Congressman Simpson secured 2.6 million dollars in funding for the United States Army Corp of Engineers to begin work again on design and implantation of replacement of the wall that channels the Little Wood River through town. Currently the USACE anticipates that the City would need to spend 6 million dollars for its share of the project. We are looking into assistance for our share, we recently applied for a grant from FEMA to help design the 5 “bridges” in town. See Congressman Simpson newsletter comments:
October 24, 2022
Larry Bybee
308 5th Ave W
Gooding, ID 83330-1205
Dear Larry:
Because you are a resident of the Magic Valley, I thought you might be interested in an update on some important work I am doing in Congress to address a longstanding local issue.
As you may be aware, the existing rock walls that line the Little Wood River as it flows through Gooding, Idaho, have long needed replacing. The Gooding Canal was completed in 1941 to provide irrigation water and protect the community from flooding, but aging of the infrastructure, together with high water and ice jam events, have caused severe deterioration of the existing lava rock walls. Today large portions of these walls are failing and have fallen into the channel, putting the community at higher risk of flooding.
In 2007 I included language in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) to authorize the replacement of the channel walls, but the project has continued to be delayed for reasons outside of the control of the local community. In the meantime, inflation has caused the cost of the project to exceed the amount that had been authorized, forcing the city to cut crucial bridge replacements out of the project and leaving it languishing on the shelf even longer.
Getting this project underway and finally finished is long overdue, and it has become clear that congressional action is needed. This is why I pushed to have language included in this year's Water Resources Development Act bill to increase the authorized project cost. By raising the cost limit, the needed bridge replacements can again be included in the project, which will reduce localized flooding and help prevent the occurrences of ice jamming that damage the wall. In addition to ensuring that the Corps has authorization to complete the entire project, I submitted a Community Program Funding request on behalf of the City of Gooding to include $2.6 million for the first stage of design and construction of this project in the Energy and Water Appropriations Act for FY2023. Both of these bills have passed the House and are being conferenced with the Senate, and once they are signed into law, the Corps should have everything it needs to get started.
I have been working with the City of Gooding to address this issue since I came to Congress, and, after several starts and stops, I am greatly encouraged that we are finally seeing momentum on this important flood control project. Please know that I remain committed to completing the needed rehabilitation of the Gooding Wall once and for all.
As your representative in Congress, it is important to me to know your thoughts and opinions about local issues like the Gooding Wall, as well as issues facing our nation today. I encourage you to visit my website, www.simpson.house.gov, to sign up for my e-newsletter and to read more about my views on a variety of issues.
Sincerely,
Mike Simpson
Member of Congress
