A $410 billion spending bill passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama Wednesday includes $1.7 million for flood studies in the Chehalis River Basin. The Omnibus Spending Bill, which funds the regular business of government but included billions of dollars in earmarks as well, also provides $579,500 for Twin Transit to replace buses and $285,000 for Providence Centralia Hospital for breast cancer outreach. The appropriations were requested by Washington's Congressional delegation, specifically Democrats Rep. Brian Baird, Senator Maria Cantwell, and Rep. Norm Dicks. The funding for flood reduction projects is split into two parts -- $1.1 million for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to continue work on a study for an 11-mile system of levees near the Twin Cities, and $547,000 to support a study for a basin-wide flood solution that could include dams. The money will be used to conduct studies that could eventually culminate in projects throughout the basin. Upon the passage of the bill in the House, Baird said it is was a necessary step that must be completed if the design and construction phase is ever to be reached. The Army Corps' Twin Cities levee project has already received $50 million dollars from the state, but would need upwards of $74 million from the federal government to reach construction phase. The Army Corps is currently updating its studies using data from the 2007 Chehalis River flood. Baird said the appropriation can only fund what the Corps plans to do in the next year. Once the study is complete, a larger appropriation can be requested, he said. Local officials have been mulling water retention, and have looked into placing dams in the upper basin to protect communities downstream and potentially generate electricity. The Lewis County PUD will find out on March 19 if the Chehalis Basin Flood Authority will grant them $500,000 to further investigate the possibilities in the upper basin of the Chehalis River, one upstream from Pe Ell and another upstream from Boistfort. Baird said that the $579,000 for a basin-wide study could be used to look into the dam option, depending on negotiations between the Army Corps, the state and the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority. "It certainly should be part of the study," Baird said. The spending bill also includes funding for a Coastal Weather Radar, according to a release from Cantwell. The bill includes $2 million toward the acquisition of the system, which seeks to fill a current cap in radar coverage off Washington's coast. Eric Schwartz: (360) 807-8245
