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Controversy
Competes With Testimony At Water
Hearings Courtesy
of eenews
(3/28/01)
Move
over California, the nation's next crisis is here:
water. In so many words, that was the theme that
developed at a pair of House subcommittee hearings
Wednesday aimed at uncovering the need for
comprehensive drinking water and wastewater
infrastructure funding and legislation. By day's
end, in-depth testimony questioning the financial
viability of a total overhaul of the nation's water
systems had been matched by environmentally minded
lawmakers sounding off over the most recent Bush
administration move on the arsenic standard
controversy. Environmental
Protection Agency administrator Christie Whitman
appeared at her second hearing on the subject of
water infrastructure in as many days. But the
former New Jersey governor's testimony on the
subject at hand was delayed while lawmakers pounced
on her decision earlier this month to delay the
Clinton administration rule changing the allowable
level of arsenic in the nation's drinking water
from 50 parts per billion (ppb) to 10 ppb.
Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman (Calif.), in
particular, made his feelings known during opening
statements in the House Energy and Resources
Committee hearing. Waxman, mimicking the Academy
Awards ceremony, gave Whitman a "Golden Jackpot"
trophy filled with chocolate for her decision to
hold off on implementing the arsenic standards
until further studies could be done. Whitman
said she agreed with Waxman that a standard needs
to be set, only to say that other factors such as
economics must be considered before the rule goes
into effect. Maintaining her previous statements
that a standard would be met before the 2006
deadline mandated by the Safe Drinking Water Act,
Whitman added that she had not been directly
lobbied on the issue by timber or mining industry
officials. She also said White House officials kept
their distance on the subject. Waxman, meanwhile,
responded by saying water systems will continue to
be polluted and the public health remains at risk
while the EPA looks into the matter. Later,
after Whitman had finished giving her testimony,
she said she was dismayed that the bigger picture
of infrastructure issues was overlooked in favor of
the arsenic rule. "If there are those who want to
score partisan points, that is unfortunate," she
said. Whitman
said EPA will address a number of key
infrastructure issues is in its upcoming "gap
analysis," a historical assessment expected this
summer that will reveal previous capital
investments on drinking water and wastewater and
also addresses operations, maintenance and the
costs of infrastructure improvements that could be
passed on to consumers. In her testimony, Whitman
pointed to all of those issues as key components
for further evaluation. Also included in her list
was emerging environmental and public health
demands, notably arsenic. Earlier
in the day, committee heavyweights came out for the
House Transportation and Infrastructure
subcommittee hearing on the same subject. Full
Committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska), former
Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee
Chairman Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.), and
subcommittee ranking member Rep. Robert Borski
(D-Pa.) all made it clear that something needed to
be done on water issues soon. Young emphatically
said that water infrastructure is both "badly
needed" and a "major crisis facing this country,"
suggesting that one solution would be to organize a
federal agency to head up the issue while ensuring
that there be no "waste in bureaucracy" and "waste
on delays." Many
of Young's suggestions, also made by other
lawmakers, are also seen in a February
report compiled by the Water Infrastructure Network
(WIN).
According to the report, the nation is facing a $23
billion annual gap over the next 20 years that
should be financed partially by federal funds. But
Wednesday's morning hearing also gave a glimpse
into some new criticisms to the WIN
report. According to the Congressional Budget
Office, which is conducting an ongoing review of
the WIN
report as requested by both the Transportation and
Infrastructure and Energy and Commerce
subcommittees, there are a number of
inconsistencies that cause concern. Perry
Beider, a CBO principal analyst, said the
WIN
estimates are uncertain and possibly overblown. He
said the "lion's share" of the proposed funds are
aimed at investments on rehabilitating or replacing
water and sewer pipes but there is no national
inventory of pipe ages and conditions to base those
investment needs. He said WIN
analysts are relying on rough national assumptions
that add significantly to the uncertainty seen in a
20-year cost projection. Beider also said that
while the WIN
report says needs have been underestimated, CBO has
found factors suggesting the estimates may be too
large. On
the potential impact on water consumers, Beider
said that "proposals intended to address the equity
problem of keeping rates affordable may adversely
affect efficiency by raising total national costs."
He said that considering the differences in
expenses from one water system to the next based on
each's operation and investment plans, federal
funds should be provided in a way that gives system
operators and water users the appropriate
incentives to keep costs and usage down.
Like
the EPA, Beider said the CBO is also looking into
the affordability issues associated with
infrastructure needs and will provide additional
information later this year. In a related matter,
the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
has asked the General Accounting Office to do its
own outside review of the WIN
report, though no indication was given at a Tuesday
hearing if GAO was finished. Lee
Garrigan, a WIN
spokeswoman, said her organization has been working
with CBO officials on the analysis and welcomes the
review. Regarding the CBO criticisms, she said
infrastructure debate is a first for the nation and
"everybody involved is feeling their waythrough."
While there is no complete survey to determine the
conditions and extent of the nation's underground
water and wastewater pipes, Garrigan said it is
clear from anecdotes on daily maintenance from
across the country that there is a need to fund a
comprehensive overhaul. "You
always have differences in numbers," she said.
"This is Washington." --
Darren Samuelsohn |
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