The Senate will move forward this week with bipartisan water infrastructure legislation that cleared the House last month by voice vote. The "America's Water Infrastructure Act," S. 3021, or otherwise known as WRDA, authorizes numerous US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) projects and other important water programs. Key provisions of the legislation include:
Authorizes aquatic invasive species research by the USACE that includes research on "Asian carp and zebra mussels."
Authorizes a 5-year harmful algal bloom technology development demonstration by the USACE.
Clarifies the operation and maintenance cost shares for the project at the Brandon Road to be 80 percent federal, 20 percent local, and directs the USACE to consult with the Governor of the state in which the project is constructed.
Authorizes the Great Lakes Coastal Resiliency Study.
Authorizes the construction of a new Soo Lock.
Increases the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund authorization amount to $1.95 billion over three years.
Creates a Stormwater funding task force
Reauthorizes and increases funding for Sewer Overflow Control Grants, while requiring twenty percent of the funds be used for green infrastructure, efficiency improvements, and other innovative activities.
Reauthorizes the WIFIA program.
For more information, please contact Matt McKenna, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program, at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
Farm Bill Still Stalled; Stopgap Measure Not Close
The deadline for the Farm Bill conference committee to reach a compromise agreement between the two versions of the Farm Bill passed at the end of September with no agreement.
Now that many of the Farm Bill programs are frozen, there is hope that Congressional leaders on the House and Senate Agriculture Committees will find a way to fund these programs until a compromise can be struck by the 115th Congress in the lame duck session after the November midterm elections or by the 116th Congress. Unfortunately, no such stopgap measure is close.
This failure to fund Farm Bill programs, like vital conservation initiatives, has become a campaign issue in a number of agriculture states like Iowa and Illinois.
For more information, please contact Eric Heath, Senior Policy Counsel for the Mississippi River Basin Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
This Week in Washington
The House is currently in recess. The following are Senate hearings and markups of interest to the region.
