This Week in Washington

For the Week Ending January 5, 2001

This weekly report is written by the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Government Relations staff. If you have questions or comments about any items in this report, please contact Brian Pallasch, Michael Charles, Martin Hight, Austin Fulk, or Liz Hermsen by e-mail or at 202/789-2200.

Inside This Week:

• New Congress Sworn In
• Have You Completed the Infrastructure Survey?
• ASCE Sets Priority Government Relations Issues for 2001
• EPA Issues Water-Quality Criteria to Control Excess Nutrients
• State Government Update

1. NEW CONGRESS SWORN IN
On January 3, members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate were sworn in for the 107th Congress. The newly formed House voted 222-206 to retain Rep. Dennis Hastert as Speaker of the House. Democrats formally took control of the Senate chamber as new Majority Leader Daschle was recognized by that title for the first time by Vice President Gore, who will preside in the chamber until January 20 when Republicans regain control. The Senate then passed a series of procedural resolutions, including one naming 12 Democrats to chair Senate committees until January 20, and another naming 12 Republicans to chair committees afterward. After a joint session on January 6 to count electoral ballots, the House and Senate are not scheduled to be in session again until they return January 20 for the presidential inauguration.

2. HAVE YOU COMPLETED THE INFRASTRUCTURE SURVEY?
As our nation gets ready to welcome its new leaders in Washington, ASCE is preparing a new Report Card for America's Infrastructure. The 2001 Report Card for America's Infrastructure will re-assess the 10 infrastructure areas that ASCE graded in its 1998 Report Card (roads, bridges, mass transit, aviation, schools, drinking water, wastewater, dams, solid waste, and hazardous waste), and examine two new categories (waterways and energy transmission). ASCE will not only report on the state of our nation's infrastructure, but will also offer viable public policy solutions that can be adopted by the 107th Congress.

Of course, ASCE's assessment of our nation's infrastructure would not be complete without your input and your observations on the condition of your community's infrastructure. In order to capture your comments effectively, ASCE's Communications and Government Relations Division is conducting an on-line survey to gather information about the latest issues and concerns surrounding your local infrastructure. The survey results will be used for the release of the 2001 Report Card and as a way to illustrate the problems and the policy solutions presented in ASCE's assessment.

We appreciate your time and expertise in answering these questions. The deadline for responding to the survey is Wednesday, January 31, 2001. If you have any questions or comments, please contact ASCE's Communications and Government Relations Division at govwash@asce.org.

3. ASCE SETS PRIORITY GOVERNMENT RELATIONS ISSUES FOR 2001
In order to narrow the focus and to better deploy ASCE’s government relations resources, the Board of Direction recently identified and approved six federal priority issues for the first session of the 107th Congress and six state priority issues for the coming year.

The six federal priority issues are:

• Clean Water Issues
• Infrastructure Financing
• Math & Science Education
• Natural Hazards Impact Reduction
• Procurement
• Smart Growth

• Infrastructure Financing
• Smart Growth
• Procurement
• Licensing
• Building Codes
• Tort Reform

The priority issues were identified by members of ASCE's Key Contact Program who responded to the first annual civil engineering public policy issues survey. ASCE's Government Relations Department conducted the survey in an effort to determine the government relations interests and priorities of our stakeholders. In June 2000, questionnaires were sent to 12,828 members of ASCE's Key Contact Program. The surveys were completed and returned by 1,545 people, a 12 percent response rate.

The six federal priority issues encompass a variety of legislative and regulatory subjects:

