This is just over two hours and 20 minutes. Let me call this hearing to order. We are here to examine the implementation of the drinking and wastewater portions of the bipartisan infrastructure law, this is helping to deliver clean Drinking Water to millions of households and schools across our country. Before we do that, let me say how grateful i am to both panels for joining us today, including representatives of Drinking Water and large utilities. We are appreciative of the assistant administrator who leads epas office of water. The love our guests. We want to remember this day. Yesterday, the Biden Administration took a major step in addressing the presence of toxic forever chemicals in our Drinking Water. This announcement was some 20 years in the making, and issue we are dealing with in 48 states. I want to commend the administrator, assistant administrator and all of epa for proposing a thoughtful, sciencebased National Drinking standard. Its a critical step to protecting Drinking Water to protect our Public Health in its proposed budget released last week. In the budget, the president requested more than 12 billion, 1. 9 billion, 19 increase for the enacted level. 4 billion of the proposal is reserved for Water Infrastructure, including an additional 219 million to reduce the lead in Drinking Water, removing the lead in schools and to replace lead pipes. Work on the law invest Water Infrastructure, which brings us to the topic of todays hearing. Oversight of the implementation of drinking and wastewater portions of the bipartisan infrastructure. As we have discussed, its not just enough to enact landmark legislation, but its important. That is part of what were doing today. We have some folks from West Virginia who have joined us. If you would like to be from West Virginia, raise your hand. [laughter] almost everybody, for the record. I work on this committee to improve the water and infrastructure. Some of you may recall matthew 25 calls on all of us to care for those that are in need to give those that are thursday something to drink. This includes access we lived alongside a stream. My sister and i lived alongside beavercreek. We would sometimes catch frogs, we were not allowed to meet any of them. Nearby septic tanks were not maintained. At the time, our situation was not too different from other small communities in West Virginia across the country. In the years that followed, our government responded by creating grants and loans for communities across our country to upgrade drinking and wastewater drinking systems. Programs are in dire need of updating and that is why we on this committee join forces to address this need, we worked in an overwhelmingly bipartisan way to pass the act. You will recall the act involves investments and funds to be the primary vehicle for state and local governments to finance projects across america. We advanced out of committee, we pass it out of the full senate by a vote of 892. American people are looking for bipartisanship. They need to look no further than this committee and its work on at the structure. The water bill combined with the historic highway legislation served as a foundation for the bipartisan infrastructure along with the law President Biden signed into law in 2021. The bipartisan infrastructure law invested in an unprecedented if the 5 billion 55 billion to improve wasteWater Systems across the country, and it was paid for. This remains the single largest investment in our nations history. Let me repeat that. It remains the single largest investment in our nations history. Now, the epa has a responsibility of putting these investments to work. Todays hearing is an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of how the ss is going area process is going. That includes how the bipartisan infrastructure law is benefiting communities with the greatest need and what authorities might be needed to make the Program Function better. Everything i know i can do better. We know we can still improve further. For example, is there work to adapt programs to change the climate and population and the age of our infrastructure. As i said earlier, we look forward to hearing from our distinguished panelist witnesses , before we do, let me turn it over for opening remarks. Thank you, mr. Chairman and all of you for being here today. I would like to thank the assistant administrator for not just being here today but for the lines of human occasion you kept open as you promised in your hearing when you can before the committee, you stayed true to your word and i appreciate that. I would also like to thank you for after many years of me yanked banging the gavel and gone and with the chair to set the safe drinking level, that will have many impacts across the country but certainly safe, clean and healthy water is at the top of the list for all of us. This committee values your perspectives on the challenges and other witnesses as well facing the Water Infrastructure, as well as your insights on solutions to these challenges. The focus is on topics of critical importance, the health and wellbeing of our communities, our environments and economy. All americans deserve this. We deserve to have reliable, affordable water and sanitation which, i am proud of the work of this committee that we accomplished in the last congress to address wastewater investment backlogs. We had such a backlog. The act written by this committee is a key pillar in the investment jobs act which created new programs, opportunities to address current needs and ongoing challenges in small, rural and disadvantaged communities. We will explore the current state of water resources. The challenges we face in protecting them and how we can implement all sees to help ensure every person has access to clean Drinking Water. I look forward to hearing from our expert witnesses in engaging and thoughtful processes. We authorize 55 billion in funding in the largest investment ever, for a range of Program Including grants for small and disadvantaged communities, support for innovative Water Technologies. As well as funding for Wastewater Treatment and stormwater management. Addressing new resources to address current challenges facing infrastructure. Many communities in our state are grappling with aging infrastructure in need of repair and replacement while others are dealing with emerging contaminants that require specialized treatment technologies. At the same time, small communities often lack the resources and Technical Expertise needed to address these challenges, leaving us very vulnerable to water equality problems and Public Health risks. I i j programs offer a wide range to address these challenges, from grants and low interest loans to Technical Assistance. These can support upgrades including the replacement of lead Service Lines, new Treatment Facilities and the implementation of advanced treatment technologies. Additionally, the funding can support capacity initiatives including workforce development, every water system i go to is down on the numbers of people that are interested in working in water but also the retirements we are seeing across the board in the workforce is putting a strain on our systems. We need help to build the expertise needed to manage and maintain the Water Systems and maintain and get the next generation excited as an opportunity and career of the future. Despite these challenges, these remain a concern. As they said, they lack some of the Technical Expertise. As we work to implement these programs, its important that the resources are targeted to the communities that need them the most as the necessary Technical Assistance use of them. As the epa begins Financial Investments in our infrastructure, i have concerns about how the agency is planning to implement some of the directives from congress. The by the administration has prioritized Environmental Justice agenda, but it has not been shy to pull in i think political factors that are unrelated to Water Quality and health, key