Large Federal Infrastructure Bills Could Provide Funding
Local and state governments have been unable to pay for the critically needed Port Hadlock-Irondale sewer project. At least another $30 million must come from somewhere. It could come from Washington, D.C.
A trillion-dollar infrastructure fund for projects in poor rural and urban areas was introduced this month by a diverse, bi-partisan group of lawmakers.
Introduced by Reps. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., William Lacy Clay Jr., D-Mo., and Ted Budd, R-N.C., the Generating American Income and Infrastructure Act would require the Agriculture Department to sell distressed assets and the Treasury to use the proceeds to fund infrastructure projects in poor communities.
Kelly is a member of the Republican Study Committee. Clay belongs to the Congressional Black Caucus. Budd belongs to the Republican Freedom Caucus.
The bill comes at a time when the Trump Administration and Senate Democrats are pushing their own infrastructure proposals.
The GAIN Act would generate an estimated $2 trillion. Half would go towards paying down the national debt. The other half would go to projects in predominantly poor Black, Hispanic and rural white communities. By selling troubled assets, the act also keeps the government from losing more money on sinking investments.
Poor Rural Communities
Irondale and Port Hadlock are poor communities. Their income and wealth levels are far below those of the rest of the county, the state and the nation. Their poverty rate at times has been significantly higher than the nation’s. Many people in Port Townsend’s affluent neighborhoods have little idea of the poverty they would encounter if they left S.R. 19 and wandered through the Irondale’s hidden lanes.
The area has lost businesses and jobs because of the lack of a sewer. Current businesses are constrained by the limitations of septic systems. Growth plans have been shelved. Other businesses have been required by the county government to limit hours of operation and restrict their operations to fit limited septic capacity.
Yet this is supposed to be an urban growth area, according to the county’s comprehensive plan. This is also the area with the greatest prospect of supporting affordable housing, due to land availability and relatively lower costs. According to four-term county commissioner David Sullivan, the Hadlock-Irondale sewer project isthe key to the affordable housing situation county-wide.
Commissioner Sullivan is not alone in his assessment of the critical importance of a simple wastewater treatment project.
“The Irondale-Hadlock sewer is essential to the local economy and making housing more affordable,” U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer told the PT Free Press.
Not Enough Money to Build
At the cost of a million dollars, the sewer has been engineered. The county has obtained the land. The county has deemed the project “shovel ready.”
If only there were enough money.
The current projected cost—pending a possible re-engineering—is about $45 million. The county reports it has secured $13.4 million and is counting on state and federal sources for the balance.
We asked our Congressional delegation what they have been doing to secure federal funding for the critically needed sewer project and where they stood on the GAIN Act.
Representative Kilmer
“I’ve been working every funding angle to help get the project the funds it needs so businesses can start growing,” Kilmer told PT Free Press. “I’ve connected the county commissioners with state and federal advisors and resources who have helped navigate the over-complicated government funding process. As Vice Ranking Member of the Appropriations Committee, I’ve pushed to increase USDA Rural Wastewater Treatment grants over the last several years so that this project, and a project with a similar challenge in Kitsap County can secure more federal funds.”
As for the GAIN Act, he said, “I’m encouraged by any bipartisan bill that would direct new federal funds to rural infrastructure projects. I’m taking a close look at this bill to determine how much revenue it could generate, and whether communities in our region could use that revenue.”
“On a broader level,” he added, “this challenge exemplifies the need for Congress to pass a comprehensive infrastructure package. The leaders of our country can’t drag their feet anymore on infrastructure investment because it’s hurting the economy in our neck of the woods. I’ve used my seat as Vice Chair for Policy of the New Democrat Coalition to develop a policy agenda that would help projects like this one start moving. I’m working with members of both parties to invest in our communities and help bring the infrastructure we need to grow our economy.”
Senator Maria Cantwell
Bryan Watt, a spokesperson for Senator Cantwell had this to say:
“On the Irondale-Hadlock sewer infrastructure project Senator Cantwell’s outreach team has meet with Jefferson County folks about helping get this project done and identifying a potential funding stream.
