Republicans are walking tall these days, having earned that right after a victorious election cycle. Not only are we in control of the White House and Congress, but we have 68 out of 98 partisan state legislative chambers as well as both houses of legislatures and the governorship in 23 states. That’s an electoral feat worth celebrating.
But we risk losing that control if we promote bad legislation. Bills that are harmful to voters will come back to haunt us come campaign season. That’s why it was disheartening to see Republicans encouraging state lawmakers to support legislation that takes away local choice and risks squandering President Trump’s commitment to improve our nation’s infrastructure.
President Trump’s promise to invest $1 trillion into our nation’s infrastructure is very much needed. We have crumbling bridges and pock-marked roads and highways. We also have thousands of miles of buried water pipes that were laid down generations ago that need replacing. Last week, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt told the National League of Cities Conference that water infrastructure is as important as roads and bridges.
Some people look at that $1 trillion and see dollar signs for themselves. Others look and see opportunities for municipalities to make smart investments on materials that will be long lasting and durable. Water and wastewater systems are too often overlooked because they’re buried and not something we see every day. Most people probably only think of their pipes or their community’s pipes when one breaks.
As engineers know, not all pipes are equal. In fact, the kind of pipes that would benefit from the legislation that is popping up in states such as Michigan and Ohio have been proven to be less durable, less resilient and tend to break more easily under pressure – plastic PVC pipes. PVC is cheap, though, which is why backers of legislation to force municipalities to solely consider cost on the front-end of decision making are so desperate to pass those bills. When compared against strong, durable iron pipe, which has proven safe and effective for generations, the plastic pipes just don’t match up. Iron pipe manufacturers have continued to innovate and the latest material – ductile iron pipe – is even better because of its strength and durability as well as its reputation for lasting for more than 150 years.
The same can’t be said for PVC pipe. If it seems like the industry is pushing for this legislation because it’s struggling, that’s probably true. Consumers have become a lot more savvy over the last few years about what’s in the products and materials that impact their lives. Plastic is made from potentially hazardous chemicals, and it’s not known how much of the PVC pipe in use in the United States is made in China, which has much less strict manufacturing regulations.
For those who argue that municipal pipe contract bids aren’t fair, that’s not true. It’s wide open. When engineers and other professionals design projects, they’re looking for the right materials to fit various conditions. If these professionals aren’t considering a certain kind of pipe, it’s because they know their systems’ requirements, their communities’ needs, and the potential weaknesses of certain materials – like plastic.
Think of it this way: When professionals are looking at project materials, they’re considering things they believe are comparable. And for those comparable materials, there is open competition. If you were building a motorcycle, you wouldn’t price out brakes that are used on bicycles because it wouldn’t be safe, despite the fact that there are similarities between the two. The same holds true for buried infrastructure projects – pipes may appear to be similar but when you consider the specific attributes of the various materials, it becomes clear that PVC plastic is just not in the same class.
Local engineers and planning commissioners have an obligation to their community. It’s appropriate that they would want to use superior pipes in their underground infrastructure to ensure they serve the public reliably for generations. Forcing them to pick pipes based solely on cost will result in only the cheapest pipes being used. Over the long term, that will become very costly for communities as they contend with burst pipes and the clean-up and inconveniences that go along with those incidents. Our cities and towns shouldn’t be forced to have to pay the price for inferior, plastic pipes.
Darren Bearson, the president of Compass Point Strategies, worked in the White House’s Office of Political Affairs under President George W. Bush (2001-2005) and has advised Republican candidates and campaigns in more than 30 states over the past twenty years.
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