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By Cecile Entleitner, Associate, Blakey & Agnew
Things are getting heated all across the nation, and this time it's not just the political climate. In July, many areas saw record temperatures, with heat indexes rising above 110 degrees. It was the first time in several years that cities such as Chicago, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. reached temperatures in the triple digits. The impacts of these extreme temperatures, coupled with heavy storms, were felt throughout the transportation industry.
Nearly all modes of transportation were affected by adverse weather in recent weeks. Severe storms caused delays and cancelations for over 700 flights in Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports. Freight and passenger trains operated at reduced speeds due to rail expansion caused by high temperatures. Roads in several states buckled or cracked from the heat. In Iowa, high temperatures combined with prior flood damage even caused the concrete to explode. Washington, D.C. was hit by a historic flash flood with 3.5 inches of rainfall in under two hours, equating to nearly a month's worth of rain. Drivers were left stranded on flooded roads, while Metro commuters experienced delays due to floods and heavy rain flowing into certain Metro stations. Not even the White House basement was spared from flooding during the torrential downpour.
The heat was felt on Capitol Hill as well, with two Congressional committees turning their focus to infrastructure investments. On July 10, 2019 the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing titled "Investing in America's Surface Transportation Infrastructure: The Need for a Multi-Year Reauthorization Bill." With the current surface transportation bill, the FAST Act, expiring in September 2020, Senators discussed their priorities for inclusion in any potential reauthorization legislation. Many topics were mentioned, ranging from permit streamlining to the use of new technologies in the transportation industry. However, one of the biggest items for discussion among Democratic Senators was the need for infrastructure resiliency. Senators stressed the importance of ensuring our infrastructure be able to withstand the current impacts related to severe weather, as well as combat any future challenges.
Later in July, the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis held a hearing focused on investments in lower-emissions technology for heavy duty vehicles. Witnesses offered suggestions such as increased investment in battery-electric vehicle technology, as well as in hydrogen and natural gas fueling infrastructure. Some witnesses expressed
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support for repealing the current 12 percent federal excise tax on heavy duty trucks, stating it would incentivize the purchase of newer and cleaner fuel-efficient vehicles.
Members of Congress have also introduced legislation aiming to combat and prepare for the effects of climate change on infrastructure. Senator Markey (D-MA) introduced the Generating Resilient, Environmentally Exceptional National (GREEN) Streets Act. This bill would establish national goals and performance measures to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions and improve the resilience of the transportation system. If states do not meet the minimum standards set for public roads, they would be required to dedicate federal highway funding to meet their targets.
In the House, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Graves (R-MO) introduced a bill that would expand the type of projects eligible for disaster funding under the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) mitigation programs. The Resilient Communities Act of 2019 would allow states to establish a "multihazard mitigation assistance revolving loan fund," to provide local and state agencies with disaster recovery resources. The legislation directs FEMA to prioritize projects that "involve the resilience of major economic sectors and critical national infrastructure such as ports, power and water production and distribution centers, bridges, and waterways essential to interstate commerce."
Both bills were recently introduced and have not yet been heard in their committees of reference. Any further discussions on infrastructure resilience will most likely have to wait until Members of Congress return from their summer recess in September. Although temperatures should be lower by then, this could just be the calm before the storm.
Blakey & Agnew, LLC is a public affairs and
communications consulting firm based in
Washington, DC.
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