[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 134 (Tuesday, September 22, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9630-S9631]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          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

[[Page S9631]]

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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