Appropriations bill.
I have come to the floor today to support the significant increase in funding for water infrastructure included in that legislation. We in Maryland have witnessed one more dramatic reminder that the water infrastructure of this country is in dire straits and in desperate need of new attention and greater investment.
This past Friday afternoon, water surged for hours from a broken 6-
foot-wide water main in Dundalk, MD. The raging water covered streets, pouring water into basements of many homes in Baltimore County, causing significant property damage. The raging water washed out main roads in the area causing significant damage to the infrastructure of the community. Here we see the road being washed out by the water that flowed through this community.
This past Friday I was in Dundalk for the groundbreaking of a new housing development. This is a proud, historic community in Baltimore County. It was devastating, the damage that was done to this community as a result of infrastructure that failed. I would like to say this is an isolated episode but, unfortunately, this is not the first time in the past year we have witnessed instances such as this. Last December, a water main broke sending a 4-foot wall of water down a busy commuter road in Bethesda, MD, just outside of Washington. Here we see the headlines from the paper. Rescue workers were trying to rescue stranded drivers. This was River Road that turned into a river as a result of another water main break in Maryland. The water flowed with such force that Maryland State emergency workers had to rescue some drivers by boat and even by helicopter. Here we see a dramatic rescue. Fortunately, no one was injured, but we could have seen the loss of life.
We need to deal with infrastructure, the pipes of our Nation. While these incidents were perhaps some of the most dramatic, there have been hundreds of water main breaks, large and small, across Maryland over the last year alone, and we are likely to see more instances such as this in the future. According to the EPA's 2004 clean watershed needs survey, Maryland has nearly $6 billion in wastewater infrastructure needs alone. But Maryland is not unique in facing a crisis when it comes to water infrastructure. These episodes have been repeated throughout the Nation. Our water infrastructure is reaching a tipping point in many places, having long outlived its 50-year lifespan. The American Society of Civil Engineers rated both wastewater and drinking water systems a D minus, the lowest rating of any infrastructure category.
These problems are compounded by a growing population and more frequent cycles of floods and droughts affecting communities. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates an additional $6 billion per year will be needed to meet the Nation's wastewater infrastructure needs, and $5 billion will be needed for drinking water needs.
This is a matter of protecting the safety of people. This is an issue of preventing property damage. Many don't have insurance to cover it because they didn't think they lived in a flood-prone area. They didn't expect a water main to cause a flood in their homes. We need it to save water. We are wasting a lot of water. We need it to save energy because we transport water in an inefficient energy way.
The Interior appropriations bill, which we will be considering today, makes a significant investment in our Nation's water infrastructure. It contains $2.1 billion for improvements to wastewater infrastructure through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. This amounts to $1.4 billion more than Congress appropriated in the last fiscal year. The bill also contains almost $1.4 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. This is almost $600 million more than Congress appropriated last year. These funding levels come on top of $6 billion for water infrastructure that is going to States as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Much of this new commitment is thanks to a new administration that has recognized the infrastructure crisis and is doing something about it. That commitment is echoed by my colleagues, Senators Feinstein and Alexander, who have included investments in the bill we are considering today. I thank them for their commitment, but new investment alone is not enough. That is why I have introduced, along with Senators Boxer, Inhofe, and Crapo, S. 1005, the Water Infrastructure Financing Act of 2009. This is a bipartisan effort, as it should be, to improve America's infrastructure.
The Water Infrastructure Financing Act of 2009 truly represents a watershed moment in the legislative history of the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. First and foremost, the bill makes it possible for us to continue considerable investment in the Nation's aging infrastructure by significantly increasing authorizations for clean water and drinking water. The bill provides $20 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and nearly $15 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund over the next 5 years.
The bill goes further to develop new tools to address some of our pressing and growing water infrastructure needs. It allows new and important types of projects to qualify for funding, including efforts to secure wastewater and drinking water facilities and green infrastructure that is often more effective and less expensive than traditional infrastructure. The bill provides additional flexibility in the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to help poor communities by providing loan forgiveness and improving financing, an ability that is especially important as budget cuts make critical infrastructure investment beyond the reach of many communities.
The legislation creates nearly $2 billion in grant programs to make infrastructure upgrades that will reduce the number of combined and sanitary sewer overflows. These overflows are estimated to contribute 850 billion gallons of untreated sewage and storm water to the Nation's waterways every year. There is a new $60-million-per-year nationwide grant program to provide funding to States and municipalities to reduce lead in drinking water to protect our children. The bill also contains a new $50 billion nationwide grant program to address water quality issues associated with agriculture. The bill gives new incentives for water utilities to plan for the future so we don't face another crisis of failing infrastructure 20, 50, or 75 years down the road.
This legislation has the support of broad constituencies: utility construction contractors, engineers and manufacturers, labor organizations, environmental groups, the clean water agencies, regulators, academics, and local government.
The bill was reported out of the Environment and Public Works Committee by a voice vote, a strong bipartisan vote. Americans have the right to clean water flowing through their streams, rivers, and bays. We have the right to drinking water that is healthy.
While I proudly support H.R. 2996, the Department of Interior Appropriations Act of 2010, I hope the full Senate will have the opportunity to vote on the Water Infrastructure Financing Act of 2009 this year. If so, we will be keeping faith with the American people by providing the tools necessary to meet their basic human health and environmental needs. We will help provide water systems that can keep water running through the pipes rather than down the streets, as we saw in Dundalk this past weekend.
I yield the floor.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Illinois.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I commend the Senator from Maryland. The issue he has spoken of is one we can address in every single State where aging infrastructure is taking its toll in terms of the public services each family and business expects. It is something we can use to our advantage by channeling the resources of this country into building and rebuilding infrastructure and creating much needed jobs.
I thank the Senator from Maryland. I am more than happy to support his efforts.
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