The Water Resources Development Act of 1999 authorizes various projects for conservation anddevelopment of water and related resources. For Iowa, the legislation authorizes the Secretary ofthe Army through the Corps of Engineers to construct a wetlands demonstration area ofapproximately 1.5 acres at the navigation project at Dubuque for the Dubuque Historical Society. Grassley said this is a key part of a major project being undertaken to provide a national interpretivecenter for the Upper Mississippi River region. Contact: Jerry Engler, Teri Goodman, 319/557-9545
The bill also authorizes the federal government to study and implement a Comprehensive FloodImpact-Response Modeling System for the Coralville Reservoir and the Iowa River Watershed. TheSecretary is directed to report to the Congress on the hydrologic, geomorphic, economic, and otherassociated data within the watershed, within five years after the date of enactment of this act. Threemillion dollars is authorized over five years for the University of Iowa to carry out this provision. Contact: Derek Willard, 319/335-3714
Grassley said he sought approval for both of these initiatives because the projects are of nationalimportance. "The Dubuque project will help interpret the many dimensions, includingenvironmental, transportation and recreational, of the Upper Mississippi River to the public. TheUniversity of Iowa project will provide a national modeling tool to help the Corps of Engineers moreefficiently and effectively manage water resources on our nation's rivers, especially duringflooding," he said.
Passage by the House of Representatives of the conference committee report on the Water ResourcesDevelopment Act also could come this week.