[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 47 (Friday, March 12, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E246]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES)

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN GARAMENDI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 12, 2021

  Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, today I reintroduce a noncontroversial 
amendment to the Clean Water Act, extending permit terms for publicly 
owned water infrastructure projects under the National Pollutant 
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). I thank my colleague Congressman 
Ken Calvert (R-CA) for his support as the original cosponsor.
  This bipartisan bill would simply extend the NPDES permit term for 
projects owned by local public agencies and water districts from the 
current 5 up to 10 years. This would encourage investment in modern 
wastewater treatment facilities by relieving unnecessary, bureaucratic 
paperwork and allow regulators to focus on watershed-scale planning and 
water quality standards. This bill is supported by the National 
Association of Clean Water Agencies, National Association of Counties, 
United States Conference of Mayors, National Association of Counties, 
National League of Cities, National Water Resources Association, 
Association of California Water Agencies, California Association of 
Sanitation Agencies, WateReuse Association, and Water Environment 
Federation.
  The United States has fallen behind many other developed nations in 
wastewater infrastructure, receiving a D+ grade in the American Society 
of Civil Engineers' most recent report card. One reason for this lapse 
in infrastructure improvements is arbitrary permitting timetables 
imposed by the federal government. Permit terms should match the 
construction timelines and on-the-ground reality for the projects to 
which they apply. This is currently not the case. With over 95 percent 
of wastewater infrastructure spending at the local level, according to 
the U.S. Conference of Mayors, lengthening permit terms for local 
governments would be one of the most expeditious ways to encouraging 
further investment in 21st-century wastewater treatment facilities.
  Current NPDES permitting under the Clean Water Act has a maximum term 
of 5 years, an aggressive timeline that is impracticable given 
construction schedules of local public agencies. As a result, 
California's State Water Resources Control Board and Clean Water Act 
regulators in other states are overwhelmed with a backlog of NPDES 
permitting requests for existing projects. New public projects are, 
likewise, significantly delayed by this unnecessary bureaucracy.
  My office has identified nearly a dozen major public projects to 
modernize wastewater treatment plants or build water recycling 
facilities in California delayed by the current 5-year NPDES term. One 
such public water recycling project in a drought-stricken region of 
southern California is well into its third NPDES permit term before 
even breaking ground on the underlying project. This is just one 
example where the arbitrary 5-year permit term impedes public water 
infrastructure projects that would advance the stated goals of the 
Clean Water Act.
  My bill would alleviate this burden by extending the maximum permit 
to 10 years, helping local water agencies nationwide better implement 
the Clean Water Act and literally cutting the permitting backlog in 
half. Extending the NPDES permitting term is a practical solution that 
allows local agencies to meet the existing regulatory standards while 
building public water projects that measurably improve water quality, 
which after all is the purpose of the Clean Water Act. NPDES permit 
terms for private projects or industrial discharges would remain at the 
current 5-year term.
  Madam Speaker, I encourage all Members to cosponsor this bipartisan 
bill to extend the maximum NPDES permit term for public water projects 
under the Clean Water Act. I plan to make this commonsense legislation 
a top priority in my work on the House Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure.