Sen. Tom Carper, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester celebrate passage of WRDA in Bowers Beach
BOWERS BEACH, Del.- Federal State and local leaders in Delaware Wednesday gathered in Bowers Beach to celebrate the passage of the federal Water Resources Development Act.
The measure was pushed by Delaware Senators Chris Coons and Tom Carper as well as US House Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester.
Rep. Blunt Rochester and Sen. Carper were in attendance at the Bowers Beach Fire Company event that highlighted the need for the act across the nation, and in the first state especially.
“This is about protecting our environment our shorelines our economy and our quality of life,” Blunt Rochester said, adding that Delaware is the lowest-lying state in the US.
The location for the event was chosen due to just how uniquely vulnerable Bowers Beach would be without the federal action to protect it.
“Sea level is rising faster than at any other place on the Atlantic coast, and overall our beaches are getting battered by stronger and more frequent storms,” Blunt Rochester said.
The new law allows the US Army Corps to provide greater support for Delaware’s beaches following hurricanes and fast-track the development of all waterway construction and protection projects.
“These local communities I met with Lewes with Milton and people inland with rivers that flood this will help with resources and tools to make sure we can mitigate effects of climate and extreme weather,” Blunt Rochester said.
US Senator Tom Carper says the law protects the whole country but special consideration came from local leaders on where help was needed.
“What we tried to do is take those concerns and the advice from state and local officials and citizens and put them in a piece of legislation along with input for 49 other states; that’s what we have done,” Carper said.
For Bowers Beach, that meant funding for dredging and adding signage to help boaters navigate fast currents and avoid accidents.
The US Army Crops says improvements like those, and larger scale projects are coming to the first state soon, as their office determines what projects require further authorization and budgeting.
“We’ve done a lot of work in the state and we look forward to continuing that work to continue to help the folks in Delaware by building projects and help communities be strong and resilient and not see the devastating effects we’ve seen in the past of storms coming up the coast,” said Lt. Colonel Brandon Drobenak.