Clean Water Issues
The Water Infrastructure Network (WIN), of which ASCE is a member, is currently working with members of Congress to draft "Water-21" legislation to address the drinking water and wastewater infrastructure needs of the nation. WIN estimates that the nation needs to spend nearly $300 billion over the next 20 years to build and repair wastewater treatment plants, sewer pipes and drinking-water treatment facilities. The nation now faces an investment "gap" of more than $20 billion a year between what water and wastewater systems need to spend to meet federal requirements and other system demands, and what they are currently spending. Local solutions can solve only a small portion of this problem. If nothing is done, we risk losing the environmental, public health and economic gains made over the last 30 years. The federal government is best suited to address this crisis because of the public health nature of these investments, equity across communities of uneven abilities to pay on their own, and the inter-jurisdictional and geographic dispersion of benefits of such investments. There are many examples of comparable federal intervention where similar problems affected other modes of public infrastructure. ASCE supports the creation of a consolidated dedicated trust fund for all water infrastructure projects that are presently funded under the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Infrastructure Financing
ASCE continues to push for increased infrastructure funding in all areas and will focus on drinking water, wastewater, and dams. While the Federal government has responded to the nation's need for additional surface transportation funding, there remain urgent needs in the nation’s school buildings, ports and harbors, dams, water infrastructure, and waste disposal systems. Since the passage of TEA-21, the $217.9 billion authorizing bill that is the largest public works bill in history, Congress has focused on other areas of concern such as airports. One-third of all schools need extensive repair or replacement. Nearly 60 percent of schools have at least one major building problem, and more than half have inadequate environmental conditions. It will cost about $112 billion to repair, renovate and modernize our schools. Another $60 billion in new construction is needed to accommodate the 3 million new students expected in the next decade. Today, only 60 percent of our rivers and lakes are fishable and swimable. America needs to invest roughly $140 billion over the next 20 years in wastewater treatment systems. An additional 2,000 plants may be necessary by the year 2016.

Math & Science Education
ASCE is working with a number of members of Congress and other scientific, engineering, education and industry groups to improve math and science education. ASCE is seeking the introduction and enactment of legislation that will advance teacher preparation and student performance in pre-college SMET educational programs. The nation's engineering and scientific strength is at the heart of the recent economic boom. Recent assessments by the U.S. Department of Education of the progress of students’ performance in various subject areas, including science, math, engineering and technology education (SMET), have concluded that the grasp of science and math by U.S. students is less than that of their international peers. It is also notable that over half of U.S. graduate students in science and math are foreign-born. Over half of the economic growth today can be attributed directly to research and development in science, engineering and technology. Our ability to maintain this economic growth will be determined largely by our nation's intellectual capital. The only means to develop this resource is education. In order to attract the best and the brightest to the engineering profession, it is essential that students be exposed to high-quality math and science education at an early age.

Natural Hazards Impact Reduction
In 2001, ASCE will seek passage of legislation to create a wind hazard reduction program in the federal government. The first step will be to seek reintroduction of "The Windstorm Hazard Reduction Research and Technology Transfer Act." Natural disasters cost the United States about $50 billion per year from all sectors: federal, state, local, individual, private and non-profit (Klemelis, 1997). Many of the structures and facilities damaged or destroyed during the recent U.S. natural disasters were designed in accordance with the latest building codes. In some instances there has been a question as to the compliance of the construction. However, there is also a question about whether the current codes are adequate. A risk-based approach as part of a performance based building code could lead to significant reduction in damages and loss of life. Innovative technologies such as modeling and simulation, advanced materials, micro-electronic-mechanical-systems and others can be employed by engineers and architects to address these issues. Should the design criteria for government facilities and the contracting process be changed so they are better able to withstand natural disasters.

Procurement
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) strongly supports the use of the two-phase competitive source-selection process required by the Federal Acquisition Reform Act of 1996, Pub.L. 104-106, for design-build contracts awarded by government agencies. The design-build team must be selected using the modified qualifications-based selection (QBS) criteria specified by the Act. Qualifications including the training, registration, experience, skills and availability of the proposed project personnel are paramount in engaging engineering services. Cost should be secondary to professional qualifications. ASCE supports qualifications-based selection (QBS) procedures required by the Brooks Architect-Engineers Act of 1972, Pub.L. 92-582. Further, civil engineers in the public and private sectors are capable of performing engineering tasks for government agencies. Federal, state and local government agencies must maintain engineering expertise within their organizations by employing civil engineers. It is also in the best public interest for publicly supported institutions and agencies not to compete with engineers in private practice. Public sector engineering projects that can be accomplished more efficiently by private engineering firms should be contracted out with proper oversight by the public agency.

