At AMWA’s 2012 Water Policy Conference in March, water executives from across the country took advantage of the Washington, D.C. venue to learn from national policymakers and to educate legislators and regulators about issues challenging the industry. With election-year politics impacting deliberations and initiatives in the nation’s capital, the keynote speaker, noted election analyst Charlie Cook, walked the audience through the political landscape. He said the president’s approval rating will be much more predictive than economic indicators in foreshadowing election results at the top of the ticket. He believes Republicans will hold the House, but with a smaller majority, and Senate control is still up for grabs. After the elections, key issues to watch will be the debt ceiling, the December 31 expiration of the Bush tax cuts and the mandated across-the-board budget cuts required by sequestration, Cook advised.
Richard Reed, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director for Resilience, has served in several administrations and said there is “not an inch of difference” between Presidents Obama and Bush on security of critical infrastructure. He described the government’s responses to and lessons learned from Hurricane Irene, where the problems were disproportionate to the size of the storm, and the Gulf oil spill, where private companies were non-traditional players. How governments responded to the earthquakes in Japan and Haiti has also been incorporated into resiliency planning, Reed said. National preparedness now takes an all-of-nation approach in which everyone has a part; capability is being built and sustained on a regional basis; and metrics are in place to help assess and improve resiliency.
EPA’s Acting Assistant Administrator for Water Nancy Stoner spoke on the agency’s partnership efforts in the area of water, including the Mayors’ Challenge for Water Conservation, a Bring Back the Water Fountain campaign and work with nongovernmental organizations on a Drinkable Water Day to spotlight future drinking water challenges in light of the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. She also addressed the role of government in the environmental technology sector, the water infrastructure funding gap and the issue of nutrient pollution.
Suzanne Spaulding, Deputy Under Secretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security, explained the reorganization of the Directorate – splitting it into offices for physical security and cybersecurity. The move was designed to provide greater attention to physical security issues while breaking down the silos between the two security sectors. Part of the transition involves an Integrated Analysis Task Force to address the cascading effects of attacks on control systems, supply chains and the energy/water nexus, she said. The National Infrastructure Protection Plan encourages sectors to aggregate and compare their risk assessments, and DHS infrastructure protection initiatives include exercises and tools for private sector partners, such as the Regional Resiliency Assessment Program, Spaulding said.
In an overview of EPA drinking water programs, Office of Drinking Water and Ground Water (ODWGW) Director Cynthia Dougherty discussed rules close to completion (the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule 3 and the Revised Total Coliform Rule) and provided an update on the agency’s Retrospective Regulatory Review, which includes Carcinogenic VOCs, Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule, Lead and Copper Rule revisions and Consumer Confidence Report Rule. Other issues of interest included: standard development for perchlorate; draft assessment of hexavalent chromium; Regulatory Determination 3 criteria; Contaminant Candidate List 4; coordination with Clean Water Act efforts, especially on nutrient pollutants; and sustainability issues, including climate-ready utilities. Following the presentation, AMWA Executive Director Diane VanDe Hei thanked Dougherty on behalf of the association’s membership, for her four decades of public service, including 17 years as director of ODWGW, as she retires at the end of March.
State and federal hydraulic fracturing activities were the topic of Ann Codrington, Director of EPA’s Drinking Water Protection Division, who said EPA supports natural gas as a critical source of energy but recognizes the need to develop this resource in a responsible manner. EPA listening sessions revealed public concerns about water availability, well siting and construction, injectate characterization and reporting, waste disposal, ground and surface water contamination, air emissions and public and worker safety. Noting that every state addresses fracking differently, Condrington went through key characteristics of state (and regional) approaches to addressing each area of concern. The federal role involves EPA’s regulations to protect underground sources of drinking water from contamination caused by underground injection. The agency’s research on fracking will be completed in 2014, she said, and there is close communication with state partners and other federal agencies to develop strategies for preventing ground water and surface water contamination.
