Biden Administration Archives

Opinion: Water Infrastructure — The Unmet Needs of Low-Income Communities

February 3, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Chelsea Campos /The Hillby David Coursen

To meet the promise of its day one executive order on Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities, the Biden administration needs to provide low-income communities, communities of color and Indigenous people the same access to clean and safe water that the rest of our nation takes for granted. Biden’s COVID-19 relief plan makes a down payment on that promise by funding improved access to clean water for the overburdened communities of Indian Country.

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Biden Swings Waters Pendulum With Final Resolution Still Elusive

January 29, 2021/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Chelsea Campos /Bloomberg Law by Bobby Magill

The Biden administration is swinging the pendulum of repeated changes to water regulation back to expanding after those regulatory powers contracted under President Donald Trump.

But the swing isn’t likely to be permanent, legal scholars say.

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Coalition Seeks Water Funding in Infrastructure Bill

January 20, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Chelsea Campos /AgAlertby Dave Kranz

Describing federal investment in Western water management as “essential,” a coalition of more than 200 organizations has urged the incoming Biden administration and the new Congress to include water facilities in any future infrastructure or economic-recovery package. The coalition, including a number of national and regional organizations plus farm groups and water districts from 15 states, sent separate letters last week to President-elect Biden and the Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate.

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Pendulum Swings in Clean Water Act Regulation

January 13, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Chelsea Campos /Capital Pressby Mateusz Perkouwski

The regulatory pendulum is expected to swing toward stricter Clean Water Act enforcement, though experts say the Biden administration’s changes probably won’t be immediate. Farmers and environmentalists have been in a political tug-of-war over the law’s scope for years, largely due to ambiguous legal interpretations of the statute. While Democrats will now have power over Congress, their majority is too slim to make changes to the law, said Don Parrish, the American Farm Bureau Federation’s senior director of regulatory relations.

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Can Biden Get an Infrastructure Deal Done Despite Capitol Hill Gridlock?

December 3, 2020/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Construction Dive by Joe Bousquin

Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama made infrastructure initiatives central goals of their administrations, as President-elect Joe Biden has similarly pledged to do, only to be stymied at delivering on those promises.

Industry watchers, politicians and public works contractors are all wondering if Biden will also hit a wall with his promised infrastructure package. The president-elect said his administration will invest $2 trillion into the economy, creating millions of jobs in infrastructure, housing, building construction and other projects.

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Here’s What the Water Sector Wants from Congress and President-Elect Biden

November 24, 2020/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Water Finance & Management

In a letter to President-elect Joe Biden last week, the American Water Works Association urged the incoming administration to prioritize COVID-19 relief for water utilities and investment for the overall water infrastructure sector.

The letter, authored by association president Melissa Elliott, cites AWWA research that revenue shortfalls at U.S. drinking water utilities may reduce economic activity by $32.7 billion and cost 75,000 to 90,000 private-sector jobs. Drinking water utilities are expected to see revenues from customer payments drop by nearly $14 billion, according to AWWA estimates. This is the result of the elimination of water shutoffs for non-payment, increased late payments due to high unemployment, reductions in non-residential water demands, and the addition of fewer new customers due to economic stagnation.

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