“Earlier this year Senator Cantwell and several of her colleagues introduced a major infrastructure plan that invests billions to modernize airports and waterways, sewer systems, invest in affordable housing, rebuild crumbling schools and VA hospitals, overhaul road and bridge repairs, equip rural communities with high-speed internet, revitalize main streets across the country, modernize the electric grid and energy infrastructure, and more.
“Specifically, the bill includes $23 billion dollars for water infrastructure through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Rural Development Water and Waste Water Grant Program, which provides funding for such projects in small towns and rural communities under 10,000 in population.”
Senator Cantwell’s legislation relies on repeal of tax cuts passed by Congress and strongly supported by President Trump.
Senator Patty Murray
“There’s no doubt,” Senator Murray told Port Townsend Free Press, “our country needs to do more to address our aging infrastructure, which is why I have pushed for significant infrastructure investments over the years and even created a program that allows communities to apply for competitive grants to get big projects across the finish line. I stand ready to help communities across our state including Port Hadlock because improving and maintaining infrastructure is so important to the health and safety of families, as well as to local economies.”
Jefferson County Cannot Afford Another Miss
The Obama administration poured a trillion dollars into the economy to counteract its inherited recession. It is not too long ago to remember President Obama touting “shovel ready” projects across the country that would be completed thanks to his stimulus package. A major focus of that stimulus was infrastructure investment. Despite having a friendly Democrat administration and a Democrat-controlled Congress, our delegation, and our local leaders, for whatever reason, did not seize the opportunity and secure funding for the Hadlock wastewater system. Grants of hundreds of millions of dollars were dished out. Years later many have been forgotten with little or nothing to show. Huge losses were deemed acceptable because the government’s first goal was stimulus. A $30-40 million grant for a sewer system in a poor community needing jobs and housing—it should have been a gimme.
Mr. Kilmer was not yet in the House. He now may have a chance to seize an opportunity that slipped by before. He can be one of those Congressional heroes remembered for generations because of his tangible legacy. The “Derek Kilmer Sewer Plant” could be a terrific monument to public service that really made a difference.
The GAIN Act presents a possible second great stimulus opportunity that cannot be missed. As Rep. Kilmer noted, we should be encouraged by its bi-partisan backing.
Our delegation could do nothing more important for Jefferson County than to secure the funding that would launch the Tri-Area into an era of prosperity. Maybe they can give Trump something he wants to get something we need back home.
President Trump has already derided Democrats’ plans for rolling back his tax cuts. The infrastructure bill backed by Senator Cantwell is likely going nowhere. She needs to change her thinking.
Similarly, President Trump’s infrastructure plan, which relies mostly on increasing gas tax and ramping up state and local investment, faces its own hurdles, including from within his own party.
The GAIN Act has the advantage of paying for itself and at the same time shielding the government from losing more money on bad assets. It appeals to conservatives in paying down the debt while building infrastructure to support economic growth. It appeals to Democrats because it targets Black and Hispanic communities and also poor white communities, where Democrats are struggling to hang on.
For the sake of our community, our congressional delegation must build bridges to the Trump administration. Far more important to our community than the ideological battles waged inside the Beltway is an unsexy, mundane investment in pipes and pumps in Jefferson County’s blue collar communities.
Voters have relied on intermediaries to press our state and congressional representatives to secure funding for the sewer. This issue is so important we need to communicate with them directly.
Here is contact information for our Congress folks. Let them hear from you directly. Encourage them. Write a letter. Don’t use email—it is too easily ignored. Give them a call. Or better yet, fax them. Old fashioned faxes get attention:
Rep. Derek Kilmer
1520 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-5916
F: (202) 226-3575
Senator Patty Murray
154 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-2621
Toll Free: (202) 866-481-9186
Fax: (202) 224-0238
Senator Maria Cantwell
511 Hart Senate Office Building
511 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-3441
Fax: (202) 228-0514
Jim Scarantino
Jim Scarantino was the editor and founder of Port Townsend Free Press. He is happy in his new role as just a contributor writing on topics of concern to him. He spent the first 25 years of his professional life as a trial attorney, then launched an online investigative news website that broke several national stories. He is also the author of three crime novels. He resides in Jefferson County. See our "About" page for more information.
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