Senator Jim Inhofe says as chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, he’s been able to get a Water Resources Development Act of 2016 approved that will directly benefit Oklahoma.
“WRDA 2016 ensures that Oklahoma projects, including the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System and the Tulsa and West Tulsa Levee System, continue to receive support and prioritization,” said the Senator. “WRDA 2016 also includes a number of provisions that empower local sponsors of our water transportation system to keep our inland waterways and ports strong and functioning.”
It was in 2014 when Congress passed the first WRDA Authorization in seven years but now it attempts to approve one every two years.
“By cutting red tape and empowering project sponsors to get things done using their own money, ports like the Port of Catoosa and the Port of Muskogee will be able to help maintain navigation infrastructure so locks don’t shut down costing shippers millions of dollars in delays,” added the Senator.
The new water act had the support of J.D. Strong, executive director of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board.
“As we strive to build a more drought-proof Oklahoma and to address the state’s projected $82 billion water and wastewater infrastructure need between now and 2060, this bill contains a number of valuable provisions,” he said. “Focusing on drought and water supply needs, like we face in Western Oklahoma, WRDA 201 promotes new technologies to better address these issues.”