Smart Growth
There is a nationwide struggle over growth in our cities and suburbs. Many states and localities have used ballot initiatives to enact new regulations to curb growth. These rules and regulations have a profound impact on the practice of civil engineering and the future development of the nation's infrastructure. However, civil engineers have often been absent from this growing debate. Efforts to limit and channel development through so-called smart growth initiatives are usually highly controversial and civil engineers are often as divided as the rest of the population. However, as the profession most responsible for the design and construction of the nation's public works infrastructure, civil engineers must be at the forefront of the debate. Using principles of sustainable development and new processes and technologies, civil engineers can address many of the issues related to urban sprawl.

In June 2001, ASCE's Government Relations Department will again survey Key Contact Program members.

4. EPA ISSUES WATER-QUALITY CRITERIA TO CONTROL EXCESS NUTRIENTS
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued recommended water quality criteria designed to reduce problems associated with excess nutrients in water bodies in specific areas of the country. The Agency said it will work with states and tribes to adopt regional and local water-quality criteria for nutrients in lakes, reservoirs, rivers, streams, and wetlands in 17 ecoregions. States and tribes are expected to adopt or revise ecoregional nutrient criteria that are published in 2000 and 2001 into water quality standards by 2004. This is the first time EPA has issued regional specific nutrient criteria.

"As much as half of the nation's waters do not adequately support aquatic life because of excess nutrients," the Agency said. "Nitrogen and phosphorus are the primary causes of eutrophication and resulting algal blooms. Chronic symptoms of overenrichment include low dissolved oxygen, fish kills, cloudy or murky water, and depletion of desirable plants and animals. The intent of EPA's recommended ecoregional nutrient criteria is to identify baseline conditions of surface waters that are minimally impacted by human activities and protect against the adverse effects of nutrient overenrichment from cultural eutrophication. For more information, see

5. STATE GOVERNMENT UPDATE
ASCE provides updates on individual state government matters affecting civil engineers. For more information on the following items, or any other state government relations matters, please contact Austin Fulk, ASCE's Manager of State Government Relations, at (202) 789-2200 or via email at afulk@asce.org.

Leadership Training in Government Relations
Mark your calendars for March 6-7, 2001, when ASCE will be hosting its first annual Leadership Training in Government Relations. The Leadership Training will be held in Washington, DC and will provide valuable information to help Sections improve their government relations efforts, as well as offer a chance for participants to meet with their Members of Congress to discuss engineering-related legislative issues. Among the topics that will be covered are sessions on the legislative process and how to run a legislative campaign, how to promote ASCE's priority issues, coalition building, and dealing with and using the media. Additionally, ASCE will pay the expenses for a limited number of participants to attend the Leadership Training. Look for more information about the Leadership Training in Government Relations program over the next few weeks, or if you have any questions, please contact Austin Fulk, Manager of State Government Relations, at (202) 789-2200, or by email at afulk@asce.org

ASCE Member is New Lieutenant Governor in Texas
Following Governor George W. Bush's resignation as Texas governor and Lt. Governor Rick Perry's ascension to the Governor's office, it was up to the Texas Senate to choose a new Lieutenant Governor from among its ranks. As it turns out, the Senator chosen was Senator Bill Ratliff, an ASCE member since 1964. In addition to being an ASCE member, Sen. Ratliff is a past president of the American Consulting Engineers Council, past Chairman of the Council on Federal Procurement of Architecture and Engineering Services (COFPAES), and a Texas Senator for 11 years. Because of the structure of Texas state government, the Lieutenant Governor is arguably the most powerful statewide elected official in the state, and controls the flow of legislation in the State Senate. Congratulations to Lt. Governor Ratliff!

Procurement in Virginia
Transportation is expected to be a hot topic in the Virginia Legislature this session, with Governor Jim Gilmore making it one of his top priorities. Included in Gov. Gilmore's proposals for an overhaul of the state Department of Transportation is a plan to scrap Virginia's system of qualifications-based selection (QBS) of design professionals. So far, it is unclear how the legislature will react to the Governor's proposals when they go into session.