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Infrastructure + Get AlertsI must admit, my first trip to Capitol Hill on behalf of NASSCO was a bit intimidating.
I was under the false impression that I had to know the proposed acts inside out and be able to rattle off facts and figures about our nation’s infrastructure. The truth is, and to my great relief, representatives from Congress aren’t looking for us to tell them what they already know; they are looking to industry experts to help them better understand why water and wastewater systems should be included in any infrastructure package.
Last May, NASSCO joined a fly-in hosted by the National Utility Contractors Association to build awareness in Washington for the need to invest in critical water and wastewater infrastructure. Joined by Steve Dye, NASSCO’s government relations consultant, and Chase Deheny, NASSCO’s Government Relations Committee co-chair, I had the opportunity to meet with representatives from Michigan (where Deheny is a constituent). Armed with excellent information provided by NUCA, topics included:
- The federal government’s share of spending on water infrastructure has declined significantly over the last three decades.
- The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that at least $271 billion for clean (waste) water and $472 billion for drinking water will be needed over the next 20 years.
- An estimated 20,000 to 26,500 jobs can result from just a $1 billion investment in water and wastewater infrastructure.
The majority of our time, however, was spent discussing the basics of what causes sanitary sewer overflows and combined sewer overflows and the need to address these issues before they happen through proper assessment, maintenance and rehabilitation of underground infrastructure.
NASSCO will be making another visit to Capitol Hill in early December, and we’re hopeful members from other states will join us so the entire country is represented. For now, NASSCO has made it easy to reach out to your congressional leaders via the NASSCO Sewer System Heroes program at www.nassco.org/government-relations. It takes just two minutes to submit a prewritten letter to your congressional leaders, who truly do want to hear from you.
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