WASHINGTON, DC - The Environment and the Economy Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), today held a legislative hearing examining S. 611, the Grassroots Rural and Small Community Water Systems Assistance Act. The bill, which passed the Senate by Unanimous Consent, is the companion to H.R. 2853 - a bill introduced by Subcommittee Vice Chairman Gregg Harper (R-MS).
Smaller and rural communities across the country face significant challenges when it comes to maintaining, replacing, and upgrading their aging drinking and wastewater infrastructure. EPA’s drinking water regulations issued under the Safe Water Drinking Act have placed a financial burden on small and rural drinking water supply systems. S. 611 authorizes technical assistance to small public water systems through 2020. Additionally, it would allow grants to non-profit organizations that are qualified and experienced in dealing with small water systems.
Kirby Mayfield, Executive Director of the Mississippi Rural Water Association
Kirby Mayfield, Executive Director of the Mississippi Rural Water Association, highlighted the plight many small and rural communities face in his testimony, stating, “Small and rural communities often have difficulty providing safe, affordable drinking water and sanitation due to limited economies of scale and lack of technical expertise. … Drinking water safety is not a good fit for a regulatory model. … Small and rural communities are very hopeful the bill can be enacted. … Small and rural communities are struggling under new federal regulations."
Robert B. Stewart, Executive Director of the Rural Community Assistance Partnership Inc.
Robert B. Stewart, Executive Director of the Rural Community Assistance Partnership, Inc., added, “Small and rural drinking water systems constitute nearly 85 percent of the 53,000 community water systems in America. With limited staffing and ongoing issues related to compliance with the Safe Water Drinking Act, effective sustainable management and access to capital for improvements and repairs, these systems continue to have the highest violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act. … Congressional attempts, such as this legislation… are supported by RCAP."
Vice Chairman Harper said, “This issue is of great importance to our constituents who live in rural and small communities. Rural water systems often find themselves at a loss when complying with federal rules and regulations and the technical assistance provided by S. 611 is the tool they use to ensure they’re meeting the needs of their customers."
Chairman Shimkus concluded, “People who live in rural communities deserve every bit of water quality and technical resources that folks who live in densely populated urban centers do. Rather than throwing more scarce money at the problem, we learned in February that these communities need help to smartly assess what their needs are for these systems and prioritize the importance of those needs and that’s what this bill accomplishes. As someone who proudly represents communities in small town and rural America, I am glad we have bipartisan interest in tackling this subject."
