Contact: Kirsten Wallace, Executive Director
Upper Mississippi River Basin Association
(651) 224-2880, kwallace@umrba.org
By approving the Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (often referred to as WRDA 2024), Congress has taken a big step forward in reducing flood risk and increasing community resilience on the Upper Mississippi River.
WRDA 2024 authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to work in partnership with the Upper Mississippi River States (MN, WI, IA, IL, MO) and their collective organization, the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association, to undertake a flood risk and resiliency study.
“This study to improve flood risk resiliency on the Upper Mississippi River is long overdue,” said Missouri Representative Sam Graves. “It’s been more than 30 years since the Great Flood of 1993, yet we’ve made little progress towards protecting our communities from future floods. This systemic study will put states and local communities in the driver’s seat while leveraging the expertise of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to finally do something about it. I want to thank the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association and the member states for their leadership in helping get this study authorized and I look forward to working with them and local stakeholders to better protect our communities from future floods.”
Some of the key provisions in the Upper Mississippi River Flood Risk and Resiliency Study include:
- Describe the existing flood risk conditions of the Upper Mississippi River System
- Develop recommendations to reduce costs and damages associated with flooding and enable people to be more resilient to flood events
- Identify opportunities where improved flood resiliency can also support navigation, environmental sustainability, and environmental restoration goals
- Develop and recommend integrated, comprehensive and systems-based approaches for flood risk reduction and floodplain management to minimize threat to life, health, safety, and property resulting from flooding
- Employ spin-off studies to design local solutions for local flood risk resiliency challenges
In addition, the Upper Mississippi River Flood Risk and Resiliency Study calls for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to:
- Coordinate with the Upper Mississippi River States, including collectively through the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association
- Consult with the appropriate federal agencies, levee and drainage districts, units of local government, and the Mississippi River Commission
- Seek and consider input from Upper Mississippi navigation industry, agriculture and conservation organizations, and other interested parties
“Ensuring that all communities are resilient to major flooding will reside in our ability to work together – to create a shared vision for the future and a path forward to get there,” said Kirsten Wallace, Executive Director of the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association.
WRDA 2024 also authorizes:
- An adjustment of the non-federal cost share of inland waterway construction and major rehabilitation projects to 75 percent Federal/25 percent from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund. This cost-share change will allow these projects to advance more efficiently and quickly, reducing the overall costs and accelerating the return on investment.
- An increase in the annual appropriation for the Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) long term resource monitoring from $15 million to $25 million.
- A study by the Government Accountability Office to explore the challenges for non-federal sponsors to execute cost-share project partnership agreements, specifically because of the requirements of project lifespan and indemnification.
WRDA 2024 also includes the general provisions related to beneficial reuse of dredged material, the harmful algal bloom demonstration program, invasive species monitoring and management, the use of nature-based features to improve flood risk and resiliency.
About the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association¾ The Upper Mississippi River Basin Association (UMRBA) is a five-state interstate organization formed by the Governors of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin to coordinate the states’ river-related programs and policies and work with federal agencies that have river responsibilities. The UMRBA is structured as a 501(c) non-profit association, with the Board of Directors composed of Governor-appointed representatives and alternatives. For more information about UMRBA, visit its website at www.umrba.org.
