Maritime Groups Pleased with WRDA 2020
It was an odd legislative journey, but ultimately one with a happy ending. Thatâs one way to sum up the rather tortuous process that led to the passage of the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 (WRDA). For the first time WRDA (usually reauthorized every two years) was not enacted as its own legislative bill. This time it was rolled into the massive government 2021 omnibus budget bill, the ââConsolidated Appropriations Act, 2021,ââ signed into law on December 27.Still, the WRDA text itselfâŚ
Construction Begins on Next-Generation Ferry
The first arc welds on the keel of Washingtonâs new 144-car ferry will be made later this month by the leaders of the state Legislature transportation committees, Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen of Camano Island and Rep. Judy Clibborn of Mercer Island. The two legislators will join Washington State Ferries officials and ship workers at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 29, to commemorate the moment when the vesselâs keel is laid in place at Vigor Industrialâs Harbor Island shipyard in Seattle. Keel laying, the maritime equivalent of placing a cornerstone, is a traditional milestone in ship building.