World Water Crisis (LIFE)

[funmaxus]

Sponsored by the Committee on Water
Adopted by the NARUC Board of Directors July 22, 2009

http://www.naruc.org/Resolutions/Resolution%20on%20Tax%20Incentives%20for%20Water%20Infrastructure%20Investment.pdf


Resolution Seeking Tax Incentives to Encourage Infrastructure Investment
WHEREAS, Water and wastewater utilities routinely face difficulty securing financing at
reasonable rates for large, multi-year, capital intensive infrastructure projects; and
WHEREAS, The current financial crisis is making access to funding for vital water system
upgrades and repairs even more difficult; and
WHEREAS, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates the costs to replace
aging water and wastewater infrastructure and comply with water quality requirements could
approach $1 trillion over the next 20 years; and
WHEREAS, Investment in water infrastructure means jobs while also assuring that Americans
have access to safe, reliable, and clean water; and
WHEREAS, History provides several proven and easy-to-implement ideas that have been
effectively utilized to stimulate investment in water infrastructure. Among these ideas are those
recommended in a white paper issued by the National Association of Water Companies (NAWC)
which NARUC cited in recent policy positions issued to President Obama’s Transition Team,
key Members of Congress and the EPA Administrator regarding the economic stimulus package;
and
WHEREAS, The policy positions set forth in the white paper by NAWC include:
• Investment Tax Credits: A 10% investment tax credit on all investments in water and
wastewater infrastructure for the next three years;
• Public Utility Dividend Reinvestment: A five year deferral of tax on dividends for all
public utility dividends that are reinvested in infrastructure replacement;
• Tax Exempt Financing: Lifting the cap on Private Activity Bonds for all water and
wastewater investments;
• Accelerated Depreciation/Extend Elective Expensing: A 50% increase, or more, in
depreciation rates for infrastructure replaced over the next three years; and
• State Revolving Loan Funding: An increased funding of these programs and access
to all providers of water and wastewater services, regardless of ownership; and
WHEREAS, Individually, any of these proposals will infuse needed capital into water and
wastewater systems; and
WHEREAS, Taken together, they would be a large step towards meeting the trillion-dollar
investment needed over the next twenty years to assure build-out and maintenance of critical
water infrastructures; and
WHEREAS, NARUC had taken a formal position that the Administration should propose, and
Congress should incorporate, all five mechanisms into any economic stimulus package to assure
Americans continue to receive high quality water and wastewater services; and
WHEREAS, It is imperative that the benefits of clean water be available to all consumers
regardless of whether supplied by government or private-sector providers and that investorowned
utilities not be discriminated against; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Board of Directors of the National Association of Regulatory Utility
Commissioners, convened at its 2009 Summer Committee Meetings in Seattle, Washington,
instructs its General Counsel to continue to advocate for implementation of these policies by the
Administration and Congress.
__________________________________________________________
Sponsored by the Committee on Water
Adopted by the NARUC Board of Directors July 22, 2009