WRRDA Clears First Hurdle
September 19th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee unanimously approved the $10 billion Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRDA), H.R. 3080, today. The mark up of the legislation went smoothly with limited debate on amendments. During mark-up several members of the committee provided amendments to speed up the expenditure of funds out of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, however each was withdrawn from consideration after it was made known that they would not pass through the full House. During the hearing Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) drove the message home that “WRRDA is the most policy and reform focused legislation of its kind in the last two decades”. He went on further to state that the “bill contains no earmarks and makes reforms needed to increase transparency, accountability, and Congressional oversight of federal water resources development. At its heart, WRRDA is about jobs and improving America’s competitiveness. A strong water transportation network is critical to keeping pace with other nations that are improving their own infrastructure networks and gaining ground in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.” WRRDA would seek to increase the amount of money spent from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, require the Army Corps of Engineers to send Congress annual reports on proposed activities, and set up a process to deauthorize $12 billion in programs. It also would include provisions to speed up the environmental review process, such as limiting feasibility studies to three years and federal costs of a study to $3 million, and establishing a process to elevate issues that could delay the process to agency heads. At this point WRRDA has not received much push back from conservative groups that often publicly criticize infrastructure spending bills. In fact, many of those groups, which have the ear of the most conservative members of the House, have praised WRRDA’s reforms, while admitting they would preferred to have seen them go further. This lukewarm reception will benefit WRRDA as it is considered by the House in early October.Tags: congress, transportation, water infrastructure
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WRRDA Up!
September 11th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee introduced the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (H.R. 3080) with much fanfare today. As the title proves, the bill is one of the most policy and reform focused Water Resources Development Acts (WRDA) to be introduced in the past few decades. Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) and Ranking Member Nick Rahall (D-WV) joined the Water Resources Subcommittee Chairman Bob Gibbs (R-OH) and Tim Bishop (D-NY) to unveil the legislation this afternoon. The bill marks a movement toward bipartisan legislation coming out of the House T&I Committee once again. WRRDA works to consolidate or eliminate duplicative studies, requires concurrent reviews, and streamlines environmental reviews in order to cut the time for project approvals from approximately 15 years on average to 3 years. The legislation also has language that would allow for the reauthorization of the National Dam Safety program, which would include a public awareness component. The legislation however does not create an independent National Levee Safety program, but instead would allow the Corps to assist states in creating their own programs. Additionally, similar to the Senate bill, the House WRRDA bill would incrementally increase expenditures out of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, with the goal to spend 80% of the funds annually by 2020. ASCE is pleased to see that the House is taking the steps necessary to pass a WRDA bill this year and looks forward to working with the Committee to see the bill through until passage. In the meantime mark your calendars for the T&I Committee mark-up of the bill on September 19th!They’re Back
September 10th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
Congress returned from its August recess yesterday to a mountain of unfinished business. With 22 days remaining in the fiscal year, Congress plans to go all in and be in session for nine of them. Nine days to:
United States Capitol Building (Photo credit: Jack’s LOST FILM)
- Avoid a government shut down by passing a FY 2014 budget;
- Address the federal debt limit or face a default on federal debt;
- Reach agreement on the farm bill which expires September 30th; and
- Syria.
