Lance Touts Major Water Bill As Pro-Environment, Pro-New Jersey

WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07) hailed passage ofAmerica’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 which included many of Lance’s environmental and New Jersey-specific priorities.

“This bill is one of the most important environmental bills passed in recent memory.  We authorize billions of dollars toward safe drinking water, implement fiscally responsible reforms to get federal projects moving forward and keep the promise to New Jersey communities along the Musconetcong and Rahway Rivers that Army Corps work will continue.  I commend my colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee for working across the aisle and delivering another major win on a quality-of-life issue,” said Lance, a senior member of the committee.

Lance personally authored two provisions important to New Jersey.  One measure would instruct the Army Corps of Engineers to expedite a study of the feasibility of removing the Warren Glen Dam in the Musconetcong River between Warren and Hunterdon counties.  The dam is often cited as an environmental hazard and is decades out of commission. In addition to making the Musconetcong Watershed area safer, removal of this dam would also foster a larger habitat for fish like the American shad which have been declining.

Lance also successfully inserted legislative language concerning the Rahway River and expediting completion of the Army Corps’ study for better flood risk management.  That project has been stalled for years but is facing renewed interested following Lance’s instructions.

Lance’s Energy and Commerce Committee contributed key portions of the bill dedicated to safe drinking water including:

• Authorization of more than $4.4 billion over three years for the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund program.
• Improving accountability by aiding states and utilities with compliance and asset management.
• Protecting communities by updating antiterrorism and resilience measures at public water systems.
• Enhancing transparency for consumers about the quality of their drinking water.
• Authorization of $100 million over the next two fiscal years for areas affected by natural disasters that need help repairing their drinking water systems or hooking up to other ones to obtain potable drinking water.