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Blumenauer Proposes Gas Tax Increase
December 4th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) has introduced legislation that would incrementally raise the 18.4-cents-per-gallon federal gas tax to 33.4 cents-per-gallon. Blumenauer’s proposal, the Update, Promote, and Develop America’s Transportation Essentials (UPDATE) Act, increases the gas tax by 15 cents, which is in line with a proposal that was included in the 2011 Simpson-Bowles budget reform recommendations. ASCE joined the Congressman at a press conference this morning in support of the legislation. The nation’s infrastructure is facing an increasing number of challenges. In ASCE’s 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, a comprehensive assessment of infrastructure across 16 sectors, the cumulative GPA for the nation’s infrastructure rose slightly to a D+ from a D in 2009. The 2013 Report Card estimates total investment needs at $3.6 trillion by 2020 across all 16 sectors, leaving a funding shortfall of $1.6 trillion based on current funding levels. The federal gas tax has not changed in twenty years and for the past five years revenue streams have fallen far short of what is needed to address America’s infrastructure needs. However, the problems of the past five years are small in comparison to the 10-year shortfall projected by Congressional Budget Office. To prevent bankruptcy of the Highway Trust Fund in 2015, federal surface transportation investment would have to be zeroed out for that year. This is an unacceptable path. By gradually increasing the gas tax by 15 cents through the UPDATE Act and also establishing a competitive grant program to fund vehicle miles traveled pilot programs through a separate piece of legislation call the Road User Fee Pilot Project, Congressman Blumenauer’s bills will once again provide our nation’s surface transportation with long-term, sustainable revenue for the years to come. It will take this bold leadership to ensure that the Highway Trust Fund can support our needed infrastructure improvements and continue to grow the economy. ASCE looks forward to working with Congressman Blumenauer and he works to advance infrastructure funding in Congress.On Infrastructure, Funding is the Challenge
December 2nd, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
In a recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Philip Howard, of the small-government reform group Common Good, said that when it comes to U.S. infrastructure, “funding is not the challenge.” Where to begin? Funding is an immense, complicated, and ever-changing challenge facing our country’s roads, bridges, water systems, dams, and other infrastructure. Our inability to fund our infrastructure hurts our economic competitiveness, meaning fewer jobs for American families. In the 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, we found that the U.S. faces a $1.6 trillion infrastructure investment need by 2020. We found that unless our infrastructure investment trajectory changes, the United States will lose 3.5 million jobs and $3.1 trillion in gross domestic product by 2020. Simply, funding our infrastructure and funding for future needs is a colossal challenge—a challenge we are not currently meeting. But don’t just take our word for it. Thomas Donohue, president of the United States Chamber of Commerce, has repeatedly come out in support of raising the federal fuel tax in order to boost federal transportation funding. The American Enterprise Institute, a prominent conservative think-tank, is so concerned about our lack of infrastructure funding that that are hosting a policy discussion this December to share policy ideas to fill our funding gap. Howard’s main argument seems to be that we need to reduce red-tape. Obviously, over-stressed bureaucracy hurts our ability to move projects forward. As we recently saw with the passage of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act, Congress and state legislatures all over the country are working to make the infrastructure process more efficient. Reforms to streamline project delivery are a key part of the equation. However, reforms aren’t enough to cover the investment shortfall we face by 2020, particularly for transportation. In 2015, about one year from now, the Highway Trust Fund will be bankrupt. The Fund supports road, bridge, and mass transit projects across the country. The Fund provides millions of dollars annually to repair and strengthen the economic foundation of our nation. If we fail to act, U.S. highway and transit programs will sustain a 92% cut. If this is not an immediate and pressing funding challenge, then what is? Downplaying the impact of funding on our infrastructure is shortsighted. The longer we wait to act and create sustainable funding mechanisms for our infrastructure, the more it will cost.Tags: Funding, highway trust fund, report card
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ASCE Gives Thanks
November 27th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
This Thursday, families across the country will sit down and give thanks for good fortunes they’ve encountered this past year. Members of our office and the infrastructure community in general have reason to be thankful for a great many things that occurred this past year or exist as a part of America’s infrastructure as a whole. Below are some of the items that our staff is thankful for this year related to our mission.- A successful spring release of our 2013 Report Card and for our members who have tirelessly worked to spread the word in their communities.
- The House and Senate are conferencing a Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) bill.
- The 2013 Legislative Fly-In participants who helped us reach the goal of having all 50 states represented.
- The wonderful variety of State Public Affairs Grants (SPAG) projects that ASCE will be able to fund this year.
