[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 168 (Wednesday, October 10, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6754-S6755]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                S. 3021

  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I rise today to thank my colleagues for 
passing America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 and to discuss the 
importance of it to the State of Washington. This legislation is going 
now to the President's desk, and it is very needed to help make our 
ports more competitive, to protect thousands of jobs, and to help 
protect our salmon habitat in the State of Washington.
  This legislation means the ports of Seattle and Tacoma will be able 
to deepen their harbors to allow them to meet the much larger cargo 
demands to compete with other ports on the west coast, specifically in 
Canada.
  This legislation also improves the critical habitat for salmon and 
waterways like the Puget Sound and the Columbia River, and it also 
helps utilities make commonsense investments for the future and helps 
to protect our ratepayers and the environment.
  I am proud to have worked on this legislation with our colleagues 
because we need to keep moving forward on investments that help make 
our region competitive.
  Our ports are essential to our economic growth in the Northwest. I 
always say ``ports are us'' because we have so many along the Columbia 
River and on the west coast, and trade is a cornerstone of our economy, 
with $95 billion in exports and $92 billion in imports each year.
  The fact that this legislation helps us on important maintenance and 
operations for both large and small ports and for locks, dams, and 
waterways is so important to our future. It also helps us with the 
important alliance that Seattle and Tacoma formed together to help our 
marine cargo operations at the ports, which generate $4.3 billion in 
economic activity and on which 48,000 jobs are dependent.
  What happened is that as the world market changed and large 
containerships could double in size the amount of products they were 
shipping, it was so important for our west coast ports to be 
competitive and to be able to serve these large ships. These megaships, 
which are twice the length of the space needle and wider than a 
football field, carry twice the number of containers compared to ships 
that typically call on west coast ports and need deeper waterways.
  To maintain a top-grade lane through the Pacific Northwest and to 
compete with the Canadian ports, the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma have 
to deepen their ports and make the navigational changes to address the 
large container ships.
  The Army Corps and the Northwest Seaport Alliance teamed up with the 
Seattle Harbor Navigational Improvement Project study, the Tacoma 
Harbor Navigational Improvement Project study, and many other partners 
to make sure we were making the right investments.
  In this legislation, the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma are big economic 
winners. They are economic winners because we are authorizing over $29 
million to deepen the East and West Waterways in the Port of Seattle to 
57 feet. When the project is completed, the Port of Seattle will be the 
deepest in the country. It will allow us to serve those megaships. 
Instead of having just 1,000 to 12,000 cargo containers, it will be 
18,000 cargo containers or more. We are expecting to complete a 
feasibility study at the Port of Tacoma, which is currently at 51 feet.
  These two projects are going to help us continue to build the 
reputation of the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma, moving our products 
throughout the United States to Asia quickly and reliably and reaching 
critical markets.
  We don't want our shippers to have to pay more because we haven't 
made these infrastructure investments. Moving freight is what we do.
  This bill is about making it in our waterways as well. Deepening the 
waterways in the Ports in Seattle and Tacoma will ensure they can 
compete with Canadian ports. It will help us to continue to grow our 
jobs in the maritime sector, and it will help us to continue to be a 
gateway from North America to Asia and around the world.
  This legislation also helps us in restoring waters adjacent to Puget 
Sound and helps us with our salmon recovery efforts. For the last 18 
years, the Puget Sound Adjacent Waters Restoration Program has focused 
on protecting and restoring habitat within the Puget Sound Basin.
  Using this program, the Army Corps was able to work with places like 
the city of Burien to remove a seawall on the Seahurst Park shoreline. 
Now that shoreline is a habitat for endangered salmon and the home to 
bald eagles and osprey, and it is attracting visitors to the park.
  The Army Corps was also able to use the program to work with the 
Tulalip Tribe to restore critical habit along the Snohomish River. That 
was lost in the early 20th century. The estuary now provides access to 
spawning, rearing, and feeding areas for salmon.
  Puget Sound--the second largest estuary in the United States--is home 
to thousands of species that this bill will also help. Over a dozen of 
these species are listed as endangered or threatened, and our helping 
by making these improvements to clean up Puget Sound and restore 
habitat is so important to the viability of the Pacific Northwest.
  The bill increases funding for the Puget Sound Adjacent Waters 
Restoration Program from $40 million to $60 million and the per-project 
funding from $5 million to $10 million.
  These are just expanded numbers, but they mean everything to meet the 
goals of the projects around Puget Sound. We are returning to Puget 
Sound waterways that are unblocked and providing cleaner habitat for 
salmon--for threatened juvenile salmon--and opportunities in areas like 
Spencer Island in the Snohomish River estuary near Everett, WA.
  Another project will restore tidal flows and create open coastline 
inlets at the creek originating near Joint Base Lewis-McChord, in South 
Puget Sound. This will help us to restore spawning habitats for forage 
fish, support salmon recovery, and improve those shoreline conditions 
that are so important.
  These projects are an example of the diversity that our region uses 
when it helps our ecosystem, known as Puget Sound, and in helping 
salmon recovery.
  This legislation also helps in making sure those who make great 
improvements to water infrastructure, particularly our hydrosystems, 
get rewarded for doing that and ensures that they don't wait or 
hesitate to get that done. This legislation provides an early action 
provision for licensees on hydrosystems to make improvements and makes 
sure they will be recognized later. This provision would remove an 
impediment, and it encourages people to take corrective action sooner 
rather than later.
  That is good for our environment, and it is good for taxpayers and 
helps us save on energy. Most importantly, it does not take away any 
regulatory oversight from the agency but simply rewards people earlier 
for doing the right thing.

