Pam McFarland

With President Joe Biden’s Nov. 15 signing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or IIJA, federal agencies are stepping up plans to implement the landmark package, estimated at $1 trillion over five years.

In response to a January executive order from President Joe Biden, federal agencies have released plans to move climate change and resiliency front and center in their focus and decision-making processes moving forward. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Sept. 8 said it plans to set effluent limitations guidelines and pretreatment standards for industrial facilities that manufacture per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), as well as chromium electroplating facilities, which use PFAS in their processes. 

Sundt and PCL are constructing a $700-million water reclamation facility to replace an aging 33-million-gallon-per-day wastewater treatment plant in the city.

Amount in Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill for water service line replacement is woefully short to address the problem, say several industry officials familiar with drinking water issues.