U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) on March 5 introduced a bipartisan bill to establish the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Water within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Rep. Katko sponsored the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Water (ARPA-H2O) Act of 2020, H.R. 6113, with cosponsor U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI) to help ensure that communities across the country have access to safe drinking water and effective wastewater treatment systems, according to his office.
If enacted, the bill would establish the water agency within EPA to develop innovative technology toward improving water treatment, modernizing water management systems, and reducing the cost burden on local municipalities and ratepayers, Rep. Katko said.
The legislation also aims to expand on local efforts from companies like Xylem Inc., a water resources solutions company in Auburn, N.Y., that develops new technologies to upgrade water infrastructure, protect against emerging contaminants like Harmful Algal Blooms, and promote sustainable water management.
“To modernize our water infrastructure and protect water quality in central New York, I am proud to work in a bipartisan manner to expand on local efforts by Xylem with the introduction of” H.R. 6113, said Rep. Katko. “Aging water infrastructure poses a serious threat to our drinking water.”
As a member of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the congressman said he has “been a leader on water quality efforts — passing bipartisan legislation to bring our water infrastructure into the 21st century and working to increase funds for the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Fund programs.”
H.R. 6113 has been endorsed by Xylem, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, the Bipartisan Policy Center, the Water Environment Federation, The Water Research Foundation, and the WateReuse Association.
The measure is now under consideration in the U.S. House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.