Washington, D.C. – In response to the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee markup of H.R. 1437, the Water Quality and Job Protection Act, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), issued the following statement from Deputy Legislative Director Madeleine Foote:

“This bill makes important progress towards addressing our failing water infrastructure, provides a significant increase in water infrastructure funding and includes critical investments that go beyond simply fixing pipes, such as encouraging deployment of natural infrastructure solutions, forcing utilities to study the impacts that climate change is having on water systems, and providing new resources for disadvantaged communities to ensure every community is able to invest in the water infrastructure they need to thrive. Although we do not like the bill’s extensions of certain pollution permits for water utilities that have not demonstrated actual need for such a change, we believe the provision is limited in scope, and that on the whole, the bill moves us forward in the critical fight to ensure every family has access to clean water.

“We greatly appreciate the efforts of Chairman DeFazio and Water Resources & Environment Subcommittee Chairwoman Napolitano for their leadership in addressing our nation’s water infrastructure crisis and look forward to continuing to work together on the many water challenges facing our communities.”

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