Washington D.C. – Rep. Filemon Vela (D-Brownsville) announced today that the U.S. House of Representatives approved the final version of the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018, known as WRDA. The legislation included a critical South Texas priority, The Resacas, in the vicinity of the City of Brownsville, TX.  The ecosystem restoration project was included in WRDA because the final report was recently signed by the Chief of Engineers of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers allowing the project to move forward.

“The signing of the Chief’s report and Congressional approval of WRDA are important steps in the ongoing effort to restore resacas in the Rio Grande Valley,” said Rep. Vela. “Congressional authorization is required for the project to receive federal funding, and I applaud the hard work of everyone that helped us reach this important milestone.” 

John Bruciak, General Manager and CEO of Brownsville Public Utilities, added, “Getting Congress to authorize the project is a significant achievement for the Brownsville Public Utilities Board and I would like to thank Congressman Vela and Senator Cornyn for their leadership and determination to get the Brownsville resacas project included in the water resources legislation.”

The House of Representatives passed S.3021 by a unanimous voice vote today. The Senate is expected to approve the measure in the near future, and the bill will then be sent to the White House to be signed into law.