[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 123 (Monday, July 23, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1043-E1044]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            INNOVATIVE STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE ACT OF 2018

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 16, 2018

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3906, 
the ``Innovative Storm water Infrastructure Act of 2018.''
  H.R. 3906 directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to 
establish a stormwater infrastructure funding task force to study and 
develop recommendations to improve the availability of public and 
private sources of funding for stormwater infrastructure.
  Houston area residents understand the importance of infrastructure 
that can mitigate the effects of storm water.
  After making landfall, circled back and held in place for nearly four 
days, Hurricane Harvey dropped an unprecedented amount of rain in the 
Houston area--so much rain, in fact, that the flood area itself began 
to act like an inland sea, feeding moisture back into the storm to be 
dropped as yet more rain.
  Hurricane Harvey brought more than 64 inches of rain to the Houston 
area, flooding 203,000 homes, 13 Superfund sites, and more than 800 
wastewater treatment facilities.
  The damage caused by Hurricane Harvey exceeds $125 billion.
  According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
second only to Hurricane Katrina.
  Nine out of 19 of the official river gauges in Harris County, Texas, 
recorded all-time-high water levels.
  Nederland, Texas recorded 60.58 inches of rainfall, making Hurricane 
Harvey the highest total rainfall ever recorded in the continental 
United States. Rainfall within a tenth of an inch of that total was 
recorded in Groves, a neighboring community.
  These both exceed the previous U.S. rainfall record of 52 inches, set 
by Hurricane Hiki in Hawaii in 1950.
  Eighteen locations in southeastern Texas broke previous tropical 
rainfall records in the contiguous United States, which was set by 
Tropical Storm Amelia in Medina, Texas in 1978.
  Six to ten feet was the maximum water levels above the ground, which 
occurred near the areas where Harvey made landfall.
  Fifty-seven tornadoes were reported during the Hurricane Harvey 
storm, about half of which occurred near or south of the Houston metro 
area.
  At its peak on September 1, 2017, one-third of Houston was 
underwater.
  Over 300,000 structures flooded in southeastern Texas, where extreme 
rainfall hit many areas that are densely populated.
  Hurricane Harvey is the largest housing disaster to strike the U.S. 
in our nation's history.
  Hurricane Harvey damaged 203,000 homes, of which 12,700 were 
completely destroyed.
  Texans continue to work to recover, but thousands still are not able 
to return to flood damaged homes.
  Next month marks a year since floodwaters swamped America's fourth-
largest city, the extent of this environmental assault is beginning to 
surface, while questions about the long-term consequences for human 
health remain unanswered.
  As disasters become more frequent and populations living in 
vulnerable areas increase, interest in the health effects of exposure 
to the combination of natural and technological disasters has grown.
  According to experts, when rain falls on the roofs of our homes, 
streets, and parking lots in cities and their suburbs, the water is 
unable to soak into the ground as it should.
  When a rainstorm occurs, rainwater hits the streets and gravity takes 
it on the path of least resistance.
  Stormwater drains through gutters, storm sewers, and other engineered 
collection systems and is discharged into nearby water bodies.
  Across the country, in every community, rain mixes with chemicals, 
oils, and other harmful pollutants to flood into our waterways.
  Further, higher flows resulting from heavy rains can also cause 
erosion and flooding in urban streams, damaging habitat, property, and 
infrastructure.
  H.R. 3906 will establish a stormwater infrastructure funding task 
force program such as the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination 
System Stormwater Program (NPDES).
  This program is designed to prevent stormwater runoff from washing 
harmful pollutants into local waterbodies.
  Some 500 chemical plants, 10 refineries and more than 6,670 miles of 
intertwined oil, gas and chemical pipelines line the nation's largest 
energy corridor.
  Nearly 500 Million gallons of industrial wastewater mixed with storm 
water surged out of just one chemical plant in Baytown, east of 
Houston, on the upper shores of Galveston Bay.
  Benzene, vinyl chloride, butadiene, and other known human carcinogens 
were among

[[Page E1044]]

the dozens of tons of industrial toxic substances released into 
surrounding neighborhoods and waterways following Harvey's torrential 
rains.
  In addition, NPDES will study and develop recommendations to improve 
the availability of public and private sources of funding for 
stormwater infrastructure.
  The EPA Administrator will ensure that these programs promote the use 
of innovative stormwater control infrastructure in and coordinate the 
integration of innovative stormwater control infrastructure into 
permitting programs, planning efforts, research, technical assistance, 
and funding guidance.
  Mr. Speaker, a stronger investment in stormwater prevention programs 
allows for the implementations of cutting edge solutions and puts our 
communities in a path to healthier waters.
  I urge my colleges to join me in voting for H.R. 3906.

                          ____________________