- The fact that both Maine and Texas passed ballot initiatives this past November greatly increasing infrastructure investment in their states.
- All of the state legislators we were able to educate on ASCE’s issues at the National Conference of State Legislators this past summer.
- The leadership shown on infrastructure from both sides of the aisle. Infrastructure is the rare issue where the Chamber of Commerce, American Enterprise Institute, labor unions, and environmental organizations all agree and want the same things. At ASCE, we look forward to working with all of them and more in the new year and are excited for what 2014 has in store.
California DOT Issues Proposal Rule for Fracking
November 22nd, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
With vast reserves of hydrocarbon energy trapped deep under its surface, the state of California is getting ready to oversee the exploration for and recovery of the nation’s largest supply of oil and natural gas from shale fields. The California Department of Conservation (DOC) has issued a proposed rule that would govern the petroleum industry’s use of hydraulic fracturing and other methods of recovering oil and natural gas from shale thousands of feet below the Earth’s surface. Technically recoverable shale oil resources in the continental 48 states amount to 23.9 billion barrels. The largest shale oil formation in the U.S., however, is the Monterey—Santos play in southern California, which is estimated to hold 15.4 billion barrels or 64 percent of the nation’s total shale oil resources, a potentially enormous energy supply. But because most shale gas and shale oil wells are only a few years old, their long-term productivity is untested, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Consequently, the long-term production profiles of shale wells and their estimated ultimate recovery of oil and natural gas are uncertain. Nevertheless, the California DOC is getting ready for the increased use of deep oil and gas recovery through a comprehensive set of regulations required by the state legislature in September. The DOC’s proposal was released on the same day the law was signed. The DOC has established a web site for the rule. The rule would govern all forms of well stimulation treatment, including hydraulic fracturing. Another key exploration technology, “acid well stimulation treatment,” also would be regulated. Acid stimulation, called acidizing, typically involves the injection of high volumes of hydrofluoric acid, a powerful solvent, into the oil well to dissolve rock deep underground and allow oil to flow up through the well. Conventional hydraulic fracturing, in which water and other chemicals are pumped at high pressure to create fissures in the rocks, reportedly does not work well in many parts of the Monterey Shale—a rock formation known for its complexity and low permeability, which makes hydraulic fracturing less effective. As proposed, the DOC rule would require a permit for well operations; reports of third-party water tests to be provided to all property owners and tenants near the well; pressure testing of all well tubing for at least 30 minutes before well stimulation; monitoring of all wells during and after operations; storage and handling requirements for all treatment fluids; and public disclosure of “the trade name, supplier, concentration, and a brief description of each additive contained in the wells stimulation fluids.” The rule also would require public disclosure of all sources, volumes, and specific composition of all water used in well stimulation and the disclosure of all disposal of well treatment fluids. These requirements track with ASCE Policy Statement 539, Hydraulic Fracturing. The ASCE Government Relations Department will analyze the proposed rule in detail and provide the Society’s official comments to the DOC by the January 14, 2014, deadline. ASCE members in California with professional expertise in oil and gas exploration and water-quality issues are urged to visit the DOC web site to determine whether they should comment on the rule as practicing civil engineers.Tags: California, CDOT, Environment, Fracking, Hydraulic Fracturing, Shale Oil, water
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House Agrees to Conference
November 18th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
The House agreed by unanimous consent to go to conference with the Senate on the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (HR 3080) last Thursday. Shortly after agreeing to go to conference Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) introduced a motion to instruct conferees on the National Dam Safety Program reauthorization. The motion to instruct conferees asks, but cannot require, House conferees to take a certain negotiating position during the WRDA conference. In this case, the motion to instruct conferees would cede to the Senate’s authorization of the dam safety program in S. 601, which provides at $9.2 million in grants, $500,000 for the National Dam Inventory, $1 million for public awareness, and $1.45 million for research. ASCE strongly supports incorporating the Senate dam safety language and worked closely with Congressman Maloney’s office to garner support for the measure. The motion received praise from both sides of the aisle during debate and the final vote for the motion was 347 – 76. The House also selected 28 conferees for the WRDA conference that will now begin. The House appointed 16 Republicans and 12 Democrats from both the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Natural