"Infrastructure" Is More Than Pipelines &  Construction Jobs

The Trump Administration has talked a lot about “making American infrastructure great again.”  It is certainly true that all kinds of infrastructure - like roads, bridges, pipelines, and water treatment plants - are badly in need of repairs and upgrades. But “making infrastructure great” goes well beyond capital investments.  Successfully operating and maintaining infrastructure requires technical, financial and managerial savvy - in addition to funding for O&M needs.   Increasing numbers of extreme weather events, forecast by climate modelers, will put additional demands on already stressed infrastructure community systems.

Prior to FY18, EPA’s approach was to address the full life cycle of infrastructure needs, including support for the “business side”of infrastructure operating and maintenance. The Trump Administration would eliminate or scale back nearly all of EPA’s infrastructure programs - even the programs Scott Pruitt claims are priorities.

 

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Save EPA has been an all-volunteer group of former EPA officials who became alarmed about the Trump agenda for EPA and joined together to fight it.

With newly-elected President-Elect Biden and VP-Elect Harris coming in January, the need to "save EPA" is much less urgent. This is not to imply all clear skies ahead - there is much re-building to do, there will be negative pressures on the new administration, and we will likely have policy differences in the future. However, we are hopeful that these differences will be discussed rationally, using science as a basis for moving forward, and keeping EPA's mission of protecting human health and the environment in the forefront.

And so, we are going back to retirement!  We're keeping our website up at http://saveepaalums.info/ , as a resource for those who want to follow and influence the restoration work. Our report on the Trump record at EPA describes the actions that need to be reversed [saveepaalums.info/Trump+era+report], and our guide to participating in the rulemaking process [http://saveepaalums.info/Resistance+Guide] can help you be part of the solution.

Thank you for your support and commitment during the past 3.5 years.  While the Trump assaults were unending, they were also frequently unsuccessful, and that was due in large part to public outrage.  Keep it up!  Although EPA will be in much better hands with a Biden administration, there is always a need for an informed and engaged public.