WASHINGTON–(ENEWSPF)–May 22, 2014. U.S. Senators Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) today said that the Conference Report of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 passed by the U.S. Senate earlier today invests in critical Illinois waterway infrastructure. The bill – which was passed by the House of Representatives earlier this week – now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law.
“Modernizing our aging locks and dams is critical to ensuring that through our waterway infrastructure Illinois remains competitive in the global economy,” Senator Kirk said. “This fiscally responsible bill leverages public-private partnerships to maximize the efficiency of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, unlocking the power of our state’s water transportation network while minimizing costs to taxpayers.”
“This legislation is very good news for Illinois,” Senator Durbin said. “We know what locks and dams mean to our farmers, to local commerce, and to the families that live in areas that are a high risk of flooding. Now we’ve passed a bill that will help make critical and necessary upgrades to that infrastructure after decades of neglect.”
The Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 would:
Create a pilot program to improve the nation’s water infrastructure through public-private partnerships. The Army Corps of Engineers estimates a $60 billion backlog of outstanding projects that will take decades to complete without outside investment. This provision is based on legislation that Durbin and Kirk introduced with U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Rodney Davis (R-IL) called the Water Infrastructure Now Public-Private Partnership Act. The pilot program is intended to help expedite projects – including lock and dam modernization along the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers – and save taxpayers money. More information on that provision is available here.
Assist Metro East communities improve their levees. The bill would combine the several levee projects in the Metro East region into one project authority to allow the Army Corps of Engineers greater flexibility and efficiency in using federal funding to complete the projects. The bill also would change eligibility requirements to allow these projects to receive work-in-kind credit, which can assist local efforts to rebuild the levees to authorized levels of protection. More information on that provision is available here.
Improve navigation in the Mississippi River Basin. This bill would authorize a first of its kind study to help better understand how the Basin functions as a system and how it can best be managed in order to maintain safe and reliable navigation and protect lives and property, especially during times of severe flooding and drought. The legislation would also improve tools used for Mississippi River forecasting and expanding flexibility for the Army Corps of Engineers to maintain navigation. It also creates a first-ever environmental management pilot program for the middle Mississippi River. These measures are based on a bill Durbin authored called the Mississippi River Navigation Sustainment Act and introduced with U.S. Representative Bill Enyart (D-Ill.) and U.S. Representative Rodney Davis (R-Ill.). The goal is to maintain the critical movement of goods on the Mississippi River during periods of extreme weather through better Corps water management procedures, improved river forecasting, more flexibility for the Corps of Engineers to respond, and more effective environmental management.
Continue the fight against the spread of Asian Carp. The bill authorizes the Army Corps of Engineers to implement emergency measures recommended in the efficacy study authorized by the 2007 WRDA bill. These recommendations have been authorized annually in appropriations bills but are made permanent in this bill.
Source: kirk.senate.gov
