The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released a bipartisan water infrastructure bill Monday that includes studies and projects to address flooding, improve shipping hubs such as Baltimore Harbor and restore ecosystems.
The “Water Resources Development Act of 2024″ would authorize the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct 159 feasibility studies exploring potential water projects, as well as carry out 12 new agency-vetted infrastructure projects. The committee will mark up the bill Wednesday.
Lawmakers said the bill would help protect communities from increasingly long and intense droughts, severe storms, coastal flooding and erosion. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved its version last month.
“The Water Resources Development Act is very important legislation necessary to ensure that the country’s water resources needs are addressed on a consistent bipartisan basis,” Rep. David Rouzer (R-N.C.), chair of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee, said in a statement.
