After originally filing a request to purchase 1.6 acres of unused land from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over 40 years ago, the Port of Skamania will now finally be able to move forward with that purchase thanks to the passage of the federal Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (WRDA), which was signed into law last week by President Joe Biden.
In the WRDA is the Prioritizing Opportunities for Rural Transformation (or PORT) Act, which was introduced by U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, and approves land conveyances, like the Port of Skamania’s, to support rural economic development.
The WRDA also includes assistance for flooding and sediment control on both the Cowlitz and Columbia rivers, according to a news release from Gluesenkamp Perez’s office.
Additionally, the WRDA will ensure the Army Corps of Engineers assess possible causes of fine sediment accumulation which leads to flooding in the Rosburg and Grays River areas. Flooding in this area cuts off access to roughly 500 residents, sometimes for multiple days at a time.
The Army Corps of Engineers will also be responsible for conducting feasibility studies related to sediment accumulation impacts on navigation channels in both the Cowlitz and Columbia rivers.
“Living in unincorporated Skamania County, I’ve seen firsthand how our community has had to endure painful cuts to vital services due to a lack of developable land and our funding being tied to natural resources like timber,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in the release. “This 1.6-acre plot of land is the kind of thing that can make an incredible difference in empowering our rural community. The port’s typewritten request for this land was filed before I was born, and it was unfortunately ignored by Congress for 40 years. Rosburg and Grays River know the impacts of flooding all too well — and it’s only been getting worse. These floods are dangerous, leave behind debris, and cut off critical services, so our federal government needs to take urgent action to find solutions. We should also be supporting smooth, reliable navigation on Southwest Washington’s rivers. Our rural communities deserve an attentiveness to their needs — and I’m glad we could get these priorities signed into law after Congress has long failed to act.”
The WRDA is a federal biannual bill required for the authorization of Army Corps of Engineer and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation projects. including improving river navigation channels, reducing flood and storm damage and restoring aquatic ecosystems.
To learn more about the 2024 WRDA, visit https://transportation.house.gov/wrda-2024/.
