Congress passes the 2024 Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act, bringing protections to Delaware’s shoreline and economy.
The Water Resources Development Act is passed every other year to authorize flood control, navigation and ecosystem restoration projects for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) in Delaware and across the country.
The 2024 iteration is also the first time in two decades that U.S. Economic Development Administration programs will be updated and reauthorized, which Sen. Carper explains can help fund key infrastructure projects.
“In some cases where there's just not quite enough money to do a project — to finish a project — EDA can come in and fill the gap. We call it ‘last mile infrastructure,'"
The bill also establishes the Delaware Coastal System Program, which will allow the Corps and the state to promote a more effective use of federal and state funds for coastal hurricane and storm risk reduction projects throughout Delaware.
Additionally, several local and state funding contribution requirements for beach nourishment projects and environmental studies will be reduced:
- Reduces state contribution requirement from 50% to 10% for completing the Delaware Back Bay Study, which recommends projects to increase community resilience to coastal storms in communities along the inland bays. Moving forward, the federal government will be responsible for 90% of the cost of construction.
- Reduces local contribution requirement for renourishing Rehoboth, Dewey, Bethany and South Bethany beaches from 35% to 20% and Fenwick Beach from 50% to 20%.
- Adds Broadkill Beack to the Bay Beach restoration initiative, reducing the state cost match from 35% to 10%.
- Directs the Corps to reevaluate the Lews Beach project to determine which additional areas should be included for beach renourishment along the Lewes shoreline.
The act authorizes $75 million to help improve sewers and stormwater treatment systems for Delaware’s bay beach communities, ocean beach communities and Wilmington.
It also increases the authorized funding for environmental infrastructure projects in all three counties to $40 million each.
The legislation brings similar benefits across the country, and with Sen. Carper’s impending retirement, Environment and Public Works Republican ranking member Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia felt it only fitting to name the bill after him.
“She offered an amendment to name it after me, which I think is just testimony to when you treat people the way you want to be treated and you actually do work across the aisle, you focus on how to really solve problems and actually share credit for those solutions, you can get a lot more done.”
The bill heads to President Joe Biden's desk for signature.
