Chairs DeFazio, Napolitano Applaud President Biden for Signing Clean Water Programs in the NDAA Into Law

Washington, DC – Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR), and Chair of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA) applaud President Biden for signing clean water programs included in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2022 into law. The programs will help support restoration efforts at San Francisco Bay, California; Puget Sound, Washington; and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin in Louisiana and Mississippi; reauthorize nonpoint source management activities, providing $200 million annually until 2027 to manage runoff; and provide $100 million in assistance to colonias—communities along the U.S.-Mexico border—that need help investing in their wastewater infrastructure.
 
“I applaud President Biden for signing clean water programs included in the NDAA into law to help restore our natural environment and protect public health,” Chair DeFazio said. “In addition to passing the Water Resources Development Act of 2022, Congress has taken critical steps to support communities looking to address their water resources needs. Specifically, these programs will support restoration efforts at San Francisco Bay, Puget Sound, and Lake Pontchartrain, assist states in developing programs to better manage nonpoint sources of water pollution—a leading contributor to water quality challenges in the U.S., and provide grants to disadvantaged communities along the U.S.-Mexico border to invest in wastewater infrastructure. Now that President Biden has signed this bill into law, I look forward to continued progress in addressing the ongoing water quality challenges facing these communities and the nation.” 
 
“WRDA is our Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s commitment to investing in and protecting our communities from flooding events, restoring our environment and ecosystems, and keeping our nation’s competitiveness by supporting our ports and harbors. I commend President Biden, the EPA, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for recognizing that WRDA works and for prioritizing clean water for all, including economically disadvantaged and tribal communities. I thank Chair Peter DeFazio for his strong leadership of our committee, his unwavering commitment to clean water, and helping deliver a fifth consecutive bipartisan WRDA for our nation,” Chair Napolitano said. 
 
The section-by-section summary can be found here. 
 
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