Water and Wastewater Infrastructure in the United States: The Clean Water-Energy-Climate Nexus

Geo. Wash. Journal of Energy and Environmental Law 1-21 (Summer 2013)

University of Utah College of Law Research Paper No. 103

22 Pages Posted: 20 Feb 2015 Last revised: 17 Mar 2015

See all articles by Robert W. Adler

Robert W. Adler

University of Utah - S.J. Quinney College of Law

Date Written: 2013

Abstract

Just a few years after Congress passed the 1972 CWA Amendments, former EPA Administrator Russell Train wrote: "One of the major challenges to our society, and specifically to our states and localities, is to deal e8ectively with the issues of growth. These issues will involve an increasing shift in emphasis from abatement to the prevention of pollution. In terms of technology, EPA must seek not simply to encourage the development of more sophisticated kinds of “add-on” controls, but to push effectively for basic changes in the processes themselves. In terms of life-style changes and land use environmental policy decisions, the EPA must encourage the states and localities — and their citizens — to really come to grips with the complex and critical consequences posed by our patterns and pressures for physical growth."

Unfortunately, although there has been a lot of innovation in the design of water and wastewater systems over the past forty years, most communities have elected not to adopt them, and, for the most part, Administrator Train’s admonitions have gone unheeded. If this practice continues in the twenty-first century, regardless of how much money we pour into our water and wastewater infrastructure, it is reasonable to predict that we will find ourselves back in the same position in another forty years. Moreover, the use of twentieth-century infrastructure will continue to exacerbate climate change through its large energy costs and will fail to address the more difficult water management challenges that are likely to occur in a warming world. Technologies are readily available to forge a more sustainable infrastructure path for the next forty years. It is largely a matter of finding the legal, policy, and financing tools needed to support and promote them.

Suggested Citation

Adler, Robert W., Water and Wastewater Infrastructure in the United States: The Clean Water-Energy-Climate Nexus (2013). Geo. Wash. Journal of Energy and Environmental Law 1-21 (Summer 2013), University of Utah College of Law Research Paper No. 103, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2566987

Robert W. Adler (Contact Author)

University of Utah - S.J. Quinney College of Law ( email )

332 S. 1400 East Room 101
Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0730
United States

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