Truckee Meadows flood project funding included in bill

Nevada U.S. Sens. Dean Heller and Catherine Cortez Masto are both praising the inclusion of $181 million in flood control funding in the Water Resources Reform and Development Act.

Masto and Heller petitioned Environmental and Public Works Committee Chairman John Barrasso of Wyoming and Ranking Member Tom Carper of Delaware to make sure the money was included in the bill. Masto then submitted an amendment to ensure the funding wasn’t taken back and Barrasso approved it.

The money was originally in legislation approved in 2014 to fund the Truckee Meadows Flood Control Project. But that legislation required the funds to be disbursed within seven years or the money would be de-authorized. To actually disburse the money, the Army Corps of Engineers must complete a final review of the Locally Preferred Plan of LLP. Since that hasn’t happened in the past four years, the funding was in jeopardy.

The $181 million is the federal share of the total $280 million Truckee Meadows project.

The bill now goes to the full Senate for a vote.