Herrera Beutler Presses for Federal Assistance with Cowlitz River Sediment Management Plan

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Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler has formally pressed the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) request to reprogram funding for sediment monitoring and predesign work for the sediment retention structure (SRS) on the Lower Cowlitz River.  

“Without federal funding this year for the necessary sediment monitoring and predesign work for the raising of the SRS, these local communities will again be forced to put up local dollars to cover for what is supposedly a federal commitment. In any typical year, finding funding for these activities is difficult at best, and the COVID-19 related effects on county and local government revenues this year will make it nearly impossible. Counties and towns should not be forced to divert funds from other vital community services to make up for the lack of consistent federal support for sediment monitoring and SRS improvements,” Herrera Beutler wrote.

The monitoring of the Lower Cowlitz River provides information on the sediment retention structure’s ability to protect communities throughout Cowlitz County from potential life-threatening floods resulting from the build-up of sediment in the river from the eruption of Mount St. Helens.



“Failing to address the risk to impacted communities not only threatens them with the uncertainty of flooding but fails to give them the peace of mind that the monitoring can provide. I ask that you approve the USACE reprogramming request to ensure these communities can be properly protected,” Herrera Beutler wrote.