Congressman Rob Menendez Applauds House Passage of Water Resources Development Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. - This week, Congressman Rob Menendez secured key wins for New Jersey’s Eighth Congressional District as the House passed the Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (“WRDA”). The inclusions of these provisions build on Menendez’s months-long advocacy to increase infrastructure resiliency, reduce flood risks, and restore ecosystems throughout the region.
“Building resilient water infrastructure is vital not just to our safety and wellbeing, but to the future of our economy, as well,” said Congressman Rob Menendez. “I’m pleased that this legislation prioritizes four crucial projects in the Eighth Congressional District, which I proudly worked alongside my colleagues on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the New Jersey Congressional Delegation to include. I’m looking forward to seeing this signed into law quickly.”
The Water Resources Development Act of 2024 includes the following provisions for New Jersey’s Eighth Congressional District:
NY NJ HATS Provision: A provision to ensure that the New York and New Jersey Harbor Tributaries (“NY NJ HATS”) project will continue to study, model, and coordinate with key stakeholders while giving them the flexibility to advance certain priorities to protect the region from coastal storms.
Bayonne Dry Dock Dredging Provision: A study to examine the deepening, widening, and extension of the navigation channel leading into the Bayonne Dry Dock to service and support critical national security operations by allowing vessels to traverse the shallow waters and access the dock.
Guttenberg Flood Provision: A study to examine flood risk management along John F. Kennedy Boulevard East in Guttenberg so that residents can continue to access critical resources during storms.
NY NJ Port Authority Vessel Provision: An adjustment to the federal cost share for navigational deepening projects to ensure that our nation’s ports, including the Port of New York and New Jersey, have the federal support they need to receive vessels as they continue to grow in size.
The Water Resources Development Act is biennial legislation that authorizes the United States Army Corps of Engineers’ (“Corps”) water resource projects and studies. The Corps is an agency that develops projects to improve navigable channels, reduce flood and storm damage, and restore aquatic ecosystems. Projects and studies must be authorized through the WRDA process before they can receive federal funding. The authorizations included in this bill are a critical first step in seeing key flooding and navigation projects to completion.