[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 17, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H1338]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REVITALIZING THE MIAMI RIVER

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, the Miami River project should be a 
priority in this year's consideration of the Water Resources 
Development Act. The Miami River Commission and the Miami River Marine 
Group remind us that it is vitally important that we act to provide the 
necessary Federal cost share so that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' 
1990 recommendations for navigational maintenance dredging of the Miami 
River be implemented as soon as possible.
  Congress must clarify the language of the Act so that the intended 75 
percent Federal and 25 percent non-Federal cost share formula will be 
applied in the Miami River project to the cost of navigational 
maintenance dredging, including disposal costs.
  The removal of these toxic sediments will have the added benefit of 
eliminating a significant pollution threat to Biscayne Bay, one of our 
most pristine environments.
  The Miami River is the fifth largest port in our State of Florida. 
Any further delay in dredging could endanger one of our Nation's most 
critical shipping links to the Caribbean and Latin America.
  We must maintain this environmental river, as well as restore the 
environmental quality of a key part of south Florida's ecosystem.

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