Today, Congresswoman Moore voted to pass the Water Resources Development Act of 2022 (WRDA), which supports Army Corps of Engineers’ projects that address flood damage reduction, promote ecosystem restoration, support climate resiliency, and address water resource needs in underserved communities. These projects benefit communities across the country, including in Milwaukee.
“I am pleased to once again support a bipartisan bill to authorize critical Army Corps of Engineers authorities, including provisions directly related to protecting Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes.
For example, the bill would continue to strengthen our fight against invasive species such as the Asian Carp that have long posed a threat to our Great Lakes. The bill would increase the federal cost share for work at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam to put in place technology and other features to keep the Asian Carp out of Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes. Allowing the Carp to get into the Great Lakes would be a disaster and I am so glad that on a bipartisan basis, Congress has made clear that doing all we can to prevent that remains a priority.
The bill also builds on work I have done previously to help ensure that underserved communities are meaningfully engaged and consulted with on Army Corps projects in their communities. Too often, community members are overlooked, or not aware as major Corps funded activities take place around them, without them. The bill would direct the Corps to increase outreach to urban and rural communities and Indian Tribes on the Corps’ water resources development authorities and to provide additional public resources for increased community engagement with Corps programs. In that vein, the bill also would require each Army Corps district that contains a Tribal community to create a position within that district to carry out the duties and serve as a Tribal liaison.
The legislation also takes step to combat harmful algal blooms in the Great Lakes, among other areas and calls for the Army Corps to expedite the completion of the Great Lakes Coastal Resiliency Study, a collaborative effort by 8 Great Lakes states, the Corps of Engineers, and other federal agencies to improve the resiliency of the Great Lake coastline to protect the immense economic, environmental and social value of the Great Lakes shoreline and provide recommendations to bolster the ability of Great Lakes coastlines to withstand, recover from, and adapt to future lake level conditions and increased storm severity. This study, which has bipartisan support in the Great Lakes delegation, would provide federal, state, and local agencies decisionmakers with the necessary information to support effective management decisions and investments, especially given climate change’s impact on the region.
Lastly, I am pleased that authorization for a Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District project that I requested is included. This project would support the use of green infrastructure within an approximately 25 square mile combined sewer service area in the City of Milwaukee that uses natural means to help reduce the volume of water entering our sewers during storm events. The project will take place at 8 sites in the city, include the installation of bioswales, stormwater trees and green parking lots, and is estimated to help capture over 525,000 gallons of stormwater during a single storm event.”
Read more about the Water Resources Development Act of 2022 here.
Read more Congresswoman Moore’s community projects here.
