Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker testified on behalf of the National League of Cities before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure's Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
Mayor Becker’s testimony speaks to the important role of clean water infrastructure investment in our nation's communities and about how both U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Congress can partner more effectively with local governments to make smart investments to protect water quality.
An excerpt from Mayor Becker’s testimony:
“To the extent that America’s water infrastructure is properly maintained and can adequately meet the needs of our communities, it will help ensure the long-term vitality of our communities. To help achieve this goal, cities need a modern policy framework and resources to invest in our nation’s water infrastructure systems and protect water quality.To that end, we applaud EPA for developing the Integrated Municipal Storm water and Wastewater Planning Approach Framework, which demonstrates an awareness of the challenges local governments face in meeting Clean Water Act (CWA) requirements, as well as the conflicts they face in balancing environmental protection with economic feasibility…We ask you to work with EPA to implement the integrated planning framework as an affordable, flexible program that all communities, both large and small and urban and rural, have an equal opportunity to take advantage of and be successful in implementing.”
Source: National League of Cities