WASHINGTON, DC, US — The US Senate on July 28 passed the Waterways Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2022, which includes provisions for modernizing the US waterways infrastructure.
It amends the cost-share for inland waterway projects to 75% general Treasure funds and 25% from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund.
“This permanent cost-share change would expedite the modernization of US inland waterways and bolster the ability of NGFA members to fulfill their role in the agricultural value chain to serve American farmers and domestic and global customers,” said Mike Seyfert, president and chief executive officer of the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA).
House and Senate lawmakers must conference and pass WRDA 2022 before it can be signed into law. NGFA also emphasized that a final WRDA bill should maintain navigational access to the lower Snake River dams (LSRDs).
“A final WRDA 2022 should neither authorize nor pave the way for the breach or removal of dams in the Columbia-Snake River System, which is the third largest grain export corridor in the world and is crucial to American agriculture’s global competitiveness,” Seyfert said.
Congress has passed a WRDA every two years since 2014. The legislation provides stakeholders with the opportunity to address important navigation, ecosystem, and flood protection issues critical to American industries and communities.