The American Society of Civil Engineers has a long history of spotlighting national deficiencies in infrastructure funding through its regular Report Cards for America’s Infrastructure. Earlier this year, the Society issued Failure to Act: The Economic Impact of Current Investment Trends in Water and Wastewater Treatment Infrastructure. ASCE President-Elect Greg DiLoreto, who is also CEO of Tualatin Valley Water District, said the report is the second in a series designed to go beyond the report cards in an effort to raise awareness of infrastructure in mainstream America and to discuss what can be done. Options for Congress include reinvigorating the SRF programs, exploring WIFIA legislation, eliminating state caps on private activity bonds, allowing for more public-private partnerships and establishing a national infrastructure bank.
Infrastructure investment is also a high priority at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Al Martinez-Fonts, Executive Vice President of the Chamber’s Forum for Policy Innovation, said his organization promotes high-performing infrastructure as the foundation for U.S. competitiveness. He said a business case must be made for what infrastructure backers want to do. This needs to be a national strategy rather than a federal plan and must recognize regional situations, avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach. Included would be unlocking private capital by removing private activity bond caps, assessing federal needs in the realm of the Army Corps of Engineers, embracing water conservation and reducing regulatory delays of infrastructure projects.
Rep. Gene Green (D-Tex.), ranking member of the House Environment and the Economy Subcommittee, led a series of legislators to address the conference. Since his Houston district includes a highly industrial area and a major port, he strongly supports reauthorizing the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). The legislation, along with a transportation bill, are necessary to get the country back to work, he said, but he does not expect the current Congress to act on them.
Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee, said his Water Quality Protection and Job Creation Act (H.R. 3145) has bipartisan sponsors and provides a toolbox for infrastructure, including increased funds for the SRF, a Clean Water trust fund and WIFIA loans through the SRF program. He acknowledged AMWA’s position supporting WIFIA funding outside the SRFs, but expressed his view that without the SRF mechanism, the program would take longer to get up and running. He is, however, seeking common ground on this aspect of the proposed program.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), member of the House Ways and Means and Budget Committees and long-time supporter of water infrastructure funding, said that with leaky pipes, pipe breaks and the environmental damage of sewer overflows, the status quo is not sustainable. He plans to introduce a new bill to create a Clean Water trust fund, but is aware AMWA supports other mechanisms to address water infrastructure needs. Blumenauer said he shares common interests with the water community on performance-based environmental regulations and using the Farm Bill to keep animal waste, fertilizer and pesticides out of water.
Chairman of the Water and Wildlife Subcommittee of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), observed that most people don’t see the risk factors of crumbling water infrastructure and this hobbles efforts to deal with chronic underfunding. He convened a hearing in February to obtain municipal perspectives on water infrastructure and heard from mayors and water executives about the increasing cost of meeting regulations and the failure of existing mechanisms to meet funding needs. The good news, Cardin said, is water infrastructure is good for the economy and the U.S. is a leader in water technology. While the EPA budget is challenged and has lost ground on SRF funding, Cardin sees bipartisan support for infrastructure and pointed to creative alternatives – including a tax code friendly to water infrastructure projects – as part of the solution.
Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee, is poised to introduce the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) that would offer federal credit assistance to large drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects seeking loan amounts in excess of $20 million, with funding loaned directly by EPA rather than routed through state SRF programs. He said the federal government cannot meet all the funding needs and that other public and private sources must supplement traditional funding. Gibbs also spoke about a recent hearing on integrated permitting, which could allow utilities to prioritize their infrastructure investments and avoid the one-size-fits-all approach and unfunded mandates he believes hurt the economy.
Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), member of the Senate Water and Wildlife Subcommittee, identified three things driving current Congressional activity: the unsustainable debt and deficit; the European economic crisis; and the Iran/Israel nuclear proliferation situation. He said the president’s budget is a political statement, and he expects Congress to add back funding in many areas. Although EPA and other agencies are creating lots of mandates, there is no common sense or sound science behind many regulations, he said, so it is important to hold EPA accountable.
Cyber security and control system security are in the jurisdiction of Carlos Kizzee, Director, Strategic Initiatives, National Cyber Security Division, at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. While DHS can regulate in these areas, there is a limit to what can be expected of regulation, he said. Where the government and utilities partner and work collectively, they get closer to defending against the adversary. Kizzee described the development of a new relationship with WaterISAC that will be marked by a cooperative agreement to partner on initiatives that will lead to identification of solutions and development of valuable security products for the water sector.
PowerPoint presentations from the conference are available to members online atwww.amwa.net/cs/conferences/presentations.