WASHINGTON, DC — Billions for fixing roads, bridges, water distribution systems and expanding high-speed internet access and electric vehicle charging networks are headed to Michigan upon signing of a major federal infrastructure bill.
More than $10 billion is anticipated as Michigan’s share from the $1.2 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which cleared Congress on Friday with a 228-206 vote in the House of Representatives.
The bill represents a win for the agenda of President Joe Biden, who plans to sign the massive spending measure once legislators return from a recess.
According to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office, Michigan would receive $7.3 billion to fix roads and $563 million for bridge replacement or repairs, $1 billion to improve public transportation, $1.3 billion to improve water infrastructure, $100 million to expand high-speed internet access and $110 million to boost the state’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Whitmer, who campaigned on “fixing the damn roads” in Michigan, lauded the bill’s passage as a “win-win” that will create “countless good-paying, blue collar jobs.”
“The infrastructure plan will put our tax dollars back to work in our state to make game-changing, historic investments toward upgrading our state’s roads, bridges, water infrastructure, and so much more,” Whitmer said in a statement.
“This investment will make a huge difference in people’s lives and build on the work that we’re doing in Michigan to deliver on the kitchen-table issues. I’m ready to work with both parties in the legislature to get shovels in the ground and put Michiganders first.”
The $1.3 billion for water infrastructure anticipated for Michigan would help funds removal of lead service lines, a familiar and expensive-to-fix water system hazard that’s gotten renewed attention this fall thanks to a lead-related drinking water crisis in the city of Benton Harbor.
It also dedicates $10 billion nationwide to clean up toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, which are contaminating more than 180 sites in Michigan. The funds would help communities remove the contaminants from drinking water and wastewater discharges.
Regionally, the bill also includes $1 billion for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), a large federal program that pays to clean up contaminated sediments, build green infrastructure and tackle invasive species. The funding allocation is the “single largest investment in the program’s history,” according to Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s office.
A $500 million loan program to help shoreline communities struggling with the recent high water and erosion on the Great Lakes is also included in the bill, which folded-in standalone legislation sponsored by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan.
The bill is smaller than what Democrats had initially sought. Biden had aimed for a $2.25 trillion bill that’s been whittled down amid negotiations between centrists and progressives. Congress is still working on a related $1.75 trillion social spending and climate change reconciliation bill.
The infrastructure bill passed the U.S. Senate in August by a 69-30 vote. On Friday, it passed the House with the support of 13 Republicans, including Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, who represents Benton Harbor in Congress.
Six Democrats, including Re. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, voted against the bill because the Build Back Better social spending plan that’s been negotiated in conjunction with the infrastructure bill wasn’t being advanced as well.
In a statement, Tlaib said she also voted against the bill because it includes fossil fuel industry subsidies and because it “guts” the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by shielding new development projects from stricter environmental impact studies.
“I voted against the (bipartisan infrastructure framework, or BIF) because I represent some of the most polluted zip codes in Michigan and the country,” Tlaib said. “While BIF includes some positive provisions, and in particular some funding for lead pipe replacement that I hope will come straight to Michigan, it would also make communities like those I represent less safe, less healthy, and less protected from corporate polluters.”
Upon lamented that the infrastructure bill had become a “political football” in a Twitter thread late last week and stated that he voted for the bill because it will support infrastructure projects “without raising taxes or increasing the debt.”
The massive bill is seen as a badly needed investment in the nation’s infrastructure, but it’s not expected to fully address the universe of transportation and water upgrades necessary across Michigan or the rest of the country.
A 2016 review of Michigan’s infrastructure needs following the Flint water crisis suggested more than $4 billion annually is needed to fix transportation, water and communication systems. The state’s infrastructure received a D+ grade in 2018 from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Michigan is home to 1,219 bridges and over 7,300 miles of highway in poor condition, according to the White House.
Environmental groups across the region hailed the investment but said work remains on the climate front as well as fully addressing water infrastructure.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Great Lakes states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, need more than $188 billion over 20 years to update drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. The cost to fully replace every lead service line in the country is estimated at $45 billion, which exceeds the funds made available by both the infrastructure and social spending bills.
“Confronting the climate crisis goes hand in hand with protecting and restoring the Great Lakes,” said Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition.
“We hope that today’s vote to bolster our nation’s water infrastructure provides momentum for taking action on climate change,” Rubin said. “We urge Congress to quickly reach agreement on legislation that confronts the climate crisis and provide the tools and resources communities so desperately need to protect themselves from the devastating economic, environmental and public health impacts of climate change. We have solutions, and it is time to use them before the problems get worse and more costly.”
Related stories:
Michigan chambers urge infrastructure bill passage
EPA orders Benton Harbor to fix trouble water plant
Michigan water systems flagged for toxic lead
EPA unveils PFAS ‘roadmap,’ plans actions by 2023
Michigan plans regional EV charging network
Congress OKs loans for towns sogged by high water