[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 94 (Thursday, June 7, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H4859]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE AND WRDA

  (Ms. SEWELL of Alabama asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss a crisis 
facing rural America: the deterioration of water and wastewater 
infrastructure in our rural communities.
  As the House considers passage of the Water Resources Development 
Act, WRDA, millions of Americans in my district and across the country 
are facing a health and infrastructure emergency due to failing 
wastewater systems.
  In Alabama's rural Black Belt, I have toured communities where a 
home's only sewage system is a straight pipe that carries untreated 
waste directly into their yards and property. Alabama is not alone in 
this issue. Reports by the EPA document that the same lack of 
wastewater infrastructure is all across rural America where rural and 
remote areas are not connected to a city or county water and sewer 
line.
  Mr. Speaker, I introduced the bipartisan Rural Septic Tank Access Act 
with my Alabama Republican colleague, Congressman  Mike Rogers, which 
takes a first step towards providing rural Americans with the resources 
they need to maintain stable, safe, and efficient water systems.
  As the House continues to debate infrastructure investment, I urge 
this body to address the wastewater crisis facing our rural 
communities.

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