Includes $250 Million for Stanton’s signature Arizona Environmental Infrastructure Authority, $215 Million to complete Tres Rios ecosystem restoration project, resources to support communities experiencing drought
Rep. Greg Stanton today celebrated the unanimous passage of the final Water Resources Development Act of 2024, bipartisan legislation he shaped over many months of work on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to authorize water projects in Arizona and across the southwest through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). This vote follows months of negotiations to reconcile House- and Senate-passed versions of the legislation.
“Arizonans know that we cannot take our water for granted. Years of historic drought are straining our already over-allocated water sources—especially the Colorado River. That’s why I’ve worked so hard to prioritize funding for forward-looking and locally-driven water infrastructure projects, so we can make sure we continue to meet Arizonans’ most basic needs,” Stanton said.
He worked to include several key Arizona water infrastructure investments in the final bill, including:
- $250 million for Stanton’s signature Arizona Environmental Infrastructure Authority. Stanton’s AZEI, a fund he created in his first term, provides grants to small, rural or tribal communities throughout the state to address water infrastructure needs. Since its creation in 2020, more than two dozen projects have been funded.
In June, Stanton and USACE Commander Col. Andrew Baker were joined by Arizona mayors to sign project authorizations for several AZEI projects, including reactivation of the long-dormant Kyrene Reclamation Facility in Tempe, and construction of an aquifer recharge facility in the City of Maricopa, a detention basin to mitigate flooding in Flagstaff, and a new wells to meet water demands in Tolleson.
WRDA increases the program’s authorization to $250 million which will allow more communities across the state to access the program.
- $215 million for the Tres Rios Wetlands ecosystem, allowing the remaining phases of the project to be built after more than a decade of delays. Tres Rios is a part of Rio Reimagined, an ongoing green infrastructure project along the Rio Salado spearheaded by the late Sen. John McCain and Rep. Ed Pastor. Specifically, the project is designed to provide flood control protection and the use of treated effluent from a regional wastewater treatment facility to restore hydrological connectivity and sustain fish and wildlife habitat.
The project is partially complete, with more than $100 million in federal funds spent to date. However, construction has been stalled since 2009 after the project reached its authorized federal funding limit. To restart the project, Stanton secured $1.8 million in the fiscal year 2022 federal funding bill to complete the necessary work needed to adjust the authorization level for the project.
“Phoenix would not be the city it is today without the Salt and Gila Rivers, which have supported life in our Valley for thousands of years. As the City continues investing in the Tres Rios Wetlands to improve water infrastructure and restore critical habitats, ongoing federal support to complete the project is vital,” said Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. “I am grateful that Representative Stanton shares this priority and feel fortunate to have him as a partner in Congress. Together, I know we will be able to realize our collective vision for Rio Reimagined.”
- Key provisions of Stanton’s bipartisan, bicameral Drought Resilient Infrastructure Act, which he introduced with Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and Representatives Juan Ciscomani and Ruben Gallego in April to provide new resources and authorities through the USACE to support communities experiencing long-term drought conditions. Specifically, the bill:
- Increases Capacity to Address Drought Resilience and Ecosystem Restoration: Adds drought resilience as an eligible activity under the USACE’s Section 1135 program, which allows the USACE to modify existing public works projects. Drought resiliency projects that can be carried out under this section include: (1) planting of native plant species that will reduce the risk of drought and the incidence of non-native species like salt cedars; (2) water conservation measures to mitigate and address drought conditions; (3) removal of sediment captured behind a dam to restore or increase storage capacity; and (4) other actions that increase drought resilience, water conservation or water availability.
- Creates an Emergency Drought Operations Pilot Program: Creates a pilot program in Arizona, Nevada and California to allow the USACE to operate dams and reservoirs it owns or regulates to address drought conditions. This could allow facilities, like SRP’s Roosevelt Dam, to retain more water during wet years to save it for future dry years.
- Forecast-Informed Reservoir Operations: Modifies the Forecast-Informed Reservoir Operation Pilot Program in the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 to require an evaluation and report of operations at a reservoir in the Colorado River Basin to determine the viability of forecast-informed reservoir operations, this involves including water conservation as a project purpose and modifying the facilities to support drought resilience.
The bill will be sent to the President to be signed into law once the Senate passes the bill in the coming days. Materials, including bill text, a section-by-section, and a ‘by the numbers,’ are available HERE.