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Senate Committee Releases Water Infrastructure and Drinking Water Discussion Drafts
The Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee released two discussion drafts of water infrastructure and drinking water legislation last week that include numerous Great Lakes priorities, including addressing aquatic invasive species and rising water levels in the Great Lakes region. The first bill, which is called America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2020 (AWIA 2020), serves as the Senate's 2020 work towards the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), legislation that Congress typically focuses on every two years. The bill authorizes approximately $17 billion for the Army Corps to conduct water infrastructure projects. Among the key provisions included in the bill for the Great Lakes are:
- The formal authorization of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study-Brandon Road project, which focused on preventing the spread of Asian carp to the Great Lakes;
- An adjustment of the federal/local construction cost share of the Brandon Road project to 75 percent federal/25 percent local;
- The authorization of a $25 million Great Lakes comprehensive flood protection study; and
- The authorization of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) in FY 2022 at $375 million.
The second bill, which is called the Drinking Water Infrastructure Act of 2020, includes $2.5 billion in federal authorizations specific to the protection of national drinking water priorities. It reauthorizes programs under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to provide resources and technical assistance to communities' critical drinking water needs.
A more detailed breakdown of the AWIA 2020 can be viewed here, and a more detailed breakdown of the Drinking Water Infrastructure Act of 2020 can be viewed here.
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