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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024

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Herrera Beutler praises efforts of Chehalis Basin Work Group

The Columbian
Published:

Centralia — The significance of Monday’s announcement that the Chehalis Basin Work Group had formed a recommendation to combat persistent flooding that affects several counties and cities has echoed in Washington, D.C.

Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Camas) on Tuesday praised the efforts of the work group, which consists of elected leaders and private citizens, in coming together to form a five-point solution to address flood issues. The group believes their plan, which primarily includes construction of a water retention dam near Pe Ell and additions to the Chehalis-Centralia Airport Levee, among other measures, will save more than $650 million in flood damage costs and $70 million in fish habitat restoration.

Gov. Jay Inslee has endorsed that plan, and Herrera Beutler called the event a moment of “significant progress” toward protecting both fish and human life.

“Bringing together so many citizens and stakeholders behind this recommendation has been no small feat,” Herrera Beutler said in a press release. “I applaud Governor Inslee and the Chehalis Basin Work Group for their countless hours of work, focus and dedication to this issue.”

The recommendation is notable in that several people from both major political parties who have come together to support the group’s recommendation. Several state legislators, both Democrat and Republican, have lent vocal support to a bill informally known as the Washington Water Bill, which proposes the use of $4 billion in state funding to solve water issues affecting

three regions: stormwater in the Puget Sound area, flooding in the Chehalis Basin, and irrigation east of the Cascades.

That bill will be discussed formally when the Legislature convenes in January.

Herrera Beutler acknowledged the support for the work group’s solution on both sides of the aisle.

“There is no partisanship when it comes to protecting families and communities from flood damage or restoring a vibrant fishery to the Chehalis River basin,” Herrera Beutler said.

The Congresswoman added that she would be “actively ready to help with this proposal however I can as it moves forward.”

Herrera Beutler has brought the issue of flooding up on the floor of the House of Representatives, as she opposed federal funding to build flood walls along Interstate 5 in June 2012. Herrera Beutler in her comments then said the proposal was “like building a castle wall” that only protected I-5 and not the citizens along the freeway that would still be impacted by floods.

The current recommendation on the table, according to the work group’s formal report, would theoretically reduce the closure time of Interstate 5 from five days to just over 20 hours.

The Chehalis Basin Work Group and supporters of their recommendation now must wait for the proposal to be included as a line item in Gov. Inslee’s 2015-17 biennial budget. That is expected to be made public in December.

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