WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee unanimously passed its Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2026 today. Enacted every two years, WRDA authorizes essential U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) projects. WRDA has a long history of bipartisan passage under regular order. This year’s bill includes authorization of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) drinking water and wastewater infrastructure programs.
U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) is the chairman of the Senate EPW Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which has jurisdiction over USACE and EPA water infrastructure programs. He highlighted the cooperative spirit necessary to pass WRDA, saying, “Passing the Water Resources Development Act out of our committee unanimously every two years—for over a decade—really is evidence that collaborative legislating still exists in the United States Senate. We should all be optimistic about that. Our bill supports projects across North Dakota like the Eastern North Dakota Alternate Water Supply Project that folks in Fargo and up and down the Red River Valley are very familiar with, and the Williston Levee, while also authorizing water infrastructure programs North Dakota, our tribes, and rural townships rely on. Our WRDA really does some wonderful things besides authorizing spending, it also cuts red tape within the Corps itself and for the states and communities coordinating with them. I’m really grateful and pleased our committee has kept WRDA a priority and delivered a bipartisan product to the Senate for final passage.”