August 11th, 2024 by WCBC Radio

U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Senator Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) announced the inclusion of $3,030,000 in key Senate Committee legislation providing direct federal funding for two water infrastructure projects in Charles and Wicomico Counties. These community projects, funded at the Senators’ request, are within the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development (E&W) proposed funding legislation for fiscal year 2025. In addition, the Senators fought to include critical resources for Army Corps projects in Maryland, including funds for the Baltimore Harbor and Poplar Island projects, supporting dredging of Maryland’s waterways and shipping channels. This subcommittee legislation, released as part of the annual Congressional Appropriations process and approved August 1 in a bipartisan vote by the full Senate Appropriations Committee, will proceed to consideration before the full Senate. Funding is not finalized until the Appropriations bills are passed by the full Senate, reconciled with the House of Representatives, and signed by the President.

“From our shipping channels to stormwater drainage – water infrastructure comes in many forms – but across Maryland our communities rely on it to prevent flooding, maintain commerce, and more. These federal funds will support a wide array of Maryland water infrastructure priorities that are vital to our economy and our environment, including dredging the Baltimore Harbor and its channels, restoring Poplar Island, and community projects in Wicomico and Charles Counties. We’ll keep working to deliver these investments to build an even stronger Maryland for all,” said Senator Van Hollen.

“Updating our water infrastructure is critical as we adapt to a changing climate, work to make our water cleaner and build more resilient communities. This bill makes federal investments to help address the worst effects of climate change and ensure access to healthy, safe water including in flood mitigation, dredging for safer waterways, wastewater treatment, renewable energy and so much more. This federal funding represents Team Maryland’s ongoing commitment to investing in community-led programs that bring greater resources to every corner of the state and improve the quality of life for all Marylanders,” said Senator Cardin.

These projects were included in the Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Development FY2025 funding legislation.

Project Name: Chesapeake Bay Environmental Restoration & Protection Program, DC, DE, MD, NY, PA, VA & WV (Hebron)
Applicant: Town of Hebron
Project Purpose: Funds will be used to prepare a scoping report and initiate the feasibility study for a water infrastructure project to mitigate flooding, manage stormwater, and increase resilience within the Town of Hebron and the Nanticoke River Watershed.
Project Location: Wicomico County
Amount Included: $300,000

Project Name: Maryland, Section 219, MD (Charles County – Lower Mattawoman)
Applicant: Charles County
Project Purpose: Funds will be used to complete the feasibility and design phases, and initiate the first part of rehabilitation construction for defects in the Lower Mattawoman Interceptor, addressing high levels of base infiltration that can inundate the downstream Mattawoman Wastewater Treatment Facility.
Project Location: Charles County
Amount Included: $2,720,000

Additional priorities secured by the Senators in the FY25 Energy and Water Development funding bill include:
Corps of Engineers highlights

This bill delivers crucial funding to maintain our ports and harbors and strengthen our competitiveness, invests in keeping communities safe and prepared for extreme weather events, and protects endangered species by supporting ecosystem restoration efforts across the country. For the Army Corps of Engineers, this bill provides $10.3 billion in total funding. This includes funding for the following Maryland operations, maintenance dredging, and construction projects:

• $49 million for Baltimore Harbor and Channels
• $1 million for Baltimore Harbor drift removal
• $246,000 for Cumberland, Maryland and Ridgeley, West Virginia
• $9.7 million for Jennings Randolph Lake in Maryland and West Virginia
• $515,000 for Ocean City Harbor and Inlet and Sinepuxent Bay
• $5 million for Wicomico River
• $18.4 million for Intercoastal Waterway, Delaware River to Chesapeake Bay, Delaware and Maryland
• $10 million for Poplar Island construction
• $900,000 for Assateague Island

​Ports and Harbors: The bill provides a historic $3.1 billion – a $319 million increase over FY24 – for the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to improve navigation through dredging ports, maintain our nation’s waterways, and ensure goods and people can get to where they need to be.

Protecting Communities from Extreme Weather: The bill continues investments in critical construction projects to protect communities from extreme weather events and more frequent flooding. This funding supports projects and programs that use natural infrastructure and environmental restoration efforts to support keystone species.

Department of Energy highlights
The bill provides $17.7 billion – a $296 million increase over FY24 – for the Department of Energy’s non-defense programs.

Scientific Discovery: The bill provides $8.6 billion in new directed funding – a $360 million increase over fiscal year 2024 – for the Office of Science. This funding will help continue implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 and advance the highest priorities in materials research, high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, biology, and clean energy research to maintain and strengthen our global competitiveness.

Renewable Energy: The bill provides $3.46 billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, sustaining key investments and funding provided in fiscal year 2024. This includes $459 million for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to develop groundbreaking energy innovations, as well as resources for wind energy, water technologies, and advanced manufacturing to strengthen our global leadership in renewable energy technologies and manufacturing. It also provides critical funding to bolster necessary manufacturing supply chains. 

Protecting Our Energy Grid: The bill provides $200 million for Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response to help ensure the continued success of the Department’s programs aimed at strengthening the security and resilience of our energy sector and grid. It also provides $280 million for the Office of Electricity and $60 million for the Grid Deployment Office to help deploy transmission for the buildout of clean energy.

Lowering Energy Bills: This bill provides $326 million for the Weatherization Assistance Program, which reduces energy costs for low-income households by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes.

Appalachian Regional Commission
This bill provides $200 million for the Appalachian Regional Commission to continue serving communities across the Appalachian region – including Western Maryland – and creating economic opportunity and improving people’s quality of life.