Today, a House subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment held a hearing on the next Water Resources Development Act. Melissa Samet, Senior Water Resources Counsel, submitted testimony on behalf of the National Wildlife Federation: Statement of Melissa Samet, Senior Water Resources Counsel. 

“The science is clear: Healthy natural systems help control flooding, protect local communities and provide habitat for wildlife,” said Collin O’Mara, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Wildlife Federation.  “We encourage Congress to draft a bill that adopts meaningful reforms aimed at saving lives, reducing costs, and protecting our nation’s waters and wildlife. Low-impact nature-based solutions are most often cheaper and more effective than the concrete-and-steel structures of the past.  For example, the long awaited Central Everglades Planning Project, which will help restore the natural hydrology of this national treasure and reduce flooding and habitat loss, must finally be authorized to proceed.”
                                                                  
“We are committed to working with Congress to pass a meaningful Water Resources Development Act this session that authorizes key restoration projects, like the Everglades and L.A. River, and requires that the Army Corps does a better job planning, constructing, and operating projects in ways that do not put people at risk and harm our waters.”