Senate overwhelmingly passes Water Resources Bill

Senate overwhelmingly passes Water Resources Bill The U.S. Senate Monday passed the $23 billion Water Resources Development Act conference report by a vote of 81-12, Although President Bush may veto the bill.
   The large majority in the Senate as well as a 381-40 vote in the House in August, may result in a veto override.
   The bill contains funding for many port projects such as expansion of Craney Island in Portsmouth, Va. for a new marine terminal and navigation projects on the inland waterways as well as $7 billion for wetlands restoration and flood control.
   The Waterways Council Inc. praised passage by the Senate, saying the bill “would authorize critically important projects on the inland waterways including the modernization of seven locks along the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, and projects on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway at Bayou Sorrel and Matagorda Bay.
   “Without a modern, efficient system of locks and dams on our Nation’s inland waterways, the transport of critical commodities such as grain for export, coal for electric power generation, petroleum and chemical products for pharmaceuticals, and aggregates for building materials simply cannot reach consumers in the United States and around the globe in the most cost-effective way possible,” said R. Barry Palmer, the Waterways Council president.