After months of back and forth, the House and Senate agreed on passage of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), a nearly $12 billion measure authorizing 30 new infrastructure projects around the country. The bill, which passed the House 360 to 61 and the Senate 78 to 21, deepens ports, addresses flood risk management, helps disadvantaged communities provide safe drinking water, and authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to approve state permitting programs for coal ash, among others. In addition to authorizing the Flint, Michigan related spending included in the Continuing Resolution, WRDA provides another $40 million for programs to communities to reduce lead in drinking water and $100 million for grants to test for lead contamination in schools and child care facilities.

The measure was nearly scuttled by a dispute over whether to temporarily relax environmental standards and instruct federal officials to divert more water to farms and other users in California. Supporters of the clause, including Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA), were able get the language inserted in the bill, which led some Democrats to object and eventually a "no" vote from Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA).

The bill also authorized a number of other projects, including the Central Everglades Planning Project and port deepening projects throughout the country. Democrats had pushed to require government projects to use American-made steel, but House Republicans were able to remove the language from the final bill.

Takeaway: Passage of the Water Resources Development Act authorizes a variety of water and transportation-related programs and touches nearly every state in the country. On an unrelated note, the bill also authorizes the transfer of the remains of Kennewick Man, a roughly 9,000 year old skeleton discovered 20 years ago in Washington State, to five Native American tribes for final burial.