conditions to have the money should be spent in funding as reviewed by the agency. Im concerned the projects will not be considered based solely on needs related to the directives of safeguarding health, keeping affordable, and maintaining the environment. While we all support maintaining communities through economic element, the safe Drinking Water act and clean water act should be directed to projects where the needs are most acute and align with what congress directed the agency to do in the statute. We shouldnt be sidetracked from responsibly investing in our infrastructure because we have such an historic bipartisan success. Congress was Clear Funding should encourage state flexibility through funding programs should prioritize the need. Funds were firewall between systems of various sizes to make sure the Rural Communities small towns and big cities got their fair share. The epa should implement these programs. I am committed to working on these issues that are so important to me, the citizens of West Virginia and our country. I will close by saying what everyone in attendance knows, Water Infrastructure investments are critical to Public Health, environmental health, and economic development. What do see these investments create drive the quality shared Health Benefits that we all care about. I also want to welcome in the next panel kathy emery. She is here with her husband and son. And her other son who is a graduate student at West Virginia university. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Do we have visitors from Raleigh County . My grandfather was one of the cofounders of that county. I ride back and forth on the train just about every day to delaware and my grandfather says integrity if you have nothing else matters. If you dont have it, nothing else matters. I think the same would be said about water. I know my other colleagues, ive never talked with businesses large or small who is looking to do so in a place that does not have critical Drinking Water. It is now time to hear from our first panel joining us today is assistant administrator for the United StatesEnvironmental ProtectionAgency Office of water. She works to ensure the Drinking Water is safe, wastewater is safely returned to the environment and surface waters are managed and protected. We thank you for the work you do. Thank you so much and good morning. I am so honored to join you to provide an update on epas implementation of historic Water Infrastructure investments through the bipartisan infrastructure law. I need to start by saying thank you. It is the bipartisan leadership of this committee that was so instrumental in securing to ensure safe water and Clean Communities across america. I want to express my gratitude to the career staff at epa who are really the ones implementing this. I have someone from the office of groundwater and Drinking Water here with me today. It is because of their hard work that we are delivering on the bipartisan infrastructure promised to the American People. Let me give you a brief report on how implementation is going. Congress provided the majority of the funding through the state program about 43 billion. March 2022, epa issued our memo. That document established key priorities consistent with the legislation that has been our northstar for how we have been implementing this bill. The key priorities we outlined in that implementation were number one to provide flexibility to states in meeting their local water needs. Increasing investment in disadvantaged communities, making racket rapid progress. Advancing Climate Adaptation and mitigation and supporting good jobs here in america. We engaged very closely with the state as we developed this implementation memo. That has really set the foundation for a Robust Partnership with states in implementing the law. Here we are one year later and im delighted to report that 47 states and six tribes and territories have received nearly 5 billion in funding in the first year. That is a big number and want to talk for a minute about what that means for people and for local communities. Because of these investments, sierra vista rv park in arizona will be able to remove arsenic and nitrates from their Drinking Water. Los local leaders in delaware will be able to connect hundreds of homes to a water system that will protect nearby marshes along the delaware bay. In pittsburgh, we were moved nearly 1000 lead pipes. Those were just a couple of examples of the thousands of projects that will be funded. That is the real deal that we are delivering because of the bipartisan infrastructure law. The law also established the emerging contaminants and smaller disadvantaged communities Grant Program. A few weeks ago we announced the first 2 billion of funding available through that in the noncompetitive basis to the states that want those resources. The infrastructure law is also investing nearly 2 billion through the agencys Geographic National estuary and hypoxia programs. These are so wonderful, they are supporting conservation, restoration, infrastructure programs. For our great waters. We are also working to ensure our groundwater is safe. We have a letter of inquiry where states can seek these resources if they want privacy of the program and we are going to be awarding funds to states by the end of this year. I want to conclude my remarks by emphasizing something that two of you said and that is we are really dedicated to ensuring that all communities benefit from this investment. We know that there are too many small communities, Rural Communities, underserved distress area that have not received their fair share of funding and we can and must better. That is our focus at epa. In addition to all the work to get these resources out to states and local communities, we have been standing up the most significant Technical Assistance program because we think that is what will change the odds for communities who havent been able to get their fair share or actively working in communities across the country from West Virginia to alabama to communities all across the country. We have 29 Environmental Finance centers providing free Technical Assistance to communities that want it. We are closing the wastewater axis cap initiative. All of these Technical Assistance programs are helping build the local Community Capacity to make sure we are unlocking these resources for every community so every community has clean and safe water. Let me and where i began which is to say thank you for the opportunity to steward these resources. It is because of congress and President Biden that you have created a transformational moment right now, a transformational opportunity for the water sector. I want you to know that epa is working hard, strategically to deliver on the vision that you set in the bipartisan infrastructure law. We are working to make sure that water funding benefits all americans not only where they live, how much money they have in their bank account or the color of their skin. I want to thank you for the opportunity to serve the American People in this way and i look forward to todays discussion. Thank you for being here today and for your leadership. I again want to say to our staff sitting behind us and those back in their offices how much we appreciate their work on these issues. My Ranking Member, i want to say how proud i was of our Committee Last week and derailment in ohio. It was a wonderful hearing and bipartisan and sets the stage to make sure the people in that part of america are treated the way we would want to be treated. Im very proud and thank you for all of that. Let me start with some questions if i can for ms. Fox. Weve already mentioned pfa s in this hearing but i want to return to it. The dea yesterday it was released the Drinking Water standards for six types of chemicals. I want to thank you for your leadership and proposing a standard that is based in science and that protects the public to the maximum extent possible. These forever che