Congresswoman Heather Wilson, First Congressional District of New Mexico

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Heather Wilson voted today in favor of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007, an important bill that includes resources to end the flooding that has recurred in the South Valley for decades following rainstorms.

The President vetoed this bill, but an override vote gained the two-thirds majority necessary to override the veto. The Senate must now do the same for WRDA to become law, and a Senate vote on this bill is expected this week.

"Flooding in the South Valley has been a problem for decades," Wilson said. "This project is intended to solve the flooding – not just move the water from one piece of property to the next. This project has gone through years of analysis and planning by the Army Corps of Engineers and should move forward."

In the fall of 1998, Wilson went down to the South Valley the day after a significant rain storm to see the damage up close. Each time we have a heavy rain, it causes property damage. For years, there was no master plan to solve the problem, one that affects the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy, the City, the County, Isleta Pueblo, AMAFCA, and many private property owners and businesses.

With the leadership of the Congressional delegation, the various government entities came together under the umbrella of the Army Corps of Engineers – the federal experts on floods and rivers. Wilson fought for funding for the Corps to develop a comprehensive assessment of the flooding and a plan to deal with it. That plan is being implemented step by step, through phases of design, engineering, and other work.

WRDA authorizes $16.15 million in federal support for the project, requiring a partial state/local match of the remaining $8.69 million of the estimated total cost.

Other WRDA provisions of importance to New Mexico:

· Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to fight wildfires.

· Directs completion of a drought study in the Southwestern U.S. including New Mexico.

· Contains watershed management and river basin assessment efforts that include the Rio Grande.

· Extends the tribal partnership program that funds water projects in Indian Country without requiring local matching funds through 2012.

· Provides technical planning assistance to states and doubles the yearly limit per state or tribal government to $1 million.