05.06.20

Sullivan Lauds Progress on Maritime, Rural Water & Sewer Infrastructure

New $250M Water Infrastructure Grant Program; Support for Nome Port

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee, joined his colleagues today in unanimously advancing two major bipartisan pieces of legislation—S.3591, the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2020 (AWIA) andS.3590, the Drinking Water Infrastructure Act of 2020 (DWIA)—out of the committee, which include a new $250 million water infrastructure grant program and support for a deep-water port in Nome, Alaska, both authored by Sullivan.

Drinking Water & Wastewater Infrastructure

Since coming to the Senate, Senator Sullivan has worked relentlessly to expand basic water and wastewater infrastructure for small and disadvantaged communities, particularly those that lack these services. In 2016, Sullivan’s first major piece of legislation to become law was a $60 million-per-year small & disadvantaged community water and wastewater grant program that was authorized for five years under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act of 2016. The DWIA, advanced from the EPW Committee today, authorizes a new competitive water infrastructure and assistance grant program—within the existing 2016 WIIN Act program—at $250 million over five years, and prioritizes states with a high proportion of communities that do not have household drinking water or wastewater services.

Additionally, Sullivan also secured provisions in the DWIA to authorize an increase in annual funding for the 2016 WIIN Act program by $40 million; reduce or, in some cases, eliminate the match required of small communities to receive the federal grant funds; and provide greater flexibility for communities to make use of the resources.

Finally, the AWIA included a provision to reauthorize the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Alaska Native Village and Rural Communities Water Grant Program at $40 million for the next two years. The program, which funds the Village Safe Water Program, helps Alaska Native villages build and maintain drinking and wastewater facilities and also provides vital funds for training and technical assistance resources for villages in Alaska. The program has not been reauthorized since 2005. 

“The CDC is telling all Americans to wash your hands frequently to combat the spread of the coronavirus. That's important. But how do you wash your hands if you don't have running water?” said Senator Sullivan. “The COVID-19 crisis is a fitting reminder that many Americans, including a number in rural Alaska, still lack the most basic amenities of clean water and a flush toilet that most of us take for granted. The grant program approved by the committee today could go a long way toward assisting these truly underserved communities and improving the health and well-being of our fellow citizens.”

Arctic Port

The AWIA, which includes the Water Resources Development Act of 2020, features a provision offered by Senator Sullivan to recognize the strategic importance of the Arctic to the United States and urge the expeditious completion of a feasibility report for a deep draft port in the Arctic. Importantly, the language serves as a placeholder for authorization language for a deep draft port project in Nome, to be included if the feasibility report is completed before final passage of the AWIA.

“There is much at stake in the Arctic, from resource development and transportation routes, to environmental protection, to the region’s strategic location, to the Arctic’s cold-weather-hardened-but-warm-hearted people,” said Senator Sullivan. “The Port of Nome, as the first in what is to be a series of Arctic ports, is positioned to play a critical role in ensuring the United States is a leader in the Arctic region in terms of national security, international trade, and geopolitical influence. I thank my fellow committee members for recognizing the vital role of a deep-water port in advancing America’s capabilities in the Arctic, and for ensuring we can move quickly to the next stage of development once the feasibility study is completed.” 

Both the AWIA and the DWIA now head to the full Senate for consideration. 

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