Murkowski Commends Committee Passage of Water Resource Development Act
MURKOWSKI COMMENDS COMMITTEE PASSAGE OF WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ACT
Approves President's Nominee for EPA Administrator, Other Nominees
Today, Senator Lisa Murkowski commended the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for passing important legislation with several priorities for Alaska.
The Committee today passed the Water Resource Development Act (WRDA,S.728),which authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to construct various projects for improvements to rivers and harbors throughout the country. For Alaska in particular, the bill contains authorization for harbor projects at Akutan Harbor, Haines, Kodiak and Sitka.
"Today, we won some long-sought authorizations for major projects that should help the state's fishing industry be more efficient, more profitable and improve the state's overall marine transportation infrastructure," said Murkowski.
The act authorizes the federal component of $9.8 million for the $12 million harbor project at Akutan in the Aleutians. For the improvement of the small boat harbor in Haines, the act authorizes the Corps to carry out the project, which has an estimated federal cost of $9.7 million. The act authorizes the removal of rubble and rock impeding the entrance to the St. Herman and St. Paul Harbors at Kodiak, with an expected federal cost of $2 million. Also, the act authorizes the Corps to improve the breakwater of Thompson Harbor in Sitka. The federal government will pick up the entire $6.3 million cost of the project.
Also today, the Committee approved Steven Johnson to be administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Johnson currently serves as the Acting Administrator of EPA. Most recently he has been Deputy EPA Administrator and Assistant EPA Administrator for the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances. Prior to his EPA service, Johnson served as Director of Operations at Hazleton Laboratories Corporation and Litton Bionetics, Inc.
"Steve's many years of experience will be a continued asset to the EPA. I look forward to working with him on issues of importance to Alaska and the country," Murkowski said.
During today's meeting, the Committee also approved John Paul Woodley Jr. to be the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. Woodley has been working at the Pentagon since October 2001.
http://murkowski.senate.gov/pressapp/record.cfm?id=236351