WASHINGTON, D.C. – Provisions in the Water Resources Development Act will support equitable solutions for communities and healthy waterways. The bill will provide important tools for Native American Tribes and communities and bolster restoration efforts in the Everglades, Great Lakes, Lower Mississippi River, and other critical ecosystems and habitats.

“This bipartisan legislation makes meaningful strides in advancing more equitable solutions for water resource challenges by providing additional tools and resources to assist Tribes and frontline communities,” said Jessie Ritter, senior director of water resources and coastal policy. “We celebrate the inclusion of these provisions, as well as directives that will enhance the Army Corps’ mapping and modeling capabilities and improve analysis and transparency around flood risk.”

In addition to these national priorities, the bill also advances critically important ecosystem restoration efforts, including by:

• Facilitating construction of the essential Brandon Road Project, which will help block invasive carp from advancing from the Illinois and Des Plaines Rivers through the Chicago Area Waterway System and into Lake Michigan;
• Continuing to prioritize progress on Everglades restoration, and advancing an effort to address restoration needs within Florida’s east and west coast estuaries;
• Clarifying the federal commitment to fully fund the Lower Mississippi River Comprehensive Study;
• Requiring a strategic plan for beneficial reuse of dredged material; and
• Expanding the flood mitigation and riverine restoration continuing authority program to include protection and restoration of coastal shorelines.