Washington, D.C. - U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady (R-The Woodlands) together with U.S. Representative Max Sandlin today introduced the Clean Air and Water Investment Act of 2003.  This bill would help ease the financial burden of looming Clean Air Act standards and the increasing cost of clean water in states like Texas and regions such as Houston-Galveston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Beaumont and San Antonio. 

 

The Clean Air and Water Investment Act of 2003 reestablishes federal tax-exempt bond financing for environmental improvements to air and water quality that existed in the tax code prior to 1986.  In the Houston region, the clean air costs will be staggering.  This bill will help Houston reach EPA imposed Clean Air Act standards by the 2007 deadline. 

 

Through out the long hot summer months, Houston area residents often woke to warnings of unhealthy ozone levels.  Ozone is formed when car pollution and industrial sources mixes in sunlight.  Ozone is a lung irritant and  prolonged exposure  can aggravate asthma and cause respiratory disease.  This bill helps area industries afford high tech air and water cleaning equipment to help reduce ozone make drinking water cleaner and improve the environment. 

Respected economist Dr. Barton Smith of the University of Houston and Dr. George Tolley of the University of Chicago estimate that meeting the  federal ozone standards by 2007 will cost businesses and households in the eight-county Houston region at least $4.1 billion a year even after counting the health benefits from improved air quality.

 

"If area businesses are forced to spend four billion dollars a year on new equipment and new technology to clean our air, that's four billion dollars that won't be available for new research or worker pay raises, health care benefits or retirement plans," said Brady.

 

According to the EPA, the estimated shortfall for funding water and wastewater infrastructure needs over the next 20 years ranges from $76 to $534 billion.  The Texas Water Development Board has estimated that this bill could save up to 30% in financing cost for a community served by water supply corporations.  These savings translate into savings for consumers and reduce a community's debt service payments, thereby providing room to make investments for other priorities, like schools, roads, community health and more.

 

"If Washington can provide low cost loans to foreign nations to help preserve and protect the environment, why can't we extend the same affordable financing to help America's communities do the same?" asked Brady.

 

Critical water supply problems currently affect major portions of the West and Southwest. Significant amounts of water can be conserved by modernizing water storage and delivery systems, working with state and local partners to improve water management with new technology, and targeting technical and financial assistance to help farmers, ranchers, and municipalities make more efficient use of their irrigation and drinking water.

 

Desalination is a technology that has finally becoming an economically viable tool in the transformation of seawater and brackish groundwater into clean and usable water in Texas and other drought stricken states. Unfortunately, desalinization does come at an expense and municipal water authorities say they are going to need some help from the federal government to help fund this effort.

"The Clean Air and Water Investment Act is a major step in the right direction. Tax-exempt financing would benefit the entire range of water and wastewater systems, from small, community-based systems to large-scale, regional projects, like desalinization plants on Texas' coast, " Brady continued.

 

Congressional consideration of the legislation will start in the House Committee on Ways & Means, of which Brady and Sandlin are members.

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson is expected to introduce the companion bill in the Senate soon.