McNerney secures funding for water programs

Included in the $1.3 trillion spending package recently passed by the House of Representatives are a number of key provisions championed by California Congressman Jerry McNerney to tackle the climate crisis in addition to addressing the stability and modernization of America’s energy and water systems.

Among the funding secured by the Congressman are several national projects, including:

• funding for the Department of Energy (DOE) to bolster their work to combat the climate crisis, including through robust investments in grid modernization and security;
• funding for continued cloud aerosol research through the DOE, which will provide useful information for carbon reduction plans, and for continued research through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to study atmospheric climate intervention modeling and technologies;
• and funding to strengthen water infrastructure and for authorized flood and storm damage reduction, navigation, and environmental restoration projects.

Congressman McNerney also secured increased funding for operation and maintenance of the Port of Stockton to help the port ensure that its shipping channel – which is also the largest flood conveyance channel to the Delta – continues to be operational for navigation purposes.

“Climate change is accelerating and poses a growing threat to our country and the world,” said Congressman McNerney. “That is why I secured funding in this bill to ensure that federal agencies work to prepare for the climate crisis, including through research into carbon reduction and water sustainability, and to address regional issues facing our community such as flooding and annual maintenance dredging at the Port of Stockton.”

Additionally, the legislation includes an amendment from the Congressman which would direct DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) to gather more robust analysis and data collection from EIA’s commercial and residential surveys – specifically with regards to water consumption – and would make water consumption data for commercial buildings publicly available and broken out by principal building activity and region.