Senate EPW Committee Holds Hearing on Implementation of IIJA
On September 7, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) held a hearing titled Implementing IIJA: Perspectives on The Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act, Part II. The Committee invited three witnesses to provide insights on the implementation of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) thus far. Witness testimonies can be found on the EPW website.
Witnesses:
-
Secretary, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
-
General Manager & CEO, Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission
-
Executive Director, North Dakota Rural Water Systems Association
Secretary Elizabeth Biser from the North Carolina DEQ highlighted the “long-term threat to the State Revolving Funds posed by the appropriations bill recently passed by the House and under consideration in the Senate.” She noted that the proposed cuts “would be devastating to the states’ capacity to meet current and growing environmental needs and harm the state-federal partnership that is crucial to protect public health and the environment throughout the country.” Secretary Biser went on to argue that “[u]sing supplemental appropriations in the IIJA to offset cuts to annual federal funding undermines the historic opportunity provided by this landmark law.” ASDWA made similar comments in a statement sent to EPW ahead of the hearing asserting that Congress’ current method for paying for Congressionally Directed Spending projects, also known as earmarks, with funds from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) capitalization grants “is a critical threat to the long-term sustainability of the DWSRF programs, as well as the state programs that oversee the implementation of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).”
