Updates to the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard
August 31, 2016
The Federal Emergency Managed Agency (FEMA) recently released a proposed rule the could transform how the federal government funds infrastructure built in flood prone areas. The draft rule, formally known as Updates to Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands Regulations To Implement Executive Order 13690 and the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard was published for......
Talk to your Members of Congress About Infrastructure this Recess
July 21, 2016
Members of Congress headed home (and to their respective national conventions last week) and won’t return to Washington until after Labor Day. This gives you, as an infrastructure advocate, the opportunity to talk with your federal lawmakers about our nation’s “D+” infrastructure and specific legislation that they can pass this year to help improve it.......
Momentum for Water Resources Bill Builds; 30 Republican Senators Urge Floor Time
June 30, 2016
While gun control and a Puerto Rico debt restructuring package were the central focus of the Senate in the last 10 legislative days, momentum for bringing a major, bipartisan water resources bill to the Senate floor before summer recess is growing in the halls of Congress. Efforts to bring S.2848 the Water Resources Development Act......
Broad Coalition Asks Senate to Pass Water Resources Bill
June 23, 2016
On Wednesday an initial group of 87 organizations–now up to 93–asked in a letter that the U.S. Senate pass the Water Resources Development Act of 2016 (WRDA; S.2848) before leaving for summer recess. The coalition, led by the American Society of Civil Engineers, includes a wide range of interests—demonstrating the impact that WRDA has on......
Raising The Grade: How the 2016 Water Resources Bill Can Help Improve America’s Dams & Levees
June 22, 2016
In this three-part blog series, we’ll take a look at projects, policy changes and programs included in S. 2848, the Water Resources Development Act of 2016. First up, Dams and Levees Improving the Nation’s Aging Dams: the National Dam Rehabilitation Program The early days of dam building across the U.S. provided energy, flood......
New Jersey Infrastructure Receives D+ Report Card
June 16, 2016
Today, the 2016 Report Card for New Jersey’s Infrastructure gave an overall D+ grade for the State’s infrastructure. The report evaluated 13 separate components of New Jersey’s infrastructure, all of which were given a grade based on the components’ condition, capacity, funding, future need, operation and maintenance, public safety, resilience, and innovation. The transit and......
New Jersey Report Card Coming Next Week
June 08, 2016
With only a few weeks left before New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund goes insolvent, the Report Card for New Jersey’s Infrastructure will be released on Thursday, June 16 to underscore the importance to #FixNJTrustFund with a sustainable, long-term funding solution. The report will grade surface transportation categories of bridges, rail, roads, and transit, along with dams, drinking water,......
National Dam Safety Awareness Day 2016: Safety of Dams and Safety at Dams
May 31, 2016
By Lori C. Spragens, Executive Director, Association of State Dam Safety Officials Today, May 31, is National Dam Safety Awareness Day. The day commemorates when the South Fork Dam failed on May 31, 1889, sending a deadly rush of water and debris into the city of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Commonly known as the Johnstown Flood, the......
Water Resources Bill Passes Senate Committee
May 05, 2016
On April 28 the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) advanced a new Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) by a vote of 19-1. The $9 billion bill authorizes new projects and studies at the Army Corps of Engineers, adds a dam rehabilitation component to the National Dam Safety Program, establishes a new Water......
Infrastructure in the News: Dams, Potholes…
April 29, 2016
A new dam rehabilitation bill introduced in the Senate and continued attention to our nation’s water and surface infrastructure needs marked this week’s infrastructure headlines. The High Hazard Potential Small Dam Safety Act, a Senate bill sponsored by bipartisan lawmakers, would provide the first non-emergency federal grants to help local governments repair or replace......