Letter To Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Office of the Speaker; Hon. John Olver, Chairman, Trans-HUD Subcommittee; Hon. Dave Obey, Chairman, House Appropriations Committee

Floor Speech

Letter To Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker Of The House; Hon. John Olver, Chairman, Trans-HUD Subcommittee; Hon. Dave Obey, Chairman, House Appropriations Committee

Infrastructure Enhancement Projects

Dear Colleagues: As the Chairwoman and Ranking Member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee, we wanted to take this opportunity to bring to your attention a serious issue impacting utility infrastructure and ratepayers.

The economic stimulus bill that we are debating directs billion of dollars toward infrastructure enhancement projects--with a significant portion allocated for highway construction. As is common with highway projects, their construction may require the relocation of existing utility infrastructure located within the existing public right-of-way or adjacent to the right-of-way, including natural gas distribution pipelines and power lines (both overhead and underground). With the substantial increase in federal funding provided by the stimulus package to states, counties and cities for highway projects, it is our understanding that utilities want to make sure that their customers are not asked to absorb major new and unforeseen costs.

As you may know, the current blueprint for how natural gas and electric utilities are reimbursed for these relocation costs is not uniform. Some states have laws or policies that allow for federal highway funds to be used to cover all or a portion of the costs of relocation. However, in many states, utilities are not reimbursed and these costs are ultimately borne by utility ratepayers. These increased costs to ratepayers could potentially negatively impact the goals of the stimulus package by creating a de facto ``economic stimulus bill'' surcharge in their future rates.

Additionally, pipeline and power line relocation associated with highway construction are often hampered by a lack of coordination and communication between the highway authorities and utilities. This can result in project delays and interruption of utility service. With the large number of projects that will be funded by the stimulus, there is a need for an effective consultative process under which utility companies and highway project mangers would discuss and can reach agreement on construction scheduling. Such a process would allow all parties to discuss the timing of construction and relocation and secure the availability of labor and material so that the projects funded by the stimulus bill can advance expeditiously.

Let's make these taxpayer dollars work effectively by ensuring that highway infrastructure projects not only proceed in a coordinated and efficient manner but also allow utilities to be fairly reimbursed.

We appreciate your attention to this important matter and look forward to working with you to advance the economy of our country while protecting the interests of taxpayers and utility rate payers.

Sincerely,

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