Resources Committee. The conferees are: Bill Shuster (R-PA) John Duncan (R-TN) Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) Sam Graves (R-MO) Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) Candice Miller (R-MI) Duncan Hunter (R-CA) Larry Bucshon (R-IN) Bob Gibbs (R-OH) Richard Hanna (R-NY) Daniel Webster (R-FL) Tom Rice (R-SC) Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) Rodney Davis (R-IL) Doc Hastings (R-WA) Rob Bishop (R-UT) Nick Rahall (D-WV) Peter DeFazio (D-OR) Corrine Brown (D-FL) Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) Tim Bishop (D-NY) Donna Edwards (D-MD) John Garamendi (D-CA) Janice Hahn (D-CA) Rick Nolan (D-MN) Lois Frankel (D-FL) Cheri Bustos (D-IL) Grace Napolitano (D-CA) The Senate agreed by unanimous consent on Oct. 31 to launch conference negotiations. The bills would authorize navigation, flood control and wetland restoration projects. Both versions were passed with bipartisan support in their respective chambers. ASCE urges Congress to conference the Water Resources Development Act quickly. Additionally, ASCE hopes to see a final package that expedites the regulatory and environmental review process, creates a national levee safety program, increases money spent out of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, and reauthorizes the National Dam Safety Program. At this time the biggest difference between the House and Senate bills are on how to select Army Corps of Engineers projects that will be authorized for funding as well as the creation of a national levee safety program, which the Senate bill would create, while the House bill would not.Tags: house of representatives, senate, Water Resources, WRDA
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America’s Infrastructure Crisis Isn’t Overstated
November 14th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
When a doctor tells you that you are sick, you should probably stay home. When a contractor tells you that your roof is caving in, you should probably move out. When the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) tells our country that our infrastructure rates a D+, you should probably ask how we can raise the grade. The 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure was released earlier this year, highlighting our country’s infrastructure needs. Due to a growing backlog of infrastructure projects, by the year 2020, United States infrastructure needs face a funding shortfall of $1.6 trillion dollars. Last week, James Pethokoukis, a conservative blogger for the American Enterprise Institute, wrote a post that argued that American infrastructure is doing just fine. In fact, he argues three points to make his case: 1) Our public investment is equal to “peer” nations, as thus, adequate, 2) Public construction spending has been the same since 1993, and 3) Private industry can solve all of these problems alone. The argument that since our public investment is on par with Canada, Germany, and Australia, and that we should be unconcerned, is only valid if all of these counties share similar issues and similar history. Most of America’s infrastructure was built after WWII. These investments of the 20th century spurred our nation’s economic boom and made us a global power. Today, quite simply, that tab is coming due. Australia currently spends 2.4% of GDP on capital investment, compared to 0.60% by the U.S. Canada’s federal government investment in infrastructure is approximately 2.9% of GDP. And though our percentages of GDP spent on infrastructure are indeed comparable to Germany, in 2011, Germany adopted a five-year, $52 billion federal Framework Investment Plan for infrastructure. The question facing our country is are we going to maintain our 20th century foundation while making new investments for a prosperous 21st century. This is a unique challenge. America’s economy must lead the world, and as such, the foundation of that economy—our infrastructure—should lead the way. If we are going to build a sustainable infrastructure network for the 21st century, we also should not take pride in the fact that our investments are unchanged from 1993. Imagine living on the salary you made in 1993 today. Our economy and our nation have both grown since then. The fact that we have maintained the same level of construction spending should serve as a wakeup call to our leaders that we are not doing enough. Roads, bridges, and water systems only cost more to repair and maintain the longer we wait. In addition to the obvious costs of inaction, our aging infrastructure’s effects on our economy continue to grow. In preparation for their Report Card, ASCE conducted a series of economic analyses to see the effects our ailing infrastructure has on businesses and families. ASCE found that if our country continues on our current investment path between now and 2020, the U.S. will lose:- $3.1 trillion in GDP, almost the equivalent of Germany’s entire GDP
- $1.1 trillion in U.S. trade value, equivalent to Mexico’s GDP
- 3.5 million jobs, more than the jobs created by the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act
- $2.4 trillion in consumer spending, comparable to Brazil’s GDP
- $3,100 in annual personal disposable income
Brian Pallasch, CAE is Managing Director of Government Relations & Infrastructure Initiatives for the America Society of Civil Engineers. Janet Kavinoky is Executive Director for Transportation & Infrastructure at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Vice President for the Americans for Transportation Mobility Coalition.
