Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, today I am introducing a bill to improve stormwater management practices at Department of Defense, DOD installations across the country.

Climate related impacts, such as increased rainfall intensity and sea level rise, exacerbate the problem of stormwater runoff. Excess stormwater can threaten our military readiness and pollute surrounding waterways and ecosystems.

This phenomenon is acutely present in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, where DOD is the second largest Federal landholder, and stormwater is the only pollutant in the watershed that continues to increase. Therefore, it is imperative that the DOD, as an official partner to the Chesapeake Bay Program, do all that it can to support reduction in pollution runoff consistent with the State-based watershed implementation plans required by the Environmental Protection Agency. Climate change has put numerous Virginia and Maryland military bases at increased risk of flooding, including Naval Station Norfolk, Naval Air Station Oceana, Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads, Langley Air Force Base, Naval Support Activity Annapolis, Naval Support Activity Bethesda, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Joint Base Andrews, and Naval Support Activity South Potomac.

While there are 137 DOD installations, sites, and facilities in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, this proposal will help ensure stormwater and natural resources beat management practices are constructed, maintained, and repaired at DOD facilities across the Nation.

The Federal Government provides State and local governments with billions in financial assistance each year to invest in stormwater infrastructure through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. Very limited funding exists for the financing of stormwater infrastructure on military installations. The EMBRACE Act would make stormwater management projects eligible for Federal funding under either military construction projects, military installation resilience projects, unspecified minor military construction projects, defense access roads projects, the Defense Community Infrastructure Program DCIP, and the Energy Resilience and Conservation Investment Program ERCIP.

The bill instructs the Defense Department to give priority to projects that retrofit buildings and grounds on bases and improve access roads prone to flooding. It backs the building of stormwater ponds and other retention strategies. It also supports replacing impermeable paving with materials that let water seep into the soil rather than run off. Projects such as rain gardens, cisterns, and planters also would be eligible for funds.

I am proud to be joined in this effort by Senators Warner, Cardin, and Van Hollen. The bill has also been endorsed by critical partners such as the Chesapeake Bay Commission, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Chesapeake Conservancy, Choose Clean Water Coalition, American Flood Coalition Action, the Nature Conservancy, Southern Environmental Law Center, and Wetlands Watch. I was glad to see that Representative Bobby Scott successful in including his bipartisan companion EMRBACE Act as an amendment to the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act NDAA for fiscal year 2022. It is my hope that this legislation will be included in the NDAA upon its final' passage in Congress. ______

By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. Marshall, Mrs. Gillibrand, and Ms. Ernst):

S. 3203. A bill to establish the Commission on the COVID-19 Pandemic; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

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