(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash) secured $600,000 in the Senate’s Energy and Water Appropriations Bill to fund a study of how best to control flooding of the Skagit River. Murray, a member of the Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee, included the funding in the Senate Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2006.
Neither the president’s budget nor the House Appropriations bill included any funding for the project. However, aware that frequent flooding of the Skagit River causes considerable economic losses in Skagit County, Murray fought to have the funding included in the Appropriations bill.
“I’m happy to have been able to provide this funding,” Murray said. “It is important to the Corps’ and Skagit County’s efforts to identify effective flood mitigation measures. Residents and businesses in Skagit County deserve to have this study continue to move forward expediently.”
Flooding of the Skagit River results in estimated annual economic losses of nearly $55 million to the region. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the best methods to conduct flood control storage of overflow water.
Now that the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee has approved the funding, the bill will go to the full Senate Appropriations Committee, and will then be voted on by the full Senate.
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