Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021--Continued

Floor Speech

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Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act, S. 914, introduced by my colleague Senator Duckworth. This bill would provide much needed funding for drinking water and wastewater cleanup across the country, addressing climate change and assisting underserved communities.

Millions of Americans do not have access to clean water. In California alone, it is estimated that nearly 1 million Californians do not have access to clean water from their tap. California faces unique water challenges, and in the face of climate change, drought per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances contamination, and population growth, my State's aging water infrastructure, like many others, is in need of support.

The Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act authorizes more than $35 billion for updating and repairing aging infrastructure, and also assisting historically underserved and marginalized communities.

Communities of color and low-income communities are more likely to lack the infrastructure to provide safe drinking water to households and prevent water contamination. For example, the farming communities of the San Joaquin Valley face a frequent danger of drought that threatens to dry up their groundwater supply.

These predominantly Latino communities also face the threat of growing nitrate levels in their ground water supplies, forcing families to forego using tap water for drinking, cooking, and even showering.

This bill would fix these disparities by funding investments and advancements in infrastructure to ensure that families have access to clean water, no matter where they live.

I am pleased that my amendment to Section 203 was included in the substitute bill. Section 203 of the base bill creates a new EPA grant program for water recycling and other sustainable water supplies that will complement the existing Bureau of Reclamation water recycling program.

In the base bill, section 203 prohibits water recycling projects that have received any Bureau of Reclamation funding from receiving EPA funding. I think it is reasonable to prohibit water districts that have received Bureau of Reclamation construction funding from also receiving construction funding from EPA.

But the base bill would also prohibit water districts from applying for EPA grants if they received even preliminary Reclamation funding years ago for feasibility studies, planning, or design.

The new EPA program is needed precisely because there is a backlog of $800 million to $1 billion for water recycling projects under the Bureau of Reclamation's program.

I don't believe it makes sense to prohibit water districts from accessing available EPA funding to build needed water recycling projects just because they got a little Reclamation study funding years ago.

My amendment, which Senators Padilla and Kelly cosponsored, would ensure that water recycling projects that received Bureau of Reclamation funding for studies would still be eligible to apply for EPA funding.

I thank the bill managers for accepting this amendment into the substitute bill.

I am also pleased to vote for Senator Shaheen's bill and thank the Senator for her efforts to improve our nation's water infrastructure.

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