Chairman Capito Leads Hearing Examining Water Infrastructure Successes from IIJA

 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, led a hearing examining successes from water infrastructure policies and provisions in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). This hearing serves as the foundation for the EPW Committee’s work to craft bipartisan legislation to reauthorize water infrastructure programs ahead of their expiration next year.

In her opening remarks, Chairman Capito outlined her principles for this reauthorization effort, centered on policies that enhance rural and underserved communities’ ability to deliver water projects, strengthen cooperative federalism, and deliver outcomes that prioritize safe water and reliable infrastructure.

Below is the opening statement of Chairman Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) as delivered.

“Welcome to today’s hearing to examine the policies to strengthen our nation’s water infrastructure.

“Again, I want to thank the witnesses for joining us and for the important work you do every single day to deliver safe, reliable water and sanitation services in your various communities.

“This is our first hearing to discuss how we can build on the successes of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the IIJA, the water infrastructure provisions as we prepare bipartisan legislation to reauthorize those programs.

“In November of 2021 Congress passed the IIJA, which included the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act, a bipartisan bill that was developed and championed by this Committee.

“That legislation represented the largest federal investment in water infrastructure in our nation’s history, delivering more than $50 billion for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater programs.

“Since then, thousands of projects have started, including projects to upgrade treatment plants, replace aging systems, and support the needs of our small communities.

“In short, this law is moving our nation’s water infrastructure systems forward. Despite this progress, the historic investment of the IIJA expires next year and we must get to work now to build on that progress while addressing any concerns with its implementation.

“As we work together to reauthorize the IIJA’s water programs, I will prioritize policies that strengthen underserved communities’ abilities to deliver water projects, reinforce the cooperative federalism principle embedded in our laws, and focus on outcomes that prioritize safe water and sound infrastructure.

“I can say anecdotally, in my small state of West Virginia, there are still pockets of our communities that don’t have the access to clean water, drinking water that they should and deserve to have.

“Achieving those goals requires us to take a clear-eyed look at the challenges communities face and ensure the tools we have provided are as effective and accessible as possible.

“First, we should seek to simplify the delivery mechanisms for water infrastructure funding. This is a repeating theme in about everything we’ve been looking at.  Many small and underserved communities continue to face barriers to access to federal money.

“Communities may struggle with capacity, technical complexity, and long federal timelines of disbursing the funding. This can lead to communities giving up before they can even get a shovel in the ground.

“We can fix these issues by providing targeted technical resources and assistance to help utilities and local governments navigate complex funding applications and simplifying the Environmental Protection Agency’s processes.

“Second, our reauthorization should reinforce what works, including honoring the foundational principle of cooperative federalism. For decades the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act have recognized that states, not Washington, are best positioned to understand the infrastructure needs of our communities.

“Federal funding and oversight are important, but implementation must be led by the states. The Biden EPA shifted away from that balance Congress intended between federal support and state leadership, by pushing one-size-fits-all mandates and layering on new criteria that go far beyond what Congress authorized.

“We’ve also seen the increased emphasis on ‘environmental justice’ initiatives, and while the goal of supporting all underserved communities, regardless of background, is broadly supported, implementation of these ‘environmental justice’ initiatives has at times departed from the statute’s original direction and strayed from that broader goal.

“Directing resources to underserved communities was a shared goal when we wrote the IIJA and the commitment remains. But we did not write a law that allows agencies to introduce new eligibility standards or funding formulas that may unintentionally overlook real infrastructure needs or second-guess shared and state priorities.

“That approach is not only counterproductive, it risks leaving behind the very communities these programs were designed to help. Across the country, many low-income and underserved communities continue to grapple with major water infrastructure needs, yet rigid eligibility requirements in recent funding programs left some of them behind.

“That runs counter to the bipartisan goals that we set when this law was written, to ensure all communities have a fair opportunity to benefit from these important programs.

“That’s why we dedicated funds for systems of different sizes and why we provided State Revolving Funds the flexibility for each state to meet their individual needs.

“This Committee worked in a bipartisan way to craft these programs, and going forward, implementation must remain true to the intent, not drift into interpretations that complicate access or confuse applicants.

“My third guiding principle is that a successful bill and implementation of EPA’s water programs must be focused on outcomes. Enacting policies that are consistently driven by successful outcomes will help ensure that every American, no matter where they live, can count on the basic services they deserve.

“That’s what this Committee has always focused on and it’s what I will continue to prioritize as Chairman. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses and to kick off our work to reauthorize and improve our nation’s water infrastructure programs.”

 

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