{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.brown.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/brown-portman-announce-final-passage-of-bill-to-help-protect-cleveland-from-toxic-sediment", "Brown, Portman Announce Final Passage of Bill to Help Protect Cleveland from Toxic Sediment", "2016-12-10", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "OH", "Sherrod Brown", "B000944", "www.brown.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Bill now heads to President\u2019s desk\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tSaturday, December 10, 2016\n            \n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rob Portman (R-OH) today announced passage legislation that will help keep toxic material dredged from the Cuyahoga River out of Lake Erie. A provision of the bill, the Water Infrastructure Investments for the Nation Act, formerly known as the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), makes clear that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) cannot determine that dumping dredged material into Lake Erie is environmentally acceptable unless it meets the state of Ohio\u2019s water quality standards. This will help protect Lake Erie from the Corps\u2019 repeated attempts to dispose of contaminated sediment into the Lake. The bill now heads to President Obama\u2019s desk to be signed into law.\r\n\u201cThis is a win for local businesses and jobs along the Cuyahoga River and Port of Cleveland,\u201d said Brown. \u201cDredging is key to protecting our lake and keeping the channel open for businesses. This will hold the Corps to our state\u2019s water quality standards so we can keep Lake Erie clean.\u201d \r\n\u201cThe Cleveland Harbor is vital to our efforts to create more Ohio jobs and protect the environment,\u201d said Senator Portman. \u201cAnnual dredging of the channel is critical for the region and this legislation ensures that not only will commercial navigation continue safely, but dredged material will not harm either the City of Cleveland\u2019s water supply or Lake Erie\u2019s ecosystem. I urge the President to sign this immediately.\u201d\r\nThe provision of the bill means that the Corps must follow Ohio\u2019s water quality standards when determining how to dispose of the dredged material.\r\nAccording to the State of Ohio, more than $10 billion of the state\u2019s nearly $40 billion tourism industry is derived from counties along the Lake Erie shoreline. Further, the Great Lakes play a vital role in transporting food, raw materials, and other goods necessary to support Ohio jobs. But in order for this to continue, the Great Lakes\u2019 harbors and channels must be dredged in an environmentally acceptable manner.\u00a0\r\nIn January 2016, Brown and Portman urged USACE Assistant Secretary Jo-Ellen Darcy to use at least $2 million of its $273 million unallocated operation and maintenance budget to make up for its irresponsible request for less money to dredge the Cleveland Harbor. The Corps requested $3.6 million less than the President\u2019s budget, which will not be sufficient to safely place the dredged material upland. Brown and Portman\u2019s letter urged the Corps to respect the State\u2019s Water Quality Standards and pay for the cost of disposing of the toxic dredged material responsibly rather than dumping it into Lake Erie.\r\nIn February 2015, Brown and Portman wrote to Assistant Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Engineers at USACE calling for full funding of Great Lakes navigation projects and to direct additional resources to address a significant dredging backlog.\r\n###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPress Contact\n\t\t\t\t\tJenny Donohue/Rachel Petri\r\n(202) 224-3978", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.brown.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/brown-portman-announce-final-passage-of-bill-to-help-protect-cleveland-from-toxic-sediment"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3463380746543407, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}