Norton Gets Funds for D.C. Levees, the Anacostia River, and Parks at Today's Mark-up (7/29/2010)

Norton Gets Funds for D.C. Levees, the Anacostia River, and Parks at Today's Mark-up

July 29, 2010

WASHINGTON, DC -- Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who sits on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee, today celebrated committee passage of the Water Resources Development Act, in which she has placed millions of dollars for critical investments in key water-related infrastructure District of Columbia projects.

Norton secured $8 million to supplement the $6 million that she secured in the Recovery Act to build the new Potomac Levee to protect homes and businesses in Southwest and near the National Mall, lifting all costs from the District of Columbia. Norton, who was the chief sponsor of the comprehensive Anacostia River Watershed Act to clean-up and protect the Anacostia River and its tributaries, secured $25 million to fund the 10-year plan. She also secured $8 million for a study to determine how to protect our public parks from flood damage and implement green technologies.

Norton, who chairs a subcommittee on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and sits on the subcommittee with jurisdiction over this bill, said, "I have grown my seniority on the Water Resources Subcommittee because of my abiding interest in the Anacostia, in our parklands, and in the many water related issues touching a city surrounded by water. Today's mark-up, assuring the District will not have to pay for a new levee and additional funds for the Anacostia and our parks, reinforces my determination to remain active on this subcommittee."