Under the measure approved by the Senate, $100 million would be made available for lead pipe replacement and other infrastructure improvements to any community where an emergency has been declared because of lead levels in the water – a condition that now only applies to Flint. Sens. Jeff Flake, Mike Lee and Ben Sasse, all Republicans, were the lone no-votes on the bill.
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The U.S. Senate has approved a $10 billion water projects bill that includes money for Flint, Michigan – almost a year after a public health emergency was first declared there because of lead-contaminated water.
However, the bill is said to face a more uncertain future in the House, which is expected to vote on a water projects bill without the drinking water provisions.
“So I just want to be clear it would be a shortsighted mistake for those trying to help the people in Flint to prevent the quick movement of [the Water Resources Development Act] in the House so we can conference immediately”, Inhofe said. Debbie Stabenow (D) and Gary Peters (D) pushed for approving emergency funds for Flint.
Flint’s water crisis began after the city’s drinking water source was switched from the Detroit-based Lake Huron water supply to the Flint River in a cost-saving move.
The city switched back last October after tests found high levels of lead in blood samples taken from children, but the drinking water has not returned fully to normal.
“It’s extremely important that improvements be made on the current recovery “efforts” in Flint made by the City and State of MI, said Melissa Mays of Flint”.
Flint, which has struggled for at least a year with lead-contaminated water, is the only community that now fits the definition; however, other communities could qualify in the coming months. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which spearheaded the bill, about the need for it.
The bill includes about $1.9 billion for projects to restore Florida’s Everglades and combat algae blooms that have fouled the state’s beaches and rivers.
The bill would continue a project to deepen Charleston Harbor in SC; speed up reimbursements to tribal, local and state governments for costs incurred in a toxic-waste spill at Colorado’s Gold King Mine; and continue a project to improve Lake Tahoe in California and Nevada.
The dispute involves dredging planned near a submarine base outside New London, Connecticut, to make room for the Navys newest Virginia-class submarines. Gillibrand and other NY officials fear the project could violate the state’s stringent water quality standards. The bill also aims to create subsidies that would provide up to $700 million nationwide for financing water infrastructure projects. “I’ve been standing with my Michigan colleagues on this, and I will continue to do so”, Inhofe said on the Senate floor.
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House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said Thursday that completing a water bill was “definitely within the realm of possibilities” before year’s end. Rep. Dan Kildee (D), a Flint native, discussed the possibility that the Flint aid might be attached to a must-pass spending bill later this year.
