6.3 ERMUSR 03-13-2018 - Laserfiche WebLink

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1MIMILf Arinnylifiv Position Statement Infrastructure • The Administration budget for public utility New caUectto+r. S7/b.01,6% u' fined "'•' infrastructure needs more funding, more detail and ��,�,,,�Unarm Nev.eneeeteYt�4 %el m.53vv�.o% less reliance on private interests. rJrertluw{CS0).. SWISJ6t.6% Undefined Wattmeter OAS a% reetnune.540.1N1,1% secandertr • Much of the country's infrastructure is $1T2f4a ne' significantly past its expected lifespan. The need to modernize our infrastructure is rapidly becoming a national crisis. • Increasingly stringent federal regulation of air .n� and water is a major driver of the need to update local government infrastructure, as well as a factor Sewer System f e1uRililation. in increased costs and rates. Advanced $2.640s7.sex Treatment,$214.95 5% urf , ' • The Administration's proposed funding only • averages $400 million per state per year, and would The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has identified more cover only 13% of project costs. This is insufficient to than 1,050 wastewater infrastructure projects at a cost of meet the needs of cash-strapped local governments. almost$5 billion dollars(shown above in millions of dollars) in future wastewater treatment and collection system needs • Tax exempt bonds play a critical part in financing over the next 20 years. infrastructure needs and should not be further restrained by federal tax law. The opportunity to use advance refunding for tax-exempt bonds should be major driver in the need to build expensive new restored. water and wastewater facilities is the continual evolution of federal water quality regulation. Plants • Privatization is not the answer to our built to meet federal regulations become obsolete infrastructure crisis. more quickly than anticipated because of the need to meet more stringent federal regulations. Background Municipal electric, natural gas, water and Water wastewater utilities are the key local agents in Based on recent surveys conducted by the providing, utilizing and maintaining local public Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), utility infrastructure across the country. These Minnesota Department of Health and the U.S. facilities provide the essential public services that Environmental Protection Agency, Minnesota's form the underpinnings of modern society. drinking water infrastructure needs exceed $7 billion over the coming 20-year period. These needs In the decades when much of the nation's existing include replacing aging treatment plants and public utility infrastructure was built, federal funds underground infrastructure, upgrading treatment paid for as much as 80% of it with 20% matching plants to meet new requirements, and expanding funds coming from state and local government. The systems in some areas to accommodate growth. current near-crisis condition of much of the nation's infrastructure is in large part due to a shift away Wastewater from this funding arrangement toward reliance on Much of Minnesota's wastewater infrastructure more state and local financing. was built with federal grants during the 1970s and 80s and is reaching the end of its effective Minnesota's need for infrastructure improvement design life. In response to the MPCA's survey, 715 is significant and growing year by year. And the continued on next page 2018 Federal Position Statements/3 235