Last week, the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously passed its Water Resources Development Act of 2022 (WRDA 2022). WRDA provides improvements for the nation’s ports, inland waterways, locks, dams, flood protection, ecosystem restoration, and other water resources infrastructure.
It’s good news for farmers who transport their crops through the infrastructure system and will allow them to remain competitive in the global market. A proposal within the bill would permanently adjust the inland waterways cost-share to 75 percent general revenue and 25 percent Inland Waterways Trust Fund. It would also eliminate the sunset provisions to preserve these changes in perpetuity.
The American Soybean Association (ASA) says it supports the cost-share proposal and continues to advocate for investments to fund lock and dam construction and rehabilitation. They say upgrading the aging lock-and-dam systems along the inland waterways is critical to increasing barge capacity for shipping bigger loads of soybeans to international customers.
(From the National Association of Farm Broadcasters)