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Let me tell you an old, familiar story: a government agency rains regulations onto local communities with little regard for how much it may cost them to comply. The resulting red tape sticks local families and businesses with higher costs through increased utility bills. Many of these families are already stretching pennies to stay above water financially; higher utility bills only make things worse. The federal agency won’t relent, and the families feel the squeeze.  

Nebraskans know this story well. From on-farm fuel storage requirements to heavy-handed one-size-fits-all rules for our community banks, our state has weathered a host of misguided federal mandates for the last eight years.

One such example: over 700 communities across the country face mandates from the EPA to comply with the Clean Water Act (CWA). These mandates put high, and often unrealistic, demands on communities for updating their storm and wastewater infrastructure. The agency issues these orders with little regard for local infrastructure planning, investments, or costs to ratepayers. Such improvements no doubt help families stay healthy and safe. But in complying with these costly mandates, local communities have no choice but to pass on these increased costs to families through higher utility bills.

Few people know this better than the residents of Omaha. In recent years, they have seen sewer and water rate increases because of federally mandated CWA regulations.

This is also a national problem. According to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, on average, municipalities spend between 6 to 7 cents of every tax dollar on water and sewer systems. This makes water infrastructure the third-largest expense for cities, after education and emergency response personnel.

While these regulations may be well meaning, imposing such rigid rules on America’s families and small businesses harms them financially at a time when few can afford it. That’s why I’ve worked with a bipartisan group of my Senate colleagues to give local communities greater flexibility and affordability measures to meet these requirements, while also ensuring they stay safe and healthy.

Working together, we introduced the Water Infrastructure Flexibility Act.

This bill would allow municipalities to prioritize investments in storm and wastewater projects needed for CWA compliance. It would also establish an Office of Municipal Ombudsman at the EPA to assist cities in complying with federal environmental laws. Most importantly, our bill requires the EPA to revise this regulation to make it more affordable.

We all want clean water; our bill helps us work for that important goal without unnecessarily burdening families along the way.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Association of Counties, the National League of Cities, and the National Association of Clean Water Agencies have all endorsed this bill. I’m grateful for their support.

With the Water Infrastructure Flexibility Act, we hope to tell a new story about how government interacts with its people. In our version, government respects its citizens and recognizes that regulations have consequences far beyond what bureaucrats plan or expect. I’m confident it will have a much happier ending, too, for families in Nebraska and across our country.

Thank you for your participation in our democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week.

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