Trump signs Brown-Portman bill easing sewer burden on cities

SANDUSKY — President Donald Trump signed the Water Infrastructure Flexibility Act, a new federal law that gives cities such as Sandusky more leeway in meeting expensive mandates to upgrade sewer systems.The White House website shows Trump signed the measure on Monday.The bipartisan bill was backed by both U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio. Aaron Klein, Sandusky's director of public works, appeared in a press conference with Brown in 2016 to express support for an earlier version of the bill.In a news release, Brown and Portman said the measure allows the EPA to give cities flexibility on deadlines, allowing cities to work at their own pace if they are moving forward to deal with needed improvements to stormwater and wastewater projects."Red tape shouldn't force communities to spread their resources thin just to meet an arbitrary timeline," Brown said. "Let's be smarter and work with communities so they can prioritize their wastewater investments while reducing pollution. This bipartisan bill will help support jobs and protect local drinking water."Added Portman: "Many local communities with aging water infrastructure systems are working to upgrade them but too often struggle with the costs of inflexible government mandates, and families are forced to pay higher utility bills as a result. This legislation would give local communities more flexibility in ensuring they meet Clean Water Act requirements and encourage the EPA to work with them in developing innovative and cost-effective ways to upgrade our water infrastructure so it's healthy and safe for all Ohioans."During a 2016 conference call with Brown to Ohio reporters, Klein described the cost to Sandusky residents of the city's efforts to keep up with needed sewer improvements.Klein said utility rates to cover the cost of sewer work in Sandusky doubled since 2000 and would quadruple by 2022."We are only 25,000 people," Klein told the reporters. "The burden goes up exponentially for each resident of the city if we have to keep raising rates."Brown's office said more than 70 Ohio communities are working to deal with combined sewer overflows and that Brown worked with municipal officials from Sandusky, Lima, Toledo and Defiance as he worked on the bill.Other provisions of H.R. 7279, the bill Trump signed, create an Office of Municipal Ombudsman at the Environmental Protection Agency to help cities deal with environmental laws and requires the EPA to encourage communities to create green infrastructure, using natural processes to deal with stormwater runoff.Klein pointed out that Sandusky has built green infrastructure projects, such as the permeable pavement parking lot at Jackson Street and Market Street that absorbs rainwater rather than letting all of it wash into Lake Erie.As rumored, Donald Trump makes a surprise appearance to introduce his wife during the first day of the Republican National Convention on Monday, July 18, 2016. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown Rob Portman