Putting Underground Utility Construction Back to Work
Listen up contractors. There’s a new bill in town — and this one is poised to get underground utility construction industry back to work. The National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA) applauds the introduction of the Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Act of 2010 (S. 3262). The legislation would lift water and wastewater infrastructure project from under the state volume cap subject to private activity bonds (PABs).
PABs provide tax-exempt financing for a government entity such as a municipality or state that wishes to partner with a private entity to meet a public need. However, because current law caps the amount of PABs each state can issue, water infrastructure projects are commonly overshadowed by more attractive infrastructure projects.
“It is estimated that lifting the cap on PABs would cost the government a modest $214 million over 10 years but could result in as much as $6 billion annually in incremental private capital for water and sewer infrastructure projects,” said NUCA Chairman of the Board Dan East of Reynolds, Inc. in Albuquerque, N.M. “At a time when construction unemployment hovers around 25 percent, passage of this bill would be a great investment of government as well as private sector dollars.”
Bill Hillman, NUCA CEO, agrees. “With America’s water and wastewater infrastructure needs facing hundreds of billions of dollars in fiscal need while the federal investment remains stagnant, clearly there is a role for private sector participation,” Hillman said. “This legislation would put our industry back to work, generate significant economic activity in local communities around the country, and help rebuild America’s dilapidated environmental infrastructure.”
The House version of the bill (HR 537) as included as part of the Small Business and Infrastructure Jobs Tax Act (HR 4849), which passed the House on March 24th. NUCA appreciates the efforts of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who introduced the bill today along with the bipartisan support of original cosponsors, Sens. Mike Crapo (R- Idaho), John Kerry (D-Mass.), and Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-Mo.).
