U.S. Congressman Kaialiʻi Kahele announced recently that the state of Hawaiʻi is slated to receive $80 million in Environmental Infrastructure funding for water and wastewater issues across the state.
Kahele, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee, noted that each of Hawaiʻi's four counties qualifies to receive up to $20 million in Environmental Infrastructure funding for the first time now that the Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) was passed, a recent press release from his office said.
“For the first time, Hawaiʻi is explicitly slated to receive robust water and wastewater infrastructure funding through the Water Resources and Development Act,” Kahele said in the release. “Our islands have experienced unprecedented flooding in recent years, and I have seen the degradation of our aging water systems and the effects of climate change first hand."
The counties of Honolulu, Kauaʻi, Maui and Hawaiʻi are each expected to receive up to $20 million in funding from the annual Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the release said. The funding will be used to address a number of issues including stormwater management.
In addition to Environmental Infrastructure funding, the bill also includes a new provision that will enable Native Hawaiian Organizations (NHOs) to waive local cost-sharing requirements of up to $200,000 for vital environmental projects.
"Improving water and wastewater infrastructure in Hawaiʻi is a key priority of mine, and this provision will help remediate these long-standing issues by bringing federal resources to our State," Kahele said in the release.
The Water Resources and Development Act serves to invest in America’s ports, harbors and inland waterways in order to build more resilient communities and ensure that the United States Army Corps of Engineers is able to carry out projects in an economically and environmentally responsible manner.