Gomez, Schiff, Napolitano, Roybal-Allard Seek Increased Army Corps Funding for Los Angeles River Restoration Project
Los Angeles,
June 22, 2020
Los Angeles - Today, Reps. Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Adam Schiff (CA-28), Grace Napolitano (CA-32), and Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40) sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requesting increased funding for the Los Angeles River Ecosystem Restoration Project and the Public-Private Partnership (P3) Pilot Program in the Corps’ Fiscal Year 2021 Work Plan. “We respectfully request you include $3 million for preconstruction engineering and design work for the LA River project and $50 million for the P3 Pilot Program as part of the Revolutionize USACE Civil Works initiative.” the Members wrote in the letter. “Together, this funding will support crucial engineering work needed for the project to move forward and enable the analysis and preparation necessary to begin the P3 process and develop financing options.” In March, the Army Corps formally designated the LA River project as a Public-Private Partnership (P3) project, the third project and first ecosystem restoration project to be included in its P3 Pilot Program. This innovative development approach, a partnership between the Corps and the City of Los Angeles, will reduce the federal government’s cost and risk while accelerating project delivery. Reps. Gomez, Schiff, Roybal-Allard, and colleagues from the Los Angeles area have consistently urged the House Appropriations Committee to provide strong funding for the Army Corps, and the Corps’ Work Plan for Fiscal Year 2020 included $1.857 million for preconstruction engineering and design activities for the LA River project, the first federal funding since FY17. Read the full letter below: June 22, 2020 Lieutenant General Todd T. Semonite Dear General Semonite: As Members of Congress representing the portion of the Los Angeles River designated by the Army Corps for ecosystem restoration, we are longtime supporters of the decades-long effort to revitalize the river’s aquatic ecosystem and provide a much-needed corridor of green space running through our community. Along with our colleagues from the Los Angeles region, we have consistently urged the House Appropriations Committee to provide strong funding to the Corps in recognition of this important project underway in our community. We were pleased that the Corps’ Work Plan for Fiscal Year 2020 included nearly $2 million for preconstruction engineering and design work for this project—the first federal funding since Fiscal Year 2017. We were also glad to see the Corps formally designate the LA River project as a Civil Works Public-Private Partnership (P3) Pilot project in March. This approach—a partnership between the Corps and the City of Los Angeles—will reduce the federal government’s share of cost and risk while accelerating the project’s delivery, creating tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in labor income. As you begin considering the Corps’ Fiscal Year 2021 Work Plan, we respectfully request you include $3 million for preconstruction engineering and design work for the LA River project and $50 million for the P3 Pilot Program as part of the Revolutionize USACE Civil Works initiative. Together, this funding will support crucial engineering work needed for the project to move forward and enable the analysis and preparation necessary to begin the P3 process and develop financing options. Aquatic ecosystem restoration is one of Corps’ most important missions, and the LA River project presents an opportunity to revitalize a distressed waterway at the heart of one our nation’s most populous regions while using innovative P3 financing and delivery methods that will serve as a testing ground and model for future work around the country. Thank you for your leadership and your consideration of our requests.
Sincerely, Jimmy Gomez Grace F. Napolitano Lucille Roybal-Allard
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