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Friday, September 26, 1997

Conferees approve nearly $108 million in Texas water improvements

By MICHELLE MITTELSTADT / Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The federal government would spend nearly $108 million on water improvement projects in Texas next year under a spending package hammered out by House and Senate negotiators.

Among the biggest-ticket Texas items included in the 1998 energy and water development appropriations conference report is $20 million to begin the job of widening and deepening the Houston Ship Channel.

Houston-area lawmakers expressed satisfaction Thursday at the funding level, which marks a compromise between the nearly $24 million approved earlier by the House and the $15 million OK'd by the Senate.

"This construction project is an investment not only in Houston's future but also in the economic viability of our country," said Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston, noting that the port of Houston provides $5.5 billion in annual business revenue.

Echoed Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land: "The Congress has recognized that the port is a critical economic lifeline between our nation and the rest of the world."

The expansion will improve safety in the ship channel and allow for the passage of larger ships. The work, which is the first step in a $341 million project, marks the first major expansion of the ship channel in 30 years.

The conferees meeting to iron out differences in the House- and Senate-passed spending bills wrapped up their work Wednesday night. Now, the compromise bill goes back to both chambers for final passage.

Rep. Chet Edwards, the only Texan on the energy and water development appropriations subcommittee and the conference committee, hailed the Texas funding. "I think Texas does very well in this legislation," he said.

The Waco Democrat persuaded his colleagues to earmark $510,000 for the study of flooding and water quality problems in the Brazos River watershed affecting Lake Waco and other lakes.

"There've been days over the past year where you could smell Lake Waco before you saw it, and that's of great concern to people in our community," Edwards said. The review will be conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Brazos River Authority.

Another big-ticket earmark is the $20.6 million set aside to complete repair of the Twin Buttes dam near San Angelo. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, applauded the action. "After years of fighting for San Angelo with the federal Bureau of Reclamation, full federal funding for this very important project for Tom Green County is close to being made final," he said.

Beyond the ship channel, other Houston-area projects were funded, including $13 million toward the $312 million cost of the Sims Bayou flood control project. The work will consist of 19 miles of channel enlargement and erosion control.

"It is imperative that we speed up the Sims Bayou project to better safeguard nearby neighborhoods from chronic flooding," said Rep. Ken Bentsen, D-Houston.