Engineering Inc. - March/April 2007 - 7

“ The vote on this bill is the first vote on a major water program in over a decade.” —ACEC PRESIDENT DAVE RAYMOND Investment Act of 2007 (H.R. 569), sponsored by Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.). The bill authorizes $1.7 billion over five years for wastewater projects. ACEC now will focus on the Senate, which is expected to consider similar water infrastructure legislation later this spring. WRDA on the Move Passag e of the Water Resources Developm e n t Act (WRDA) also was identified as an early legislative priority for both the House and Senate. Congress came very close last year to completing this imporACEC President Dave Raymond addresses a Capitol Hill news conference promoting passage of t an t legislation, but negotiations stalled crucial water legislation. He is joined on the left by Jeff More of the Water Infrastructure Network over project earmarks. and Adam Krantz of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies. L ast year’s bills authorized the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to undertake ACEC Scores Two Major Victories as more than $10 billion in flood control, navigation and enviro n m e n t al restoration projects. ACEC is pushing Congress Council-Supported Water Bills Clear House The U.S. House of Representatives delivered strong bipartisan to complete work on WRDA this year because the legislaapproval in March to a pair of ACEC-backed water infrastructure t i o n will go a long way toward addressing an estimated $58 billion backlog of Corps projects. bills, including a four-year, $14 billion wastewater infrastructure Among the high-profile projects included in House and measure that includes language mandating the use of QualificaSenate bills last year were navigation and flood-control tions-Based Selection (QBS). improvements along the Upper Mississippi River system ACEC President Dave Raymond joined other industry leaders and flood-control improvements for the Gulf Coast areas at a Capitol Hill news conference Friday promoting passage of affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Numerous smaller the Water Quality Financing Act (H.R. 720). The news conferprojects also were included in the bills. ence was kicked off by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), House and Senate negotiators will again need to address chairwoman of the House Water Resources and Environment the debate over the appropriate level of oversight and peer Subcommittee, the lead subcommittee on the bill. review of major Corps projects. The Senate adopted lan“The vote on this bill is the first vote on a major water prog u ag e last year that would have created a separate peer gram in over a decade,” Raymond said. “This is something that review bureaucracy—one that ACEC and industry allies is desperately needed to rebuild our dilapidated water infrastrucargued was burdensome and would delay vital projects. ture; it is needed for our economic growth and for our global ACEC supported the more flexible approach taken by the competitiveness.” The Water Quality Financing Act reauthorizes the Clean Water House because it provided the Corps more latitude to balAct State Revolving Fund (SRF) program, provides $2 billion for an c e thoughtful and effective independent peer review with F.Y. 2008 compared with $1 billion in F.Y. 2007, and provides expeditious project delivery. ACEC will continue to weigh the balance of the $14 billion in funding within four years. in on this issue. Sponsored by House Transportation and Infrastructure ComHe ar i n g s and potential committee consideration, as well mittee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.), the bill also directs as floor action on WRDA, are likely to begin in March and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to develop a continue through the spring. report for Congress on “funding mechanisms and funding sources available to establish a Clean Water Trust Fund.” In response to questions concerning the president’s threat to veto the bill and his belief that private investment is the key FO R MORE NEWS to water infrastructure funding, Raymond said that “dramatic increases in both public and private investment are necessary” For weekly legislative news, and that “this bill is urgently needed and long overdue.” visit ACEC’s Last Word online The House also cleared the ACEC-backed Water Quality at www.acec.org. MARCH / APRIL 2007 ENGINEERING INC. 7

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Engineering Inc. - March/April 2007

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