House approves critical water projects bill with bipartisan support, Senate decision still to come.
Yesterday, the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) 2024 passed a full vote in the House by a margin of 359-13.
WRDA is a biennial federal bill that authorizes new water infrastructure projects and makes improvements to water programs across the country.
Critically, this is the bill that determines the authorization and rollout of Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) projects. For example, WRDA 2018 authorized the EAA Reservoir at the federal level.
We went to D.C. earlier this year to advocate for WRDA and robust Everglades funding from the federal level, so we’re excited to see progress and bipartisan support to this bill as it makes its way through the process.
To be signed into law, WRDA must first also be approved by the Senate (where it has passed through committee but is awaiting a full floor vote), and any variations between the House and Senate versions will require reconciliation.
We’ll provide a full breakdown of this year’s bill once it’s more finalized, but some early items of note include developments on:
- Western Everglades Restoration Plan (WERP)
- Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration Plan (LOWRP)
- Northern Estuaries Restoration Plan (NERP)
- Critical federal efforts to combat harmful algal blooms
House approves critical water projects bill with bipartisan support, Senate decision still to come.
Yesterday, the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) 2024 passed a full vote in the House by a margin of 359-13.
WRDA is a biennial federal bill that authorizes new water infrastructure projects and makes improvements to water programs across the country.
Critically, this is the bill that determines the authorization and rollout of Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) projects. For example, WRDA 2018 authorized the EAA Reservoir at the federal level.
We went to D.C. earlier this year to advocate for WRDA and robust Everglades funding from the federal level, so we’re excited to see progress and bipartisan support to this bill as it makes its way through the process.
To be signed into law, WRDA must first also be approved by the Senate (where it has passed through committee but is awaiting a full floor vote), and any variations between the House and Senate versions will require reconciliation.
We’ll provide a full breakdown of this year’s bill once it’s more finalized, but some early items of note include developments on:
- Western Everglades Restoration Plan (WERP)
- Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration Plan (LOWRP)
- Northern Estuaries Restoration Plan (NERP)
- Critical federal efforts to combat harmful algal blooms