WC Wisconsin News

Congressman Derrick Van Orden (WI-03) voted to pass the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2024 out of the House. The bill includes several provisions benefiting Wisconsin’s Third Congressional District: a new study authorization for levee accreditation in La Crosse, a flood risk management project on the Trempealeau River in Arcadia, an ecosystem restoration project for the River Falls Kinni Corridor Project in River Falls, and an authorization for a new Upper Mississippi River System Flood Risk and Resilience Study.

Additional provisions include the Lake Access Keeping Economies Strong (LAKES) Act, which allows portions of recreation fees collected at Army Corps recreational sites to be retained on site. The bill also demands an update from the Army Corps on its 2018 WRDA report on backlog and operation maintenance and reauthorizes FEMA’s National Dam Safety Program through 2028 while strengthening the High Hazard Potential Dam program.

Rep. Van Orden spoke on the House Floor prior to the passage of WRDA 2024:

"I stand in strong support of H.R. 8812 for the very specific reason that I represent Wisconsin's Third Congressional District.

We have the largest continuous section of the Mississippi River of any district in the country.

We don't have a north-south highway – we have the Mississippi River.

This bill authorizes a new upper river flood risk and resiliency study which will help the Corps work for a non-federal interest by taking a system-wide approach to flood risk assessment.

We've got a project to check out flood risk management for the City of La Crosse, Wisconsin, a project for flood risk management for the Trempealeau River in Arcadia, Wisconsin, home of Ashley Furniture, and a project for ecosystem restoration for the River Falls Kinni Corridor Project in River Falls, Wisconsin.

I again support this bill very strongly and I encourage my colleagues to do the same."

With that, he yielded back.