Agricultural News
WRRDA Easily Clears House and Heads to Conference Committee
Thu, 24 Oct 2013 03:14:55 CDT
The US House of Representatives came together Wednesday and overwhelmingly approved legislation to fund water projects such as port expansions and flood-prevention efforts across the country.
The first Water Resources Development Act to clear the House since 2007 did so on a 417-3 vote, with opposition from just one Democrat (Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota) and two Republicans (Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin and Walter Jones of North Carolina). According to supporters- WRRDA brings unprecedented reform through cutting the red tape of federal regulation and clearing the path for increased efficiency and competition in our nation's water infrastructure system.
"Mr. Speaker, this is how we ought to work," declared House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., after the vote Wednesday evening. "This is how the Congress ought to work with one another all 435 of us. I don't mean that 435 are going to vote for the bill, but we have worked together on this bill."
Of course some work on the measure still lies ahead, with a few key differences to be worked out between the House bill and the Senate's version of WRDA.
Congressman Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma's Second District was one of those who voted in favor of H.R. 3080. "Our water infrastructure is linked to the health of our economy," said Congressman Mullin. "If we do not have adequate infrastructure, we cannot move our commerce and we cannot protect our jobs. Oklahoma's water infrastructure alone plays a critical role in global competition. With the McClellan Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS), Oklahoma is connected to the rest of the nation and the world." A significant part of the MKARNS that is in Oklahoma lies within the second Congressional District.
Among the Agricultural groups that are supportive of the measure is the American Soybean Association. The ASA congratulated House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leadership following its passage.
"ASA welcomes tonight's passage of the WRRDA bill and commends Chairman Shuster and Ranking member Rahall, as well as Subcommittee Chairman Gibbs and Ranking Member Bishop, for their persistence and support in the process of addressing our waterways infrastructure," said ASA President Danny Murphy, a soybean farmer from Canton, Miss. "As tonight's vote illustrates, this bill enjoys broad bipartisan support in the House, as it does in the Senate and within the administration. With that in mind, we call on the House and the Senate to convene the conference committee as soon as possible so that a final bill can be passed and sent to President Obama before the end of this year."
The WRRDA bill includes provisions to streamline environmental reviews; establish hard deadlines and cost caps on project studies; allow non-federal interests to contribute funds to expedite project components; annually increase the amount of funding that is provided from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) for port maintenance and dredging; and free up money and increase the capacity of the Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF) and requiring the Corps to study and report on bonding, user fees, and other potential funding sources.
"Soybeans are the nation's leading farm export, and each bushel we export depends on our waterways infrastructure, whether that's in the form of a river channel, a lock and dam, or a port," added Murphy. "Unfortunately, in recent years, each of those elements has begun to suffer due to lack of upkeep and investment, and this bill takes a great step to reversing that trend."
The House bill will now move on to conference with the Senate's Water Resources Development Act (S. 601) to iron out areas in which the two bills differ. S. 601 includes similar provisions supported by ASA to annually increase the amount of funding that is provided from the HMTF for port maintenance and dredging; to streamline the process for Corps of Engineers projects and reduce project completion times; and to free up money and increase the capacity of the Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF).
Additionally, the Senate version includes an amendment supported by ASA that would exempt small farms that store oil in aboveground tanks from federal oil spill regulations. The amendment would set storage tank thresholds below which agricultural operations would be excluded from U.S. EPA's Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure Rule (SPCC).
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