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The U.S. House of Representatives this week approved a yearly spending plan which included two Southwest Washington community funding priorities Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler secured through her position on the House Appropriations Committee, including sediment monitoring of the Lower Cowlitz River and a turning basin navigation improvement project on the Columbia River.

“The U.S. House this week advanced top-priority projects for Cowlitz County residents that spur Southwest Washington’s economic growth and protect communities from potentially devastating flooding,” Herrera Beutler said. “The overall spending levels were too high for me to support the package in its current form, but I’ll continue working with congressional negotiators to ensure these projects I’ve championed remain in the final bill so that Cowlitz County communities and our region’s economy will benefit.”  

Project funding details:

Sediment monitoring of the Lower Cowlitz River - $856,000

• This federal funding will allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to perform operations and maintenance work, as well as collect information on Lower Cowlitz River water levels and the sediment retention structure’s ability to protect Cowlitz County residents from potentially devastating floods, resulting from the buildup of volcanic sediment in the river from the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.

Turning basin navigation improvement project on the Columbia River - $900,000

• This funding will go toward a Herrera Beutler authored provision that authorized a feasibility study for a turning basin on the Columbia River near Kalama, known as the Lower Martin Bar, and the improvement of a turning basin near Longview. The addition of the turning basin near the Lower Martin Bar and improvements to the existing turning basin will increase cargo volume capacity and spur economic development in the region.