Public Opinion Shows Americans Open to Bus Rapid Transit
November 12th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
Our friends at HNTB recently conducted their latest America THINKS survey, which polled a random nationwide sample of 1,127 Americans. The conclusion: Americans are open to new approaches to public transportation, such as bus rapid transit. But what is ‘bus rapid transit’? Simply, it is a new way of thinking about community bus service. According to HNTB, “Bus rapid transit is a lower-cost, more easily implemented alternative to a rail-based commuter transit system, yet still includes many popular features of rail-based public transportation, such as routes that are clearly laid out and run on a frequent and reliable schedule. BRT systems also often include low-emissions vehicles, electronic and/or automatic payment methods, and real-time arrival and departure updates.” In the 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, Transit earned a “D.” The Report Card found that 45% of American households lack any access to transit, and millions more have inadequate service levels. However, Americans who do have access have increased their ridership 9.1% in the past decade. Clearly, as demand for transit service increases, the question becomes how can cities, states, and communities meet this new challenge. HNTB’s study is encouraging in that it shows more and more Americans are seeing the connection between infrastructure investment and economic growth. Hopefully this trend will continue and we can all work together to raise our infrastructure grades.Tags: infrastructure, jobs, report card, transportation
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EPA Reports on the Importance of Water to the U.S. Economy
November 7th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
This week, the Environmental Protection Agency released a new report titled “The Importance of Water to the U.S. Economy.” The report concludes that, as a nation, we do not currently reflect water’s true worth in the economy. A great example is the fact that communities across the country are low-balling the cost of clean, safe tap water. Simply, the rates you and I pay for water are too low. Of course, no one likes hearing that, but if we want the water to keep flowing, we are going to have to price water as the critical resource that it is. As with any utility, the concern is that when it is undervalued, “business-as-usual” will eventually be unsustainable. In the 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, ASCE gave both Drinking Water and Wastewater a “D” grade. These two grades were largely due to the fact that America’s pipes and sewers are sometimes nearly a century old. As one can see, this aging means that the need is growing while the utility itself does not bring in enough money to finance its own operation. This topic is not new to ASCE. In our series of economic reports, titled Failure to Act, we found that if America continues down our current path, with no new investments in water infrastructure, we will lose $416 billion in GDP by 2020 due to increased costs and loss of worker productivity. Households and business would bear the burden, losing $59 billion and $147 billion respectively over that time span. By 2020, the average family budget would be squeezed by $900 as water rates rise and personal income falls. The lesson of Failure to Act is the same as we see in the EPA report: the cost of inaction is unacceptable. EPA Assistant Administrator Nancy Stoner says the main findings of their report are: 1) Water is absolutely fundamental to the U.S. economy 2) Water value and competition will rise, and 3) Decision-makers in the private and public sectors need more information. The first two conclusions are well taken, and worth repeating; however, the final conclusion does not go far enough. There is ample information—from ASCE, from the EPA, and from other groups—that explains why water is undervalued. What the public and private sector needs is awareness. Replacing the nation’s antiquated pipes will require significant local investment, including higher water rates. Just as with fixing a leaky roof in your home, the longer we wait, the more it will cost. The EPA’s report should serve as yet another call to action for all levels of government to invest in our water infrastructure now.Tags: economic study, infrastructure, jobs, report card, water
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Infrastructure Investment Wins at the Ballot Box!
November 6th, 2013 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
Yesterday voters in Maine and Texas both affirmed ballot resolutions resulting in increased investment in their local infrastructure. In Maine voters overwhelming approved Bond Question 3, 72% in favor to 28% opposed. Bond Question 3 gives permission to the State to borrow $100 million to fund transportation projects around the state which in turn would make the State eligible for at least $154 million in matching funds. Proceeds from the sale of these bonds would be administered by the Department of Transportation and would fund at least $49 million for road projects, $27 million for bridge projects and $24 million for multi-modal projects, including facilities and equipment related to ports, harbors, marine transportation, aviation, railroads (both passenger and freight), and transit (public transportation). In Texas Proposition 6 was also approved by a large margin – 73% to 27%. Proposition 6 authorizes the transfer of $2 billion from the state’s Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF or “Rainy Day Fund”) to a State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT). The $2 billion one-time cash infusion will be used with already authorized bonds to provide low interest loans, credit enhancement, interest deferrals, and other financial assistance to projects approved in the State Water Plan. It is expected that the SWIFT will operate as a revolving fund; with repayments funding new loans, the program should provide the financing needed to implement the projects in the 50-year State Water Plan. ASCE supported both of these initiatives through various media channels and Key Alerts to Section members in both states. In Texas, letters to the editor from ASCE members in Texas were picked up by the Houston Chronicle and Focus Daily News and KLTV in East Texas ran a video spot in which ASCE member Vik Verma, P.E., was highlighted. In Maine, two newspapers, the Morning Sentinel and the Bangor Daily News each ran supportive editorials that cited the 2012 Report Card for Maine’s Infrastructure. The voters in both of those states have shown that infrastructure investment is a priority. So should you!Tags: elections, infrastructure, state, state report card, transportation, water
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