[[Page S6755]]

  I know that Chelan PUD is a good example of this and will take 
advantage of this as they plan to rehabilitate units at Rock Island 
hydro project--a significant investment of over $500 million. This area 
needs to have these upgrades, and this provision will help them get 
them done sooner.
  In this legislation, we are also helping with one of the most 
challenging things we see in our waterways, and that is protecting the 
physical infrastructure and waterways in our hydro system from invasive 
species. The highly invasive Quagga and Zebra mussels have invaded our 
waterways in 20 different States. If invasive mussel populations invade 
the Pacific Northwest, it is estimated that it could cost our region 
over $500 million in annual costs. That would be devoting way more of 
our resources just to manage that infestation.
  The Columbia Basin is the last major uninfected watershed in the 
United States, much of it to the credit of watercraft inspection 
stations on the Columbia River. The Columbia River inspection stations 
help inspect the boats that travel up and down the river for such 
invasive species, and an inspection of all watercrafts is required. I 
am pleased that this bill authorizes money specifically for the 
Columbia River inspection stations. This helps us because, as I said, 
with a river that hasn't seen these invasive species, the fact that we 
still do these inspections is critical.
  Last year, over 9,000 boats were inspected throughout Washington, and 
because of the funding for the Columbia River, these invasive species 
were kept out of our waters. That means they were kept out not just in 
Washington but in other parts of the Pacific Northwest as well.
  This legislation also continues the great downpayment on the Drinking 
Water State Revolving Fund, which was created in 1997 and has helped 
our State--millions of dollars in annual grants. This is so important. 
As we saw with the many problems in Flint, MI, and other places, many 
of our colleagues know that this Drinking Water State Revolving Fund is 
necessary for us to keep clean water in the United States.
  These funds helped the city of Lynden replace its 1926 surface water 
treatment plant and ensured a reliable water supply to the Lynden 
community and surrounding area. The funds also helped the city of 
Prosser make improvements to its aging water system to ensure that 
communities have access to a clean water supply. At the end of this 
week, the city of Kelso will be celebrating the completion of the Minor 
Road Reservoir, which replaced two aging reservoirs that were leaking 
and that would have failed in the event of a natural disaster in the 
area. The city was able to complete the project with the help of the 
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, and I am so glad that is going to 
help secure more resources for that part of our State.
  This also provides States and communities with additional financial 
resources to make investments in their economies for the future, and it 
also helps to right wrongs from the past.
  I am pleased that the bill also delivers on an 80-year-old promise 
from the Army Corps to complete the Tribal Village Development Plan for 
four Tribes who were displaced when the dams of the Columbia River were 
constructed. The Yakama, Nez Perce, Umatilla, and Warm Springs Tribes 
all signed treaties with the Federal Government in the 1850s, and these 
treaties reserved the right of the Tribes to fish, hunt, and gather at 
``all usual and accustomed fishing places.'' The Army Corps and treaty 
Tribes entered into agreements on fishing access. These sites were 
designed for day-to-day fishing, but out of need and the desire to be 
close to the Columbia River, they have turned into permanent housing. 
This has resulted in very challenging and unsafe living conditions 
along the river. I am so glad that my colleague Senator Murray and my 
colleagues from Oregon, Senator Merkley and Senator Wyden--that we have 
been able to make it crystal clear to the Army Corps of Engineers that 
we need to correct this problem. This bill ensures that those families 
will get what they were promised years ago.
  In closing, I want to thank our colleagues Senator Barrasso and 
Senator Carper, as well as the leadership of the House Transportation 
and Infrastructure Committee, for all the hard work on this bipartisan 
legislation.
  When it comes to our waterways, infrastructure investment means jobs. 
It means the continued protection of clean water, and for us in the 
Northwest, it means helping us preserve our salmon populations.
  I am so happy that we have finally taken another step to strengthen 
the competitiveness of our ports in the Northwest. These are real jobs. 
In the future--near future--with this deepening, we will be able to 
serve larger cargo container ships, which will help us keep our 
competitiveness in moving product.
  While we move about $77 billion worth of products in Washington, we 
move much more than that from all States of the United States, moving 
through our ports. So while it sounds like an investment in two very 
large port infrastructures on the west coast, I guarantee you that it 
affects many Midwestern States and many products and the ability to 
cost-effectively ship to other parts of the world.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, before my friend from Washington State 
leaves, I want to thank her for her advocacy on water infrastructure, 
and I agree with her that this is a great bipartisan bill. The 
distinguished Senator from Washington State mentioned Flint, MI, and I 
just want to thank her one more time. No one stood stronger with me and 
Senator Peters in trying to help the people in Flint, and I greatly 
appreciate her help, support, and advocacy.