I-35 W: Six Years After the Bridge Fell
August 1st, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
On August 1, 2007, the I-35 W span over the Mississippi River collapsed, killing 13 people, injuring 145, and severing a vital lifeline for many towns. Only 382 days later, the bridge had been replaced and was open to traffic once again. Six years after this tragedy, the question remains whether we have done enough to repair our crumbling infrastructure. Success stories like the rapid reconstruction of the I-35 bridge are widely touted, but isolated incidents are needed less than general trends toward improvement. In an analysis of the nation’s roads and bridges, 1 out of 9 is deemed “structurally deficient”, while in five individual states, more than 20 percent of bridges are rated as such. Since 2000, 22,711 bridges are no longer considered structurally deficient. While this is an improvement, there are concerns that fiscal realities may derail progress. Currently, the Highway Trust Fund is projected to become insolvent in September of next year. The HTF is the primary means by which many states fund infrastructure repair and replacement projects. The I-35 replacement was constructed so quickly in large part due to near-continuous work for 11 months. Without adequate funding for construction projects, the time for completion will lengthen, driving up costs and the impacts on drivers. Bridges are indispensable parts of our infrastructure system. Without safe, reliable, and efficient transportation, we will see the toll taken on the prices of goods and costs to ourselves and others. The average age of the 600,000 bridges in this nation is 42 years, with an estimated $76 billion in needs to address the problems. ASCE’s Failure to Act report on the costs of poor infrastructure shows that by 2020, deficient bridges and pavement will cost Americans 58 billion. If left untended, those costs will jump to $651 billion by 2040. So as we approach the 6th anniversary of the terrible happenings on the I-35 W bridge, foremost in our mind should be the state of our infrastructure and if we are really doing enough to maintain our bridges. Individual instances of rapid repair and replacement are necessary, but insufficient. We must continue to fund the Highway Trust Fund and provide governments at all levels the tools they need to keep our infrastructure standing.Can-Do States Who Tackle Infrastructure Are Just What the U.S. Economy Needs
July 24th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
Sometimes you just have to do it yourself. That’s the message some states seem to be sending as federal infrastructure bills like the Water Resources Development Act keep getting sidelined by Congress or only seeing short-term efforts like the MAP-21 Transportation Reauthorization. The Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings has called these states that have decidedly put forward a structure or action plan for infrastructure “Can-Do States” and highlighted these states’ efforts at a recent event. These “Can-Do States” have formed new structures that operate in ways that improve their state’s access to capital or work across departments to streamline and prioritize investments. What are these states doing differently? Start by looking at these models – the government-owned business enterprise model like Colorado’s High Performance Transportation Enterprise , or the offices for public private partnerships like Virginia that work to put together infrastructure financing deals, or initiatives like the NY Works Task Force that are used to streamline and strategically allocate New York’s capital investment dollars. According to a new report by McKinsey, infrastructure investment is one of five big “game changers” that could reboot the U.S. economy to quickly create jobs and deliver a substantial boost to GDP by 2020. They believe that increasing the U.S. annual infrastructure investment by one percentage point of GDP could erase the negative side effects of delayed maintenance, and create up to 1.8 million jobs by 2020. With states already taking the lead on reworking their infrastructure strategies to better select, deliver, and operate like McKinsey’s advising, that 1% of GDP investment could create $600 billion annually by 2030. Infrastructure may be just what every state and the whole U.S. economy needs to really grow again. What could your state do to get more infrastructure investment done with the same budget?Tags: career development, congress, economics, infrastructure, transportation
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Mr. Civil Engineer Goes to Washington
July 17th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
Happy 4th of July, America! Baseball’s All-Star break is this week. These and more serve as reminders that we have reached the “mid-point” of the summer. Are your summer advocacy plans in place? If you are an ASCE member, you should start your advocacy plan by signing up for the next Key Contact Briefing Conference Call on July 23 with Rep. David McKinley, P.E., F.ASCE. An ASCE member since his days as a student at Purdue University, Rep. McKinley represents the 1st District of West Virginia and will join us on July 23 to share his experience as a civil engineer in Congress, and why it’s important for ASCE members to meet often with their elected officials to share the civil engineer’s take on issues. As Congress continues to wrestle with many challenges, ASCE members and infrastructure supporters of all backgrounds should make sure their elected leaders are informed about the conditions of our nation’s infrastructure, and the consequences we face if we continue to neglect its needs. ASCE’s 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure lays out these points on 16 different categories of infrastructure. In addition, ASCE Sections and Branches have released over 30 state and local Report Cards to provide a more localized picture of infrastructure conditions. This information is valuable when in the hands of decision-makers in Congress as they discuss issues such as the Water Resources Development Act, and the importance of preserving tax exemptions for municipal bonds to improve infrastructure in local communities. Learn how you can help your elected leaders make informed decisions about our infrastructure using ASCE’s Key Contact tools by joining Rep. McKinley and ASCE staff on July 23. Join us on July 23 at 1pm EDT/12noon CDT for “Bringing the Report Card to Elected Leaders”, the next Key Contact Briefing Conference Call, open to all ASCE members (a member login is required to register for the call.)How WRDA Can Reduce Risks and Costs of Future Floods
