The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2018 was recently signed into law; it will provide for investment in harbor, waterway, flood protection, and other water infrastructure improvement projects across the country.
“I am proud of the fact that our Committee, the House, and the Senate have worked together to send bipartisan WRDA legislation to the president in each of the last three congresses,” says Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA). “These laws are essential federal commitments to improving the harbors, ports, waterways, locks, dams, and other water infrastructure that makes our transportation network more efficient, the country competitively stronger, and our communities safer from flooding.”
According to Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the passage of this law will greatly benefit coastal communities whose economic success depends greatly on ports, harbors, and waterways to sustain jobs. A WRDA bill has passed every two years since 2014 in order to help secure this vital infrastructure.
According to Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Ranking Member Grace Napolitano (D-CA) WRDA will focus the Army Corps of Engineers on water supply in arid regions, improvements to U.S. EPA programs related to stormwater, water recycling, and sewer overflow projects, increasing the water workforce, and creating a national standard for water-efficient products.
“This bill is about delivering proactive solutions so that communities actually benefit from enhanced flood protection instead of having to endure decades of studies and inaction; so state, local, and other folks on the ground can play a larger role in getting projects built faster and at lower costs to taxpayers; permitting starts to make sense and we stop paying for redundant studies that only delay projects and the restoration of the environment and our economy keeps growing through investments in our shipping capabilities that allow us to keep pace with global trends. With transparency and accountability, we’re shifting the focus away from pushing paper and putting it where it belongs: on turning dirt and getting the work done.”
Click here for more information about the America’s Water Infrastructure Act.
