The public health crisis in Flint, Michigan, caused by high levels of lead in drinking water, has brought the issue of disinvestment in water infrastructure to the forefront, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy told participants at AMWA’s 2016 Water Policy Conference. The agency is in talks with the White House on the matter and has already improved its coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding lead issues, she said.
Joel Beauvais, deputy administrator for EPA’s Office of Water, said the agency would use lessons from the Flint crisis in drafting revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule, which it intends to propose in 2017. Peter Grevatt, director of the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, provided a look at the full drinking water agenda, including harmful algal blooms, strontium, perchlorate and the fourth unregulated contaminant monitoring rule.
Flint was also on the mind of congressional speakers, several of whom referenced the crisis in discussion of proposed infrastructure legislation. Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio) said lawmakers hope to mark up a Water Resources Development Act in April and pass the legislation in the House in July. Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.) said many in Congress would like to see the state revolving loan funds for drinking water and clean water funded at $2 billion each to support loans and loan guarantees for water system improvements. Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) promoted his AQUA Act to reauthorize the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund for five years at increased funding levels. And Reps. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) and Scott Peters (D-Calif.) urged water agencies to support their legislation – Capps’ WIRSA and Peters’ STRONG Act – that would promote adaptability and resiliency for water infrastructure.
No speaker was more compelling, however, than Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), who represents the city of Flint. Citing the harm done to children in the community, he said Michigan should “overcorrect” in addressing the situation. “It should be that clean water is a basic human right and it should be affordable,” he contended.
Emergency legislation in response to Flint could also speed up funding of the first loans under the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) pilot program, according to Raffael Stein, director of the Municipal Support Division in EPA’s Office of Water. A bill pending in the Senate would quickly “jump start” WIFIA with a $70 million appropriation, and Stein said EPA will be ready to implement the program on an expedited basis should that proposal become law in the coming months.
PowerPoint presentations from the Water Policy Conference are online at www.amwa.net/presentations.