Two long-sought levee projects in Grays Harbor County were assured millions in federal funding earlier this week with a few strokes of the pen at a White House ceremony.
When President Joe Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 on Tuesday, March 15, he cleared the way for the Aberdeen-Hoquiam Flood Protection Project to receive $9.95 million.
Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-Gig Harbor) led the effort to secure the money for the flood protection project, which seeks to improve storm drainage systems in Aberdeen and Hoquiam, reduce flood insurance costs for homeowners and provide coastal flood protection.
Kilmer referred to the flood protection project as a “win-win” in a statement earlier this week prior to President Biden signing the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022. He said the project would “enable future investments in affordable housing and economic development in the region by pulling some of these properties out of the flood plain.”
The flood protection project consists of two levees — the North Shore Levee and North Shore Levee – West segment. The levees have long been sought to protect Aberdeen and Hoquiam against coastal flooding between the Wishkah River and Hoquiam River north of the Chehalis River and Grays Harbor Estuary. The project also includes construction of the Fry Creek Pump Station.
The North Shore Levee project will build a 6.2-mile levee, consisting of earthen, concrete and sheet pile, across Aberdeen and Hoquiam. Total cost is estimated at $78 million.
The North Shore Levee – West Segment project will construct a levee, consisting of earthen concrete and sheet pile, for 4.7 miles along the west side of Hoquiam.
When both projects are completed, it will eliminate federally mandated flood insurance and building code requirements, which should save residents millions of dollars, and provide protection for an estimated 5,100 properties and 1,354 businesses.
The projects were included in a 12-bill spending package to fund the federal government that President Biden signed on Tuesday.
“(Tuesday), President Biden signed into law critical legislation to keep the government open — and to fund critical priorities for our region that will create jobs, invest in affordable housing, and help our environment,” said Kilmer in a statement on Tuesday.
The spending package also included $4.5 million to support affordable housing in Tacoma, $450,000 to invest in STEM education in the Olympic Peninsula, and $1 million to support Duckabush Estuary restoration.
