Passed the House · 415–9

The Water Resources Development Act

Our most important tool for stopping toxic discharges and sending the water south.

OUR FIGHT

Treasure Coast wins in WRDA 2026

  1. Mast amendment · adoptedLake Okeechobee accountabilityThe U.S. Army Corps has to show its work on “recovery operations”—why they opened the gates, where every drop went, and whether they grew more grass than they killed.
  2. Mast amendment · adoptedEAA Reservoir purpose, in writingCongress goes on record: the 17,000-acre reservoir exists to send the water south and end harmful discharges—so nobody can rewrite history down the road.
  3. Fast-tracked restorationAccelerated completion of Indian River Lagoon restoration and Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration.
  4. C-111 authorizedAuthorization of the C-111 project in the southern Everglades—more of the infrastructure that helps send the water south.
  5. Environmental infrastructureEnvironmental infrastructure assistance for Riviera Beach.
  6. U.S. Army Corps easement accountingA full accounting of U.S. Army Corps easements across Florida.
  7. Engineering fee reviewA review of the architect and engineering fees that drive up project costs.

Read more: WRDA passes the House floor · Water’s biggest day in Washington (committee markup day).

Where things stand · updated September 17, 2026

  1. Priorities SubmittedEarly 2026
  2. Bill ReleasedJune 26
  3. Committee MarkupJuly 14
  4. Passed HouseSept. 16 · 415–9
  5. SenateS. 4949You are here
  6. SignedNext

Our communities run on water—and that water is under attack. When the U.S. Army Corps opens the levee on Lake Okeechobee’s eastern edge, legacy pollutants and toxic blue-green algae get flushed into the St. Lucie River.

The good news: we’ve come a long way—it’s been eight years since a toxic algal bloom emergency hit the Treasure Coast.

Our best tool to keep it that way is the Water Resources Development Act—WRDA. This summer, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee wrote and passed WRDA 2026 with every