House passes bill providing millions to dams, flood mitigation in WNC
The bill provides $41 million for flood mitigation along the Pigeon River near Canton. Cory Vaillancourt photo
A bill approved by Congress last week will provide money for improvements to the nation’s ports and harbors; inland waterway navigation; flood and storm protection; and other aspects of the nation’s waterways.
The approved measure is the House Amendment to S. 4367, the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024, which is the bipartisan, bicameral product of several months of negotiations between House and Senate leaders after each chamber passed its own version of WRDA legislation earlier this summer.
The bill has been touted as a bipartisan success by House members.
“After months of negotiations, this bill represents a carefully crafted agreement across both chambers and parties,” said NC-7 Rep. David Rouzer. “This bipartisan legislation enhances the efficiency of our ports, harbors, and inland navigation systems, bolsters both domestic and international commerce, and strengthens our resilience during natural disasters. I am grateful to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who helped craft this commonsense legislation, which will have a lasting impact from coast to coast.”
In The Smoky Mountain News coverage area, the bill will provide more than $41 million for flood mitigation along the Pigeon River in Canton, an area that was particularly hard-hit not only during the recent deluge from Hurricane Helene but also in 2021 during Tropical Storm Fred. Each storm caused a loss of life, hundreds of millions of dollars of damage in the Canton area and even extreme damage to town government buildings and town infrastructure.
In addition to the funding for the Pigeon River, when it comes to Western North Carolina, the bill included $1.5 million for downtown water system rehabilitation in Murphy, $4 million for water plant expansion in Weaverville and More than $3.4 million for water infrastructure upgrades in Robbinsville.
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There were also three bills that brought in additional funding for the National Dam Safety Program Reauthorization Act of 2023, the National Dam Safety Program Amendment Act and the Low-Head Dam Inventory Act.
“This WRDA delivers critical water resource infrastructure improvements for communities across America – from ports to levees to navigation channels, and more. The bill also makes reforms at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to streamline processes, reduce cumbersome red tape, and get projects done faster. This legislation also keeps Congress on the schedule of regularly passing WRDA improvements and reforms every two years,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman, Rep. Matt Graves (R-Missouri). “This measure also includes important provisions to reauthorize and modernize federal economic development programs, make us better stewards of federally-owned office space and the taxpayers’ money, and repurpose unobligated TIFIA balances to help our states better address their surface transportation infrastructure needs. I want to thank Ranking Member Rick Larsen, Subcommittee Chairman David Rouzer, Subcommittee Ranking Member Grace Napolitano, as well as Chairman Carper and Ranking Member Capito in the Senate, for their hard work in developing and negotiating this final measure.”
The WRDA will provide funding for National Dam Safety Program Reauthorization Act. Western North Carolina has over 750 dams. File photo
“WNC, with its many lakes and rivers, must remain at the forefront of dam safety and I’m pleased that the House passed three of my bills to provide federal support for the nearly 92,000 dams that serve critical functions across our nation,” Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-Henderson) said in a press release. “The significant flooding following Hurricane Helene underscored the importance of improving dam safety efforts to prevent catastrophic dam failures, protect lives and downstream communities, and make sure that dams continue to provide the services that Western North Carolinians depend on.”
In the release, Edwards’ office also discussed the specifics National Dam Safety Program Reauthorization Act.
Edwards’ district, NC-11, is home to more than 750 dams, many of which are in poor or unsatisfactory condition. The American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure gave America’s dams a “D” grade in safety, and the Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) estimates that more than 2,300 high-hazard dams are at risk due to a lack of investment in dam safety. ASDSO estimates that it would cost $157.5 billion to place these high-hazard dams into a state of good repair.
The bipartisan National Dam Safety Program Reauthorization Act of 2023 reauthorizes the National Dam Safety Program through fiscal year 2028.
The bill will now make its way to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
