Dam Rehab Bill Introduced in Senate
April 26, 2016
Late last week, Senators Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV) and Jack Reed (D-RI) introduced S. 2835, a bill that, if enacted, would provide funding assistance to rehabilitate, repair, or remove nonfederal high hazard deficient dams. This is a promising step in the effort to improve the nation’s aging dams, which received a “D” grade in the......
Senate Takes Turn Preparing for New Water Resources Bill
February 11, 2016
Just a week after the House held a discussion on what a new Water Resources Develop Act (WRDA) should look like, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing Wednesday to kick off that chambers work on the legislation. Opting for a more formal setting than the House roundtable approach, the Senate......
House Committee Convenes Roundtable Discussion on Next Federal Water Resources Bill
February 04, 2016
The House Subcommittee on Water Resources held a round table this week as Congress gears up to pass a new Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) in 2016. Back in November the committee held a similar discussion in New Orleans. During each roundtable – a less formal setting than a traditional hearing – committee members heard......
Alabama’s Infrastructure Grades Are In
December 10, 2015
The inaugural Report Card for Alabama’s Infrastructure, released today, reveals that Alabama’s aging infrastructure needs attention, especially its dams. As the only state without a dam safety program, Alabama does not have a complete inventory of all the dams in the state. Without this, Alabama is unaware of its dam safety risk. At the last......
Congress Takes First Step to Develop New Water Resources Bill
November 23, 2015
Several members of Congress from the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee gathered in New Orleans earlier this month to listen to stakeholders offer their wishes for a new water resources bill the Committee has pledged to introduce in 2016. Spearheaded by freshman Congressman Garrett Graves (R-LA), T&I Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) and Water Resources......
Infrastructure in the News: A Major Bill Goes to Conference
November 06, 2015
With the Surface Transportation Reauthorization & Reform Act of 2015 moving to conference committee and elections on Tuesday, news headlines have been buzzing with wishes and concerns for our nation’s infrastructure. The House has officially approved the Surface Transportation Reauthorization & Reform Act, a six-year bipartisan bill that will provide flat-level funding. The bill must......
New York Infrastructure Report Card
September 29, 2015
In the inaugural 2015 Report Card for New York’s Infrastructure released today, the state received an overall grade of “C-” from the New York Council of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Assessing nine categories, the report finds that the state’s roads and bridges are among the categories most in need of repair, receiving grades......
ASCE Provides Expertise at Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Academies
August 04, 2015
Each year the federal government spends billions of dollars rebuilding infrastructure following natural disasters. As we approach the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which cost the federal government $98 billion, and three-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, which cost $41 billion, federal agencies are beginning to rethink the way government responds to disaster. Prompted in part......
June 18, 2015
Just over a year ago President Obama signed the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA) into law. It was the first major water resources bill Congress passed in nearly seven years. Historically, major water resources bills were signed on a two year cycle, but partisanship and a ban on congressional earmarks made......
May 29, 2015
Extreme storms in Texas and Oklahoma are testing the strength of many dams this week. Our thoughts are with those affected, and it is hoped that there are no dam failures contributing to the challenges these communities face. Such failures have had dire effects; it was this same week back in 1889 when the worst......