Infrastructure gets 'D'

[Levy.Dave at epamail.epa.gov]

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Infrastructure gets 'D'

WASHINGTON - The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)'s report card
on
infrastructure in the United States gives solid waste a C+ grade, hazardous

waste a D+ grade, and wastewater and drinking water each a D grade.

The ASCE predicts that the nation's burgeoning population will cause
further
stress on all aspects of the water infrastructure and that an estimated $11

billion annually for the next five years is needed just to maintain water
standards.

The ASCE recommended that Congress appropriate $11 billion to $12 billion
annually for immediate wastewater infrastructure repairs and system
upgrades
and the creation of a water trust fund to finance the national shortfall in

funding for water and wastewater infrastructure. These trust funds should
not be diverted for nonwater purposes.

Solid waste received the best grade mainly because most states have
effectively sought alternatives to dumping solid waste into landfills by
encouraging recycling, which has increased by 50 percent since 1990, and
converting waste to energy. Approximately 17 percent of the nation's solid
waste is now converted to energy.

Efforts to reduce hazardous waste have improved, raising that category's
grade from a D- to a D+ since the last report card, primarily because
effective regulation and enforcement of current policies have largely
halted
the contamination of new sites. Yet this grade remains low because the
number of sites could grow, creating a backlog in the system, according to
ASCE officials.

Wastewater standards at the 16,000 wastewater systems across the country
have declined from a D+ in 1998 to a D, while the nation's 54,000 drinking
water systems received a D for the second consecutive report. Wastewater
and
drinking water systems are both quintessential examples of aged systems
that
need to be updated, according to the report analysts. For example, some
sewer systems are 100 years old and some aged drinking water systems are
structurally obsolete.

The expected shortfall of $11 billion for drinking water expenditures and
$12 billion in wastewater expenditures only account for improvements to the

current system and do not even take into consideration the demands of a
growing population. A survey by the US Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), due out later this year, is expected to estimate the drinking water
shortfall could reach as high as $300 billion, according to ASCE officials.

"As dismal as these grades seem, many of the downward trends can be
reversed
with increased funding and a renewed partnership between citizens, local,
state and federal governments," said James E. Davis, executive director of
ASCE. "As a nation, we have taken for granted that our lights will turn on,

our roads and bridges won't crumble beneath us and that we'll have clean
and
safe water when we're thirsty. Without adequate resources, we cannot
implement appropriate solutions."

Although the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996 authorized the EPA
to spend $1 billion annually to construct and repair drinking water
facilities, Congress has failed to appropriate the full amount. In fiscal
year 2001, the appropriated amount is $825 million, 82.5 percent of the
authorized total, representing less than 10 percent of the total amount
needed this year.

In the 2001 budget, Congress appropriated $1.35 billion for wastewater
infrastructure, which represents about 11 percent of the annual need
nationally.

"With a projected federal budget surplus of $5.6 trillion, our leaders in
Congress have the funds needed to restore our ailing infrastructure," said
Robert W. Bein, president of ASCE and a civil engineer from Irvine, CA.

"Without these resources, we gamble America's prosperity on an
infrastructure whose pipes, schools, and airports are literally at the
bursting point."

Each category was evaluated on the basis of condition and performance,
capacity vs. need and funding vs. need.

Meanwhile, the American Water Works Association extended an olive branch,
offering to work with the ASCE in a unified effort.

"AWWA is eager to work with Congress and other interested groups to make
the
necessary improvements in the most practical, accountable manner possible,"

said AWWA Executive Director Jack Hoffbuhr. "AWWA intends to ensure those
efforts result in plans that protect public health and promote economic
sustainability for utilities and communities alike."

For more information, including examples of the condition of infrastructure

locally and state statistics for many of the infrastructure areas cited in
the 2001 Report Card for America's Infrastructure, go to  --

     http://www.asce.org/reportcard