{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-praises-final-passage-water-resources-development-act-2016", "Grassley Praises Final Passage of the Water Resources Development Act of 2016", "2016-12-10", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "IA", "Charles Grassley", "G000386", "www.grassley.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Sen. Chuck Grassley today praised the final passage of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act, which includes the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2016. This bill addresses the civil works program of the Army Corps of Engineers and drinking water and wastewater funding programs through the Environmental Protection Agency. It highlights the flood protection needs in Cedar Rapids and authorizes studies of flood protection in Dubuque and the levees along the upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. The Committee on Environment and Public Works will also be sending a letter to the Government Accountability Office requesting a study of the Corps\u2019 methods used to calculate benefit-cost ratios of interest to Iowa communities including Des Moines.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s critical to Iowa\u2019s economy to maintain the flow of commerce by improving and updating the country\u2019s water infrastructure,\u201d Grassley said. \u201cI\u2019ve been an advocate for inland waterways and ports for a long period of time. Shippers and consumers depend on the ability to move more than 604 million tons of cargo valued at more than $232 billion on these waterways every year. The nation\u2019s inland waterways system also provides a cost-effective, fuel-efficient, and environmentally friendly way to move bulk products.\u201d\u00a0Grassley said the legislation also contains a number of provisions to expand and add additional flexibility to programs that assist communities with drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. \u201cMany Iowa communities have major water infrastructure needs, particularly with EPA mandates becoming increasingly burdensome,\u201d Grassley said.\u00a0Specific Iowa-related provisions included in the bill are:\u00a0\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Cedar River, Cedar Rapids.\u00a0The bill states that the Corps of Engineers shall expedite the completion of this authorized project for flood damage reduction and flood risk management.\u00a0The Cedar Rapids project is listed as one of nine projects to be expedited by the Corps. The other projects are Chicagoland Underflow Plan, IL; Comite River, LA; Amite River and Tributaries, LA, East Baton Rouge Parish Watershed; Asension Parish, LA; East Baton Rouge Parish, LA; Iberville Parish, LA; Livingston Parish, LA; and Pointe Coupee Parish, LA.\u00a0Cedar Rapids endured a 500-year flood in 2008 and faced near record flooding again this year. After the 2008 floods, the City of Cedar Rapids worked with the Corps of Engineers to develop a project to address the flood risk. Congress authorized the project in the Water Resources and Reform Act of 2014. To date, no construction funds for this project have been budgeted. This provision clearly shows the intent of Congress for this project to be a priority at the Corp of Engineers.\u00a0\u201cI have constantly worked with the Environment and Public Works Committee and other committees in the Senate to address the flood reduction needs in Cedar Rapids since the 2008 floods,\u201d Grassley said. \u201cI helped get this project authorized in the last WRDA bill, and I\u2019m glad to have helped lead the effort to include language to highlight the importance of the project in this bill. This year\u2019s flood event proves that it would be wiser to build the permanent flood protection structure instead of building temporary emergency structures, which cost millions and lead to the federal government spending billions in emergency measures over time.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Dubuque.\u00a0The bill authorizes a study to determine the feasibility of modifying the flood protection system to increase the level of flood protection and reduce flood damages.\u00a0\u201cDubuque is actively working on addressing all of its flood protection needs,\u201d Grassley said. \u201cThis study will assist the city\u2019s efforts by determining if additional protection or modifications are needed along the Mississippi River.\u201d\u00a0\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.\u00a0The bill authorizes a study of the riverine areas located within the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois River basins to identify the risks and vulnerabilities of those areas to increased flood damages.\u00a0\u00a0This study will evaluate the flood damage risks on a system-wide rather than local basis. This review was recommended by the Corps in a 2008 study and by the Secretary in a 2009 letter to Congress to address the fact that a rehabilitation of a levee at a single location often cannot be cost-justified but each location is an integral part of a levee system that provides essential flood protection benefits.\u00a0\u00a0The Chairman and Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works Committee will be sending a letter to the Government Accountability Office requesting a study, asked for by Senators Ernst and Grassley in the Senate version of the WRDA bill then supported by the Iowa delegation in the House, on the methodology and performance metrics used by the Corps to calculate cost-benefit ratios and evaluate construction projects.\u00a0\u201cI am very concerned with how projects in Iowa, such as Cedar Rapids and Des Moines, and across the country fare in the Corps calculations of benefit-cost ratios to determine the federal interest in construction projects,\u201d said Grassley. \u201cIt should not be only urban centers or beach front property with high property values receiving federal assistance and the expertise of the Corps.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Earlier this year, Senator Grassley and Ernst sent letters to the Corps leadership on both the Cedar Rapids flood protection project and how the benefit-cost ratios are calculated. The letters can be viewed by clicking\u00a0here\u00a0and\u00a0here.\u00a0\u201cPassing this bill is important for Iowa,\u201d Grassley said. \u201cIt builds on the reforms included in WRDA 2014 and keeps the predictability of enacting a WRDA bill every two years.\u201d-30-", 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.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-praises-final-passage-water-resources-development-act-2016"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.057537902146578, "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"}