June 6th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
In a Monday briefing, representatives from the Association of State Floodplain Managers, National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies, and the Nature Conservancy gathered to discuss the opportunities in the proposed WRDA bill to reduce flood risks and the potential damages from flood disasters. The nation’s dam and levee system is characterized by low system integration, having been constructed in an ad hoc manner, with little to no regard for the effects beyond the immediate applications. Because dams and levees are often constructed by localities to serve the needs of their constituents, there is no full register of all the existing dams and levees in the United States. Many of the known dams and levees are reaching or exceeding their designed operating age of 50 years, creating a pressing need for a National Levee Safety Program. Recently built dams are constructed to withstand the 100 year flood. However, according to Dr. Professor Mathias Kondolf of U.C.-Berkeley, a house with a 30 year mortgage built in a floodplain area has an aggregate 26 percent chance of being flooded over the course of the mortgage. Since they are living under the protection of a 100 year dam, houses in these areas often do not have flood insurance and have not taken steps to protect themselves, such as elevating the structure, from flood waters. Dr. Kondolf continued on to say that the aim of modern dams is to “filter out the small floods,” but that they do not protect from “the big ones.” In many areas historically prone to flooding and flood damage, the presence of protective structures has actually drawn increased levels of business and personal development. This risk intensification was borne out in areas damaged by Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Katrina when levees holding back ocean water failed. Floods, in their natural form, are healthy for and necessary parts of an ecosystem. In fact, without the floods of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers carrying silt and material, the Mississippi Delta around which New Orleans is built would not exist. Disaster arises when a dam or levee is built and people are allowed to build and live in what was the floodplain. When a flood does breach the wall, the costs can be astronomical. The hazards out flood disasters can be mitigated by analyzing and appropriately managing flood-vulnerable areas. By adopting policies known in the Netherlands as “room for the rivers,” the effects of floods on human activities can be mitigated. Some recommendations in accord with this are to set levees further back from the main flow of water, thus allowing any flood to proceed more naturally, or to designate areas of land that to be used as flood bypasses during times of high flood waters. However, the availability of these lands during dry times can induce development. All representatives present at Monday’s briefing agreed that, as a rule, “non-structural” approaches such as giving the river room, building houses above flood level, and creating natural drainage channels around cities are best suited to provide long-term protection. Ultimately, WRDA is an essential bill to plan and manage the nation’s waterways and flood preparedness. It is necessary to establish national guidelines for dams and levees, provide money to repair levees, and establish a comprehensive database of levees in the country. Cost-sharing, imposing per-project caps, and creating a national floodplain management plan will allow the legislation to provide the greatest amount of benefit.
Tags: congress, dams, levees, natural disasters, water infrastructure, water resources development act
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TCC Members Hit Capitol Hill
June 5th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
Members of the Transportation Construction Coalition hit Capitol Hill this morning as a part of the organization’s annual Fly In. With over 500 construction, engineering, and equipment experts coming into Washington DC, the plan it to make Members of Congress understand the dire impact on their states, districts and the National economy if Congress fails to take action to address the long term financial solvency of the Highway Trust Fund. Fly In attendees will also tell Congress that a timely reauthorization of MAP-21 must be a priority.
Fly In events kicked off yesterday afternoon with a series of high profile transportation speakers. Attendees heard from Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA), House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA), Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, House Transportation and Infrastructure Ranking Member Nick Rahall (D-WV), and Past Senate Environment and Public Works Ranking Member Jim Inhofe (R-OK). Each spoke about the importance of the nation’s surface transportation system and acknowledged the needs ahead. While no one spoke in detail about how to make up the shortfall for the Highway Trust Fund, it is clear that the issue is will be a top concern as Congress works to reauthorize MAP-21 next year.
Secretary Ray LaHood told the crowd that he wants a long-term bill that spends $600 billion, however he went on further to acknowledge that even $600 billion “is just going to scratch the surface” of what the country needs. The secretary also stated that President Obama will offer a way to pay for the 2014 transportation bill after legislation dealing with guns, immigration and the sequester is dealt with. According to LaHood, “the president is going to be big and bold about what his vision is for infrastructure”.
National Dam Safety Awareness Day
May 31st, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
Today marks the 124th anniversary of the Johnstown Flood
, the the result of the catastrophic failure of the South Fork Dam, which was situated 14 miles upstream of the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The dam failed after a period of heavy rainfall, however it was not properly maintained for years and in fact modified in ways that threatened the integrity of the structure. On the afternoon of May 31, 1889 the dam failed after workers spent hours trying to save the structure, releasing 12,000 cubic meters of debris-filled water each second. Towns below the dam were never properly notified of the failure and evacuations never took place, with the result being the loss of 2,209 lives, thousands homeless, and $17 million in damages ($425 million in today’s dollars).
Since the time of the Great Flood of 1889 the nation has created the National Dam Safety Program and put an emphasis on emergency action plans and proper dam inspections and regulations. However, ASCE’s 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure graded the nation’s dams with a D. While we no longer see the sever blunders that lead to the failure of the South Fork Dam in 1889, the average age of the 84,000 dams in the country is 52 years old. With an increasing population and greater development below dams, the overall number of high-hazard dams continues to increase, to nearly 14,000 in 2012. The Association of State Dam Safety Officials estimates that it will require an investment of $21 billion to repair these aging, yet critical, high-hazard dams.
Under FEMA’s leadership, the National Dam Safety Program is dedicated to protecting the lives of American citizens and their property from the risks associated with the development, operation, and maintenance of America’s dams. Unfortunately, the National Dam Safety Program expired in September 2011 and Congress has yet to reauthorize this small, yet vital program. Since today is National Dam Safety Awareness Day, which was first established in 1999, it seems like the perfect time to urge Congress to reauthorize the National Dam Safety Program. Congressmen Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) and Chris Gibson (R-NY) introduced the Dam Safety Act of 2013 (H.R. 1489) last month, which would reauthorize the program at $10.5 million annually. ASCE has endorsed the legislation and urges Congress to either pass the bill as a standalone piece of legislation, or include it in a greater Water Resources Development Act. The language was already passed as part of the Senate Water Resources bill, so it is now time for the House to do the same. The nation cannot risk another catastrophic dam failure when preventative measures can easily be taken.
Delaney Introduces Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill
May 22nd, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
Congressman John Delaney today introduced the bipartisan Partnership to Build America Act. The legislation would finance the rebuilding of our country’s transportation, energy, communications, water, and education infrastructure through the creation of the American Infrastructure Fund (AIF) by using repatriated corporate earnings as well as through utilizing public-private partnerships. The AIF would provide loans or guarantees to state or local governments to finance qualified infrastructure projects and is estimated to leverage an initial $50 billion at a 15:1 ratio, therefore providing $750 million in investment. ASCE strongly supports the Partnership to Build America Act as one way to deal with the nation’s ever growing infrastructure challenges. By creating an infrastructure fund using repatriated corporate earnings, as well as through the use of public-private partnerships, the legislation is creating another innovative financing source for our nation’s infrastructure. It will take innovative financing, to work in partnership with more traditional funding mechanisms in order to raise the grades for our nation’s infrastructure. Furthermore, improving the condition of our nation’s aging roads, bridges, power lines, sewer systems, ports and waterways is critical to protecting 3.5 million jobs according to ASCE’s report, Failure to Act: The Impact of Current Infrastructure Investment on America’s Economic Future. If investments in infrastructure aren’t made at this time, families will have a lower standard of living, businesses will be paying more and producing less and our nation will lose ground in a global economy. The nation’s deteriorating infrastructure will cost the American families $3,100 annually in lost income and suppress the growth of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by $3.1 trillion by 2020. Therefore, it is critical for Congress to continue to find new, and innovative ways, to invest in infrastructure programs. ASCE looks forward to working with Congress on the passage of the Partnership to Build America Act and applauds Congressman Delaney for continuing the conversation on how we invest in the nation’s infrastructure.Tags: congress, infrastructure
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