The $1.2T Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (the “Bill”) passed the House and Senate and, once signed by the President, will fund 17 categories of infrastructure. The White House issued a statement detailing that under the Bill’s formula, Texas will receive $2.9 billion for water systems and $3.5 billion for resilience.
Whether water districts can directly access the funding in the Bill is not clear. The National Coalition of Special Districts (AWBD is a member) is advocating to make it easier for special districts to access the funding both in rulemaking and in new legislation. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (“TCEQ”) and Texas Water Development Board (“TWDB”) will likely receive funding. Both the TCEQ and TWDB are interested in understanding how to structure the program so water districts may be able to access funds.
The Bill was a major victory for organizations like the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), which recently gave the U.S. a C- in its Infrastructure Report Card, and the Association of Civil Engineering Companies, which provided a detailed summary of the Bill.
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