January 20, 2022

Senator Warren, Massachusetts Congressional Delegation Applauds U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Funding For Massachusetts Projects

Millions in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act coming to Massachusetts ports and waterways

Washington, D.C. – Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Edward Markey (D-Mass), and members of the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded $14 billion in investments across the country to strengthen port and waterway supply chains and bolster climate resilience. These funds will be delivered through a combination of resources from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and a recent disaster relief supplemental appropriation. Within its total allocations for Fiscal Year 2022, the Army Corps will specifically invest $20.8 million in projects across Massachusetts.

“Funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for our ports and waterways will help us grow our economy while enhancing our public safety,” said Senator Warren. These pieces of infrastructure are critical to communities across the Commonwealth, and I look forward to seeing these important projects move forward.” 

“From fortifying our communities bracing for the present-day impacts of climate change, to strengthening our waterways and port infrastructure to sustain our 21st century shipping economy, Army Corps funding for these projects is critical to economic success in the region and will make our communities safer for years to come,” said Senator Markey. “The future of Massachusetts rivers, lakes, and seas is bright with this historic investment into our Commonwealth’s water infrastructure.”

“Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, $805,000 is soon headed to the First Congressional District to help ensure safety and resiliency at three Army Corps of Engineer-built flood control lakes in Huntington, East Brimfield, and Charlton,” said Congressman Richard E. Neal. “With these new federal funds, we will be able to ensure that these recreational sites will be structurally secure and visitor-friendly for decades to come.”

“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law we passed is supporting projects big and small throughout the commonwealth, including damage repair work at the Hodges River Dam in Oxford and the West Hill Dam in Uxbridge,” said Congressman Jim McGovern. “These dams offer important flood prevention to homeowners and communities throughout Central Massachusetts, as well as trails and recreation opportunities that will be restored, repaired, and ready for visitors thanks to these investments.”

The Massachusetts projects receiving funding in Fiscal Year 2022 include:

  • $4.89 million to dredge Wareham Harbor
  • $4.43 million to dredge the Essex River
  • $2.95 million to dredge Salem Harbor
  • $2.66 million for repairs in the Cape Cod Canal
  • $2.5 million to dredge Newburyport Harbor
  • $1.8 million to dredge Cuttyhunk Harbor
  • $500,000 to dredge the Chatham Harbor
  • $355,000 to make handicap access improvements, parking, walkways, and roads at Buffumville Lake
  • $350,000 for gatehouse masonry repairs at Knightville Dam
  • $300,000 to reconstruct a section of Plymouth Long Beach Dike at Plymouth Harbor
  • $100,000 for electrical upgrades at the East Brimfield Lake gatehouse
  • $11,000 for damage repair at the Hodges Village Dam
  • $30,000 for damage repair at the West Hill Dam

Senator Warren has long advocated for improvements to national and state infrastructure with an emphasis on creating green, union jobs: 

  • In December 2021, Senator Warren joined members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation to applaud the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration announced $52.5 billion in funding for infrastructure improvement projects to America’s highways as part of its first tranche of funding following the enactment of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This investment is for Fiscal Year 2022, and Massachusetts will receive $804.6 million as part of this round of funding.
  • In December 2021, Senators Warren and Markey, along with Representatives Neal, McGovern, Lynch, Keating, Clark, Moulton, Pressley, Trahan, and Auchincloss announced Massachusetts airports had been allocated over $48 million in federal grants under the Airport Infrastructure Grants under the recently enacted Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The money was invested in runways, taxiways, safety and sustainability projects, as well as terminal, airport-transit connections and roadway projects.
  • In November 2021, Senators Warren and Markey, along with Congressman Keating, were at the White House to join President Biden as he signed the bipartisan infrastructure bill into law. Among its many successes, several provisions within the infrastructure package targeted Canal Bridge Projects, including $14 billion for Infrastructure for Rebuilding America Grants, $12.5 billion for Bridge Investment Grants, $5 billion for Nationally Significant Project Grants, and $7.5 billion Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity Grants, in addition to billions more in new funding made directly available to the Commonwealth and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help expand their resources for infrastructure projects.
  • In November 2021, Senator Warren joined Senator Ossoff  to introduce the Clean Energy for All Homes Act, legislation that would make it more affordable for families to install energy efficient home technology and save money on their energy bills. The bill would help middle-class and lower-income families afford solar roofs and other renewable energy technology installations by lessening the cost burden of installing these systems.
  • In September of 2021, Senators Warren and Markey announced Massachusetts had received $175 million in American Rescue Plan funding through the Capital Projects Fund to be used towards providing broadband connectivity for the hardest hit communities in the state.
  • In May of 2021, Senator Warren and Congressman Levin introduced the Buy Green Act of 2021, which would establish $1.5 trillion in federal procurement commitments over the next ten years to purchase American-made clean, renewable, and emission-free energy products for federal, state, and local use. The bill also establishes a grant program for U.S. companies to invest in clean energy manufacturing.
  • In March 2021, Senator Warren and Congressman Levin, along with Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), unveiled the BUILD GREEN Infrastructure and Jobs Act. Modeled after the Department of Transportation's successful BUILD grant program, BUILD GREEN would invest $500 billion over ten years in state, local, and tribal projects to jumpstart the transition to all electric public vehicles and rail and help modernize the nation's crumbling infrastructure.

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