House Passes Water Bill That Authorizes Solomon Creek Flood Control Project

$50 Million Project Would Protect 300 Homes and Businesses

WASHINGTON - Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (PA-11) announced that the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday passed H.R. 1495, the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) that includes Solomon Creek in the Wyoming Valley Levee Raising Project. Upon enactment into law, this provision would permit the Army Corps of Engineers to construct a project that would protect more than 300 homes and businesses from flooding of Solomon Creek. Solomon Creek has overtopped its banks and caused flooding damages three times since 2004, most recently in November 2006.

"The addition of Solomon Creek to the larger Wyoming Valley Levee Raising Project is a major triumph for the City of Wilkes-Barre. The flooding of the Solomon Creek Basin is a very serious issue that has ravaged homes and businesses in the South Wilkes-Barre area over the past 50 years. The House passage of WRDA brings us one step closer to a solution," Congressman Kanjorski said.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had initially determined that a flood control project at Solomon Creek was not economically justified as an independent project. Under Corps guidelines, the estimated expense of $50 million to build a project did not prevent at least that much in flood damages. However, the Corps later determined that Solomon Creek is hydrologically linked to the watershed protected by the Wyoming Valley Levee Raising Project, and therefore its inclusion in that ongoing project could be justified.

Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton expressed his gratitude to Congressman Kanjorski.

"I would like to thank Congressman Kanjorski and his staff for all of the hard work they have done on this important project, which affects the entire southern part of the City. It has been a top priority of this administration to work with Congressman Kanjorski to get the proper language inserted into the water bill to obtain flood protection for South Wilkes-Barre," Mayor Leighton said.

In the 109^th Congress, the House and Senate passed different versions of the WRDA bill and were unable to reach a compromise adjourning in December.  WRDA authorizes funding for the Army Corps of Engineers to work on projects such as flood control, dam safety, water supply, recreation, and environmental restoration and protection. Congress typically passes WRDA bills every two years, but the last WRDA was passed in 2000.

Before the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 becomes law, the Senate will need to pass it, and then differences in the House and Senate bill will need to be resolved by a conference committee; each chamber then would need to pass the conference legislation, which the President would have to sign.

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