On July 23, 2015 Congressman John Carney (D-DE) gave the following testimony to the House Committee On Natural Resources.

Thank you Mr. Chairman and the Committee for the opportunity to testify today. I’d also like to thank my good friend Collin O’Mara, who will be testifying on the next panel.

Two weeks ago I went fly fishing on the Brandywine Creek with an old friend. The Brandywine runs through northern Delaware, and part of it runs just a few blocks from my house. I have years of memories playing along it with my two sons.

The Brandywine River is not unlike the creeks and rivers you probably find in your home states. For instance, it’s not that different from the Huron River in Congresswoman Dingell’s district or Hoskins Creek in Mr. Wittman’s. But there’s one key difference – and that’s what brings me here today.

Most of the waterways in my district are located inside the Delaware River Basin. For years, other major watersheds have benefitted from dedicated funding sources that have provided hundreds of millions of dollars to protection efforts. The Delaware River Basin, one of the nation’s most important watersheds, has no dedicated funding source and only receives a small fraction of national conservation and restoration funding.

While my state is lucky enough to serve as the Basin’s namesake, the Delaware River Basin stretches far beyond Delaware. It’s comprised of waterways throughout Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. More than 16 million people rely on the Delaware River Basin for their drinking water, including residents of New York City and Philadelphia. In fact, the Delaware River Basin is the only watershed in the U.S. that serves two of our five largest cities. The Basin contributes approximately 25 billion dollars in annual economic activity to the region. And that’s not to mention the vital recreational role of these waterways to the surrounding communities.

I’m here today to talk about the importance of ensuring the Delaware River Basin’s continued conservation and restoration. The legislation you have before you addresses this objective. The Delaware River Basin Conservation Act would create a restoration program, within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This program would develop a coordinated approach to ensure that one of our most important watersheds remains viable. Additionally, this program provides a competitive grant and assistance program to support work done by state and local governments, non-profits, and universities.

I also want to be clear about what this bill does not do. It does not create a funding mechanism for the Delaware River Basin Commission, which I think is a misunderstanding that has been circulating. That is a completely separate entity. Second, it does not tie the hands of Fish and Wildlife in terms of how the grant program is administered.

As you may know, the Delaware River Basin Conservation Act has been introduced every Congress since 2010. My predecessor, Mike Castle, a Republican, was the first to introduce it. And the bill has gotten better every year. It’s especially important for me to point out that this bill is non-regulatory in nature. This is a voluntary program. We’ve also made changes to leverage even greater non-federal matches for projects. We’re making sure we’re getting the best bang for our buck.

With these changes, we’ve been able to drum up more support than ever before. This bill is strongly bipartisan -- we’ve got 9 Republicans and 8 Democrats as co-sponsors. And it has a wide array of support from stakeholders, including groups like Ducks Unlimited and the National Wildlife Federation and key industry members such as DuPont.

This strategic, multi-stakeholder approach will improve fish and wildlife habitats, bolster recreational opportunities, improve water quality, revitalize waterfronts, and reduce flood damage—all of which support the regional economy. This program is crucial to ensuring the Delaware River Basin can continue to serve the communities that depend on it.

I want to thank you again for the opportunity to testify this morning and for your consideration of this important piece of legislation. I look forward to working with all of you to advance this bill.