View Full May PDF Issue - Utility Contractor Online
View Full May PDF Issue - Utility Contractor Online
View Full May PDF Issue - Utility Contractor Online
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INSIDE WASHINGTON<br />
NUCA’s Legislative Agenda:<br />
2009 Washington Summit and Beyond<br />
By Eben Wyman<br />
Every year, NUCA members take valuable time away<br />
from work to come to Washington to participate in<br />
the NUCA Washington Summit. If you’re a regular<br />
reader of <strong>Utility</strong> <strong>Contractor</strong>, you’ve undoubtedly<br />
read our pleas for your participation in this annual event<br />
where underground utility contractors show up in person<br />
to advance the industry’s legislative<br />
agenda on Capitol<br />
Hill. At press time, NUCA<br />
President Lyle Schellenberg<br />
was preparing to appear before<br />
Congress to testify on<br />
the importance of increased<br />
investment in America’s environmental<br />
infrastructure,<br />
which will be the top agenda<br />
item at the Summit this year.<br />
However, other vital issues<br />
on the agenda also need to<br />
be addressed when NUCA members take to Capitol Hill on<br />
<strong>May</strong> 19. The following is a description of what’s currently on<br />
tap for this year.<br />
Continuing the Momentum on Water Infrastructure<br />
Progress<br />
As you probably know, NUCA’s No. 1 priority going into<br />
the 111th Congress was to ensure that a robust environmental<br />
infrastructure component was included in economic<br />
recovery legislation, which was signed into law on February<br />
17. NUCA was proud to have helped secure almost $20 billion<br />
total for water, wastewater, underground storage tank,<br />
“Brownfields” and other types of projects that made the final<br />
cut and were included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment<br />
Act of 2009.<br />
106 <strong>Utility</strong> <strong>Contractor</strong> | <strong>May</strong> 2009<br />
“NUCA was proud to have<br />
helped secure almost $20<br />
billion total for water,<br />
wastewater, underground<br />
storage tank, ‘Brownfields’<br />
and other types of projects.”<br />
As soon as the recovery bill was signed, NUCA started working<br />
on keeping the ball rolling. Although the $6 billion for EPA’s<br />
State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs will provide a solid jump<br />
start to the suffering underground water and sewer construction<br />
industry, it should only be considered a down payment.<br />
Now it’s time to increase annual funding for these programs for<br />
years to come.<br />
NUCA was pleased to see<br />
the Obama Administration’s<br />
FY2010 budget proposal,<br />
which included significant<br />
budget increases for both<br />
SRF programs. Weeks later,<br />
the House and Senate passed<br />
their budgets, both of which<br />
included the same proposed<br />
numbers for water and wastewater<br />
infrastructure investment.<br />
However, while budget<br />
increases are great, they are not binding. The real money<br />
comes in the form of annual appropriations. Therefore, the<br />
first order of business at the NUCA Washington Summit<br />
will be to encourage lawmakers to provide FY 2010 appropriations<br />
levels consistent with the budget proposed by the<br />
president, House and Senate. Specifically, this would include<br />
$2.4 billion for the Clean Water SRF and $1.5 billion for the<br />
Drinking Water SRF.<br />
In March, NUCA and the Clean Water Council (CWC),<br />
the coalition of 35 national and international construction<br />
organizations who take the lead on this issue in Washington,<br />
were honored to play an important role in securing passage<br />
of the Water Quality Investment Act (HR 1262), which<br />
would authorize $14 billion for the Clean Water SRF over<br />
the next five years. The key now is to get the Senate to move