In the past week, there have been some noteworthy—albeit unsurprising—news items about problems with U.S. infrastructure.
On Wednesday, a failed storm water pipe running under a Duke Energy coal ash pond sent 82,000 tons of ash mixed with 27 million gal of contaminated water into the Dan River, which stretches more than 200 miles from North Carolina, through Virginia and into the Atlantic Ocean. After this pipe is sealed, Duke has to deal with another aging storm water pipe running under the same coal ash pond. Environmentalists and regulators have been saying for years that the 31 ash ponds at Duke’s power plants in North Carolina could eventually cause problems.
And NPR aired a story detailing how Montana’s sewer systems are strained to the brink because of the influx of oil industry workers and their families moving to the state. The mayor of Sidney, a small town experiencing an oil boom, said the town has $55 million in infrastructure needs at the moment.
The mayor wants the state to step in, saying the town has already raised water and sewer rates, doubled hookup fees and added impact fees. Montana’s governor recently vetoed a bill that would have provided about $35 million to eastern Montana oil boomtowns to fund new infrastructure; Gov. Steve Bullock said the state could not afford it, although the money would have come from a state surplus.
It is certainly true that states and municipalities have a lot to pay for on a daily and an annual basis, and it can be difficult to prioritize what gets paid now versus what can wait. But taxed or failing infrastructure is not something to be ignored, as Duke Energy can attest to. Investing now can save money and headaches in the long run, and cities and states in the red are likely envious of any government entity that can afford to pay for these investments. Montana can look forward to a bright future from oil industry jobs that boost the state economy, and renewing its infrastructure to support its residents could prevent a number of potential problems.
