Bill to strengthen water infrastructure

U.S. Senator Mark Pryor announced that the Senate has passed the Water Resources Development Act of 2013, a bipartisan bill strengthening America’s water infrastructure and supporting Arkansas farmers. Pryor successfully fought to include a provision in the bill that amends the EPA’s burdensome Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule and eases the regulatory compliance for Arkansas farms. “If we want to stay competitive in today’s global economy, then we need to make infrastructure investments, and navigable waterways are a huge part of the equation,” Pryor said. “It’s more than short-term construction jobs. These investments maintain and expand our commerce activities, boost our exports, and ensure our future economic development and job growth.” Under the EPA’s proposed SPCC rule, farmers with oil and gas tanks on their farms may be required to hire a certified professional engineer to design a Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plan. It would also require farmers to purchase new capital equipment to comply with the rule, including dual containment tanks on farm trucks and fuel storage units that will unnecessarily raise the cost of farming by tens of thousands of dollars. Pryor’s provision exempts farms with aggregate above ground storage of 2,500 gallons or less. It also allows farmers who are regulated and have between 6,001-20,000 gallons of above ground storage capacity to self certify their own plans. “I won’t allow our farmers to get bogged down by costly certification processes that they don’t need. They should be able to focus their resources and attention on what really matters—farming,” Pryor said. “This has been a long-fought battle, but I’m glad we were able to reach this common-sense solution.”