PITTSBORO — Rep. David Price (D-N.C. 4) visited Pittsboro last Friday to meet with Mayor Cindy Perry for a discussion about the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and how the bill’s funding could aid Pittsboro in addressing its water pollution issues.
Also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the bill was passed and signed into law by President Joe Biden in mid-November. The bill is set to provide $550 billion in investments over the course of five years to improve American infrastructure — including roads, water treatment, clean energy sources and more.
Price and Perry met at Pittsboro’s water treatment facility off of U.S. Hwy. 15-501 to film a video discussing the ways the infrastructure bill could impact Pittsboro, specifically regarding its issues with water quality.
“The infrastructure initiative from the president has a water treatment and wastewater treatment component that amounts to something like $50 billion, and $10 billion is specifically for PFAS (treatment),” Price said. “I would think there would be some combination of Pittsboro pursuing that or, as part of a broader regional effort, there’s some major regional efforts underway, and we hope to have federal support with those.”
Pittsboro has had its fair share of issues with access to clean water — the Haw River, which supplies the town’s drinking water, has been polluted on several occasions with likely human carcinogens, including PFAS, PFOS and 1,4-Dioxane. The town has searched for solutions, ranging from improvements to its own treatment plant to forming a drinking water partnership with Sanford and three other municipalities.
“This is the biggest single investment in this country’s history towards water treatment,” Price said. “For unfortunate reasons, we have a reason to be pursuing that here.”
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act would provide $55 billion to expand clean water access across the country, according to the White House’s website. Perry said federal funding could be the key to helping Pittsboro solve the pollution issues the residents have faced for generations.
“A couple of years ago, nobody even knew what PFAS was, and now we have a $10 billion investment specifically for that forever chemical that we’ve been drinking for a while,” Perry said.
Perry said funding from the infrastructure bill could also help the town access more filtration technology to better treat the polluted water coming into the drinking supply. She said with assistance providing by the bill, Pittsboro could build a water treatment plant — in partnership with other municipalities — which would be able to keep up with the contaminated water for a larger region.
“We need the new technology that is going to come from what would be a regional water plant that would have high tech,” Perry said. “In the long run and as our growth progresses with Chatham Park, we are going to need a new plant along Jordan Lake.”
Misinformation surrounding the infrastructure bill has caused some confusion among policy makers, according to Price. He said some members of Congress have indicated the funds provided by the bill were not allocated for infrastructure, but those seem to be based on misguided information.
He said at least one North Carolina Congressman claimed only a limited amount of money was going toward infrastructure. But when Price inquired of his colleague about figures he’s quoted, he said they had only considered highways as infrastructure.
“So, buses don’t count, trains don’t count, airports don’t count, broadband doesn’t count, water treatment doesn’t count, I mean, it doesn’t make sense,” Price said. “There should be a broader definition about what infrastructure is, and I’d (dare) anyone to claim that water treatment is not infrastructure.”
Price said this bill isn’t the first example of the federal government provided assistance in regards to infrastructure. He noted a historical trend in federal investment into infrastructure when in his early years as a congressional representative, he was able to secure funding for Holly Springs to build its first wastewater treatment plant in the town’s history. Price also said now, the federal government needs to support small communities like Pittsboro as they continue to grow.
Perry said she believes a bill like the bipartisan infrastructure initiative is crucial in providing the money needed to take on improving the town’s water systems. Without financial assistance from the bill, Pittsboro would not be able to complete the projects Perry says is necessary to provide residents with clean water without outside financial assistance.
“When you think of a small town like us, less than 5,000 people, trying to raise taxes or water fees to be able to build a $50 or $60 million plant on Jordan Lake, it’s understandable why we need federal help,” Perry said. “It’s just isn’t possible for a small community to do that on their own.”
Reporter Taylor Heeden can be reached at theeden@chathamnr.com.
