Capito announces release of water infrastructure improvement draft bills

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), who serves on the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW), on April 21 announced the committee’s release of two draft bills that would authorize approximately $17 billion in new federal funding to invest in water infrastructure projects across the country.

“Strengthening and improving America’s infrastructure has always been a top priority of mine,” Sen. Capito said. “As chairman of EPW’s Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, I’m proud of the role I played in negotiating this draft legislation and the way we worked across the aisle to do so.”

The committee released drafts of the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2020 and the Drinking Water Infrastructure Act of 2020, which Sen. Capito said include priorities for her home state of West Virginia.

“During these negotiations, I was able to secure many provisions that will have a positive impact in West Virginia — including improvements to our water and wastewater systems, unlocking more funding for our inland waterways infrastructure, and providing more support for our flood control infrastructure,” said Sen. Capito.

The senator said she was “especially proud” to have included a $120 million program she authored for water and wastewater infrastructure in the central Appalachia region. “This bipartisan legislation makes important changes and updates such as these that will help not only improve the health and well-being of West Virginians, but also others in communities across the nation,” Sen. Capito said.

The draft of the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2020 — authored by Sen. Capito and U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) — includes approximately $17 billion in new federal authorizations to increase water storage, provide floodwaters protections, deepen nationally significant ports, maintain the navigability of inland waterways, and repair aging wastewater and irrigation systems, according to a summary of the draft provided by Sen. Capito’s office.

The Drinking Water Infrastructure Act of 2020 includes approximately $2.5 billion in federal funds and would reauthorize programs under the Safe Drinking Water Act to provide resources and technical assistance to communities, according to the summary.

“I look forward to moving this legislation into the final stages and making sure these measures and other legislative solutions remain in the bill throughout the process,” said Sen. Capito.