Van Orden Secures Third District Priorities in 2024 Water Resources Development Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Derrick Van Orden (WI-03) voted in favor of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s 2024 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). WRDA is legislation that authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Civil Works Program for projects to improve the nation’s ports and harbors, inland waterway navigation, flood and storm protection, and other aspects of our water resources infrastructure, and directly impacts Wisconsin’s Third Congressional District.

“The Third District of Wisconsin has the largest continuous section of the Mississippi River than any other congressional district in the country,” said Congressman Van Orden. “That makes having a comprehensive and effective WRDA package that much more important to me and my constituents. Today’s committee markup included multiple provisions and policies that provide for the Third District, especially as it pertains to flood risk management and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects and operations. I am very proud of the work we did together to pass this bipartisan bill out of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and I look forward to it being passed out of the House and signed into law.” 

There were multiple wins for the Third Congressional District included in the committee’s bill:

• New study authorization for levee accreditation in the City of La Crosse, which investigates the issues associated with flood risk of the Mississippi River and its local tributary rivers, including the Black and La Crosse Rivers, in a Feasibility Study.
• A spending limit increase from $10 million to $15 million for Continuing Authorities Programs (CAPs), which allow smaller Army Corps projects to be implemented more efficiently. This includes two projects currently underway in the Third District:
  • Flood risk management project on the Trempealeau River in Arcadia
  • Ecosystem restoration project  for the River Falls Kinni Corridor Project in River Falls 
• Authorizes a new Upper Mississippi River System Flood Risk and Resilience Study, for the Corps to work with non-federal interests by taking a system-wide approach to flood risk management.
• The Lake Access Keeping Economies Strong (LAKES) Act, which Rep. Van Orden cosponsored, to allow portions of recreation fees collected at Army Corps recreational sites to be retained on site and improve opportunities for public-private investments, management, and operations.
  • The LAKES Act will allow a certain portion of recreation fees collected at Army Corps recreational sites, such as the Grant River Recreation Area in Potosi, to be retained on site and improve opportunities for public-private investments, management, and operation.
• Section 150 of WRDA, which demands the Army Corps provide an update on its 2018 WRDA report on backlog and operation maintenance.
• Reauthorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Dam Safety Program through 2028 and strengthens the High Hazard Potential Dam program.