Senator Murray Announces $220 Million for Howard Hanson Dam from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) announced $220 million for the Howard Hanson Dam from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The funding will help maintain flood risk management, increase municipal and industrial water supply to Tacoma Public Utility, and reopen miles of critical salmon and steelhead habitat. The funding will advance work on the fish passage facility for migrating juvenile salmon and maintain dam performance to support the primary water needs for the citizens of Tacoma.

Murray has been pressing the Army Corp to prioritize funding for the Howard Hanson for years and has imparted the importance of the Howard Hanson Dam to the Biden Administration since the President first took office.

“My job is to make sure the federal government understands that local priorities like the Howard Hanson Dam need to be federal priorities—today the Biden administration is getting the message loud and clear,” said Senator Patty Murray. “This funding will go a long way in our fight to save the salmon, opening up miles of critical habitat. Not only will this money make an important difference as we work to recover our iconic salmon runs and honor our tribal treaty obligations, it will help get clean drinking water to people across Puget Sound and help protect the region from flooding. This is a big victory for the Muckleshoot Tribe, our salmon and orca, the entire Puget Sound, and all of Washington state.”

This announcement is part of a larger allocation of $2.7 billion in funding to Army Corps projects throughout the country focused on strengthening ports and waterways. Supporting the Howard Hanson Dam has been a longtime priority for Senator Murray, including when she secured $44 million in badly needed emergency funds for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to repair the Howard Hanson Dam in 2010. Funding for salmon recovery was an important priority for Senator Murray when she helped draft and pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in August of 2021.

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