WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, the Senate passed bipartisan legislation that includes a number of investments U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) helped secure for Ohio water infrastructure projects as part of the Water Resources Development Act of 2022 (WRDA 2022). WRDA 2022 invests in key water infrastructure projects to be studied, planned and developed by the Corps, including our nation’s ports, inland waterways, locks, dams, flood and coastal storm protection and ecosystem restoration. This legislation builds on wins that Brown secured in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which Brown helped write and pass.
“Ohio’s waterways and ports are critical for our local economies,” said Brown. “This bipartisan legislation increases investments to ensure that the Great Lakes remain a vital shipping hub, provides a blueprint for dealing with shoreline erosion due to rising water levels and will make overdue investments in Lake Erie.”
Key Ohio provisions secured by Brown in WRDA 2022 include:
- Invasive Species Management. WRDA 2022 includes Brown’s bipartisan Aquatic Invasive Species Control Act which will expand the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Aquatic Plant Control Program to include the Lake Erie Basin and the Ohio River Basin, and directs the USACE to prioritize hydrilla projects through the program. Hydrilla, also known as water thyme, is an aquatic invasive plant, is a concern for a USACE lake in Ohio. This will allow more resources to be dedicated to the issue in Ohio.
- Dredged Material Management Plan Modification. WRDA 2022 includes Brown’s bipartisan Lake Erie Water Quality Protection Act which would direct the USACE to prioritize the development of dredge material management plans (DMMPs) for Ohio’s eight harbors along Lake Erie that adhere to the State’s water quality laws regarding the open placement of dredged materials in Lake Erie. In July 2015, the State of Ohio enacted a law, which became effective in July 2020, prohibiting open lake placement of dredge material due to concerns about water quality.
- Increases Funding for Program 594, an Army Corps program critical to Ohio, which allows the Army Corps to provide assistance to non-Federal interests in Ohio for to assist public entities in to design and construct water and wastewater infrastructure. Section 594 program funding authority will be increased by $100 million
For years, Brown has worked to secure important wins for Lake Erie through his longtime support for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), conservation, and clean water programs and by speaking out against harmful proposals that threaten the health of Lake Erie. In Ohio, more than a quarter of our state’s nearly $40 billion tourism industry comes from counties along the lake. Investments in Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes lead to further economic growth in Ohio and throughout the Great Lakes region.
Brown secured $1 billion for the GLRI in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed by President Biden in November. Funding will provide resources to communities to address the most serious issues that threaten the ecological and economic wellbeing of the Great Lakes basin, including invasive species, pollution, and toxic contamination. The infrastructure investment also includes an additional $54 billion in clean water and drinking water funding that will replace lead service lines, eliminate combined sewage overflows, and ensure safe drinking water.
Brown spoke out against President Trump’s 2021 budget, which would have cut USDA conservation programs that help improve water quality in Lake Erie. Brown and Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) worked together to ensure GLRI was not only reinstated but also fully funded after President Trump proposed eliminating the program in 2018.
Brown was also able to include several provisions in the 2018 Farm Bill to protect Lake Erie and Ohio Waterways. The final bill includes provisions from Brown’s bipartisan Give Our Resources the Opportunity to Work (GROW) Act, which will better utilize existing federal conservation programs to protect waterways and expand access to quality farmland.
Brown and Portman have worked to address these issues over the years. Brown and Portman urged the Corps honor its obligation to dredge the Cuyahoga River shipping channel to protect the thousands of jobs that rely on the Port of Cleveland. They co-authored legislation to keep toxic dredged material from the Cuyahoga River out of Lake Erie was signed into law in December 2016. In January 2016, Brown and Portman urged then USACE Assistant Secretary Jo-Ellen Darcy to use at least $2 million of its $273 million unallocated operations and maintenance budget to make up for its irresponsible request for less money to dredge the Cleveland Harbor. In February 2015, Brown and Portman wrote to Assistant Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Engineers at USACE to call for full funding of Great Lakes navigation projects and to direct additional resources to address a significant dredging backlog.
###
