Alliance President Testifies Before Congress

On March 21, 2012, Alliance President Ben Grumbles testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment in a hearing on water infrastructure funding.  He said that “We urgently need water innovation and collaboration, not only to sharpen and polish existing tools, but also to forge new tools for communities and ecosystems.”  While focusing on “one water” management, he outlined four key pillars for water infrastructure financing: proper valuing of water to support people and systems; increasing cooperation between public and private; greening infrastructure and recovering resources; and, connecting infrastructure, watersheds and sustainability through a “one water” management philosophy.

Grumbles did not provide Alliance positions on any pending bills or legislative proposals; however, he did urge Congress to continue its support of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).  Specifically regarding State Revolving Funds (SRFs), Grumbles stressed the needs of flexibility for allocation of these funds; transferability between SDWA and CWA funds; extending the repayment terms from 20 to 30 years; and the equitable allocation of funds from Congress and the EPA. Part of the testimony also included support for Private Activity Bonds and other ways for increase funds for infrastructure. Read the full testimony HERE.