Bipartisan Illinois Congressional Delegation Announces Funding for Metro East Levee Project, Flood Prevention Efforts in Water Resources Reform and Development Act

Statement

U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL and Mark Kirk (R-IL) and U.S Representatives Bill Enyart (D-IL), Rodney Davis (R-IL), and John Shimkus (R-IL) announced that the Conference Report of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 -- released earlier today -- includes provisions to continue and help streamline the Metro East region's effort to repair and recertify the levees that protect residents in southwest Illinois from flooding and storm damage.

"Communities along the Mississippi River in Southwestern Illinois know well the potentially devastating impact of flooding on their homes and businesses. They also know the importance of strong infrastructure in preventing such damage," Durbin said. "This legislation will make much needed improvements to our nation's entire waterways infrastructure network. I am especially pleased that it also contains provisions that will greatly assist local efforts that are underway in in the Metro East and Southwestern Illinois to improve their levees."

"The Mississippi River is an economic powerhouse for our state, and it is crucial that the communities nearby who rely on the river's resources and transportation systems are protected from environmental threats," Kirk said. "I applaud the inclusion of these important flood prevention measures in the WRRDA bill and support the ongoing levee repair efforts throughout the Metro East region."

"As the Commander of the Illinois National Guard, I saw all too often the need for our service men and women to respond to flood prone areas and sandbagging needs. Since my first day in office, I've been fighting for funds to fix the Wood River Levee system, so those services aren't needed again. I'm elated to see that our concerns were heeded and the WRRDA bill includes funds for the federal government to fully cover the repair costs," Enyart said.

"This bipartisan Conference Report is how Congress is supposed to work," said Davis. "As a conferee tasked with ironing out the final details of the WRRDA legislation, I am pleased we were able to include policies that would treat Metro East levee projects as one system. Flood prevention is a critical issue and it is vital to get these levees recertified. Our goal was to provide the Army Corps with more flexibility to get the needed repairs done on Metro East projects and we achieved that in this WRRDA bill."

"WRRDA is important to the Metro-East not only for the repairs to Metro-East levees, but for the many jobs reliant on our river transportation system," Shimkus said. "The local residents behind these levees as well as the businesses that employee thousands will benefit from the continued improvement of the levee system."

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