House Committee Headed to Florida for Field Roundtable on WRDA

October 18, 2019 by Dan McCue
House Committee Headed to Florida for Field Roundtable on WRDA

WASHINGTON – A House Panel that deals with water resource and environmental issues will travel to South Florida this weekend for a roundtable on infrastructure projects to be considered for inclusion in the next Water Resources Development Act.

Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Calif., chair of the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, and Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, D-Fla., the panel’s co-chair, are hosting the discussion Saturday in Founders Park in Islamorada, Florida.

Among those scheduled to attend are Islamorada Mayor Deb Gillis; State Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez; state Department of Environmental Protection Sec. Noah Valenstein; Florida Ports Council Vice President Michael Rubin; Mary Barley, founding director of the Everglades Foundation; Cheryl Meads, a member of the South Florida Water Management District board; and Jayantha Obeysekera, director of the Sea Level Solutions Center at Florida International University.

According to a release from the subcommittee, the purpose of the roundtable is to define the water challenges states and communities face and to determine possible solutions to address America’s infrastructure needs.

They are slated to discuss current and future U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ water infrastructure projects.

The roundtable comes two days after representatives from the South Florida “16 County Coalition” travelled to Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress about the funding status of various water infrastructure projects in the region.

The coalition is made up of representatives from Broward, Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Highlands, Lee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceloa, Palm Beach, Polk and St. Lucie counties.

On Thursday they met with representatives of the House Everglades Caucus, which is led by Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart, R-Fla., and Alcee Hastings, D-Fla.

Hendry County Commissioner Karson Turner, a member of the coalition, told Ryan Nicol of FloridaPolitics.com that his goal in making the trip was to secure guaranteed federal funding for several projects going forward.

“We’ve had a handful of good conversations with different leaders and I think that there is some movement,” Turner said. “Not to mention, there’s a huge economic development aspect to this whole conversation with regards to job creation.”

A meeting of the Florida congressional delegation earlier this year also yielded discussion regarding the effort by the Army Corps of Engineers to review and revise the Lake Okeechobee regulation schedule, which dictates the water levels of the lake.

The schedule guarantees Florida’s agricultural interests will have water during the state’s winter dry season, and that excess water will be released ahead of major hurricanes and tropical storms in the summer.

However, those releases from the lake are blamed for harm to coastal estuaries.

A+
a-
  • Florida
  • infrastructure
  • state news
  • Water
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    State News

    Great Basin Tribes Want Bahsahwahbee Massacre Site in Nevada Named National Monument

    ELY, Nev. (AP) — White attackers turned a lush, high desert oasis in eastern Nevada, with its bubbling springs and... Read More

    ELY, Nev. (AP) — White attackers turned a lush, high desert oasis in eastern Nevada, with its bubbling springs and a rare stand of Rocky Mountain junipers, into killing fields. They massacred hundreds of Native people there in the 1800s — a horrific history once retold... Read More

    In Milwaukee, Biden Looks to Highlight Progress for Black-Owned Small Businesses

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is aiming to use a visit to the battleground state of Wisconsin on Wednesday... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is aiming to use a visit to the battleground state of Wisconsin on Wednesday to spotlight a surge in federal government support for Black-owned small businesses during his White House tenure and to highlight his administration's efforts to ramp up... Read More

    Why More Women Live in Major East Coast Counties While Men Outnumber Them in West

    Anyone who has suspected that there are more women than men where they live, or vice versa, will find fodder... Read More

    Anyone who has suspected that there are more women than men where they live, or vice versa, will find fodder for their suspicions in new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Whether it refutes or confirms their suspicions likely depends on where they live. Women outnumber... Read More

    Ranked Choice Voting Bill Moves to Hearing in Front of Wis. Senate Elections Committee

    MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A bipartisan bill that would dramatically change how Wisconsin residents choose congressional candidates by asking them... Read More

    MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A bipartisan bill that would dramatically change how Wisconsin residents choose congressional candidates by asking them to rank their top choices instead of voting for one of two candidates is headed for its first public hearing. The state Senate's election committee was... Read More

    Democrats Eye Wisconsin High Court's Liberal Majority to Win Abortion, Redistricting Rulings

    MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin's Supreme Court will flip from majority conservative to liberal control in August and Democrats have... Read More

    MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin's Supreme Court will flip from majority conservative to liberal control in August and Democrats have high hopes the change will lead to the state's abortion ban being overturned and its maps redrawn to weaken GOP control of the Legislature and congressional districts. Democrats... Read More

    States Confront Medical Debt That's Bankrupting Millions

    DENVER (AP) — Cindy Powers was driven into bankruptcy by 19 life-saving abdominal operations. Medical debt started stacking up for... Read More

    DENVER (AP) — Cindy Powers was driven into bankruptcy by 19 life-saving abdominal operations. Medical debt started stacking up for Lindsey Vance after she crashed her skateboard and had to get nine stitches in her chin. And for Misty Castaneda, open heart surgery for a disease... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top