Huffman Votes to Pass Water Resources Development Act, Celebrates Wins for Northern California

Huffman Votes to Pass Water Resources Development Act, Celebrates Wins for Northern California

Washington, DC - Today, U.S. Representative Jared Huffman voted to pass the final version of the Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) of 2024. This legislation includes key North Coast and environmental priorities championed by Representative Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), a senior Member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

WRDA is a biennial legislation that authorizes U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to carry out civil works projects to improve the nation's ports and harbors, inland waterway navigation, flood and storm protection, and other aspects of our water resources infrastructure. This bill includes locally-driven projects in California's Second Congressional District and around the country, which will deliver regional and national benefits to protect the environment, create jobs, strengthen our supply chain, spur economic development, and improve water resources.

The final version of WRDA was agreed to after months of negotiations to reconcile House- and Senate-passed versions. It should soon be passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Biden with a number of provisions authored by Rep. Huffman.

"Crippling droughts, sea level rise, and ecosystem degradation fueled by climate change are increasingly straining our nation's water resources, especially in frontline coastal communities like the one I represent. WRDA is one of our best lines of defense against these impacts. This legislation will allow us to make smart water infrastructure investments and regularly modernize how the Army Corps works at our ports, harbors, reservoirs, and waterways," said Rep. Huffman. "The provisions in this year's package build on the transformative investments that Democrats and the Biden-Harris administration secured in the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, spurring long-term resiliency of our water projects while creating jobs and stimulating the economy."

Numerous provisions that Rep. Huffman led or championed will soon become law as components of this bill, including:

• Includes a sea-level rise study for the San Francico Bay Area to investigate measures to adapt to and prepare for rising sea levels.
• Advances offshore wind development in Humboldt Harbor by initiating a feasibility to examine safely modifying the channel.
• Extends a pilot program for economically disadvantaged communities that allows up to 100% federal cost share for such communities, including Marin City.
• Expedites feasibility studies for flood control and conservation at Coyote Valley Dam; construction of the Resilient San Francisco Bay Beneficial Use Pilot Project; and flood and storm risk management and ecosystem restoration at the San Francisco International Airport.
• Makes the tribal partnership program permanent, increases authorized funding level, and expands the program to better coordinate with Tribal entities to address tribal water resources needs and Treaty rights.
• Includes Reps. Huffman and Bruce Westerman (R-AR)'s LAKES Act, which authorizes Corps recreation facilities to retain a portion of recreation collected fees.
• Establishes water supply, water conservation and drought resiliency as a primary mission of the Corps to address the growing urgency for infrastructure capable of protecting people and the environment from increasingly severe and prolonged drought.
• Continues initiatives for aquatic ecosystem restoration, including those that benefit anadromous fish habitat passage, such as salmon in the Pacific Northwest.
• Includes language making it clear that the Corps has flexibility for easement and access to manage and maintain restoration projects.
• Makes the program for the the Corps' beneficial use of dredged material permanent to maximize the benefits of dredged materials obtained from water resources development projects for the creation of habitat, wetlands, and other ecologically beneficial functions.
• Makes forecast-informed reservoir operations (FIRO) permanent and extends the areas where the Crops can implement it.
• Studies efforts by Federal agencies to reduce the release of microplastics into the environment.

Rep. Huffman also successfully advocated to keep out environmentally harmful language, including provisions that threaten the Clean Water Act or efforts to dismantle the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process.

Congress has also successfully enacted four consecutive bipartisan WRDAs in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024. More information on WRDA 2024 can be found here.

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