Policy Recommendations Supported by ASCE

  Remove of the Infrastructure Trust Funds (Highway, Aviation, Harbor Maintenance Trust and Inland Waterway) from the unified federal budget.

  Increased funding for long-term fundamental highway research efforts at the national level.

  Establish a federal, multi-year capital budget for public works infrastructure construction and rehabilitation similar to those used by state and local governments.

  Encourage the use of life-cycle cost analysis principles to evaluate the total costs of projects.

  Procure engineering design services on the basis of qualifications.

ROADS & BRIDGES

  Enact the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Surface Transportation Reauthorization Plan that provides $375 billion over 6 years for the nation's surface transportation program - the amount identified as the Cost to Maintain by the FHwA in the 2002 Conditions and Performance Report.

  Support for environmental streamlining of highway projects.

TRANSIT

  Fully support the intermodal (including transit) vision of TEA-21.

  Enact the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Surface Transportation Reauthorization Plan that provides $375 billion over 6 years for the nation's surface transportation program - the amount identified as the Cost to Maintain by the FHwA in the 2002 Conditions and Performance Report.

AVIATION

  Enact the Second Century of Flight Act (H.R. 2271 & S. 788).

  Permit increases in Passenger Facilities Charges (PFC) above the current $4.50.

  Streamline the environmental permitting process by running federal and state environmental impact assessments simultaneously to speed new runway construction.

  Modernize the Air Traffic Control System.

SCHOOLS

  Enact the America's Better Classroom Act of 2003 (H.R. 930 & S. 856)

  Expand federal tax credits to support increased use of school construction bonds.

  Continue and increase Federal grants for high-poverty, high-need school districts.

  Explore direct federal funding for school construction.

  Encourage school districts to explore alternative financing, including lease financing, and financing/ownership/use arrangements to facilitate construction.

  Encourage school districts to adopt regular, comprehensive construction and maintenance programs.

  Increase emphasis on research and development for design and construction to meet the rapidly changing teaching environment.

DRINKING WATER & WASTEWATER

  Pass H.R. 1560, Water Quality Financing Act of 2003 and S. 170, the Clean Water Infrastructure Financing Act of 2003.

  Funding of $5 billion annually over five years under the current State Revolving Loan Fund (SRFs) program in the Safe Drinking Water Act. Congressional appropriations of $6 billion annually over five years for immediate wastewater infrastructure repairs and system upgrades under the Clean Water Act.

  Create a water trust fund to finance the national shortfall in funding for water and wastewater infrastructure. These trust funds should not be diverted for non-water purposes.

  Federal appropriations from general treasury funds and issuance of revenue bonds and tax exempt financing at the state and local levels, as well as public-private partnerships, state infrastructure banks and other innovative financing mechanisms.

DAMS

  Establish a comprehensive and fully funded dam safety program in all 50 states, especially Alabama and Delaware, the only states without authorized dam-safety programs.

  Create federal and state revolving loan funds to assist public and private dam owners in rehabilitating their dams.

  Full funding of the Small Watershed Rehabilitation Act.

  Development of a comprehensive, Internet-based information resources system to support the maintenance and improvement of dam safety in the U.S.

SOLID WASTE

  Emphasis should be given to integrated management of municipal solid waste. Continued development of improved landfill design and operating technology is paramount.

  Increase federal funding of research into waste-to-energy programs.

  The problem of over consumption should be addressed, with the goal of reducing the production and consumption of unnecessary goods, packaging and throwaways. Toxic materials used in products and packaging and produced as byproducts in production processes should be minimized.

  An efficient management system based in the United States is needed to handle the growing volume of electronic waste (e-waste). Congress should authorize regional e-waste management compacts to assist states in managing this emerging solid waste concern.

HAZARDOUS WASTE

  Reauthorize CERCLA. Any reauthorization should include amendments that will:

• eliminate overlapping federal and state responsibilities;
  
  
• relieve private parties from liability for actions that may have been legal at the time of occurrence;
  
• promote the use of innovative technology and presumptive remedies;
  
  
• provide consistent clean up criteria that take into account future uses of sites; and
  
  
• provide relief for engineers and contractors from unfair liability faced when working in good faith to restore superfund sites; and, allow engineers to exercise their professional judgement.

  Congress should enact H.R. 239, the Brownfields Redevelopment Enhancement Act; H.R. 402, the Brownfield Cleanup Enhancement Act of 2003; H.R. 2535, the Economic Development Administration Reauthorization Act of 2003; and S. 645, the Brownfields Redevelopment Assistance Act of 2003.

NAVIGABLE WATERWAYS

  Pass the Water Resources Development Act of 2003 (H.R. 2557).

  A program of improvement and maintenance of ports, harbors and waterways is essential to the economic and environmental well being of the nation.

  Remove the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and Inland Waterway Infrastructure Trust Fund from the unified federal budget.

  Increased funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to relieve the $38 billion project backlog.

  Fund programs to mitigate the effects of natural disasters such as floods.

  Support for both structural and non-structural floodplain management options, and encouraging the government to consider the value of each component in devising and funding flood mitigation programs.

  Support increased funding for FEMA's National Floodplain Mapping program.

ENERGY

  Expand funding of research to develop cleaner methods of generating electricity. This research should support cleaner production of traditional sources such as coal and natural gas, and advance solar, wind, bioenergy, nuclear and other energy sources.

  Increase power generation and transmission capacity in anticipation of demand utilizing coal, nuclear, oil, natural gas, solar, wind, bioenergy, hydropower, and geothermal power to allow competitive pricing and while meeting all reasonable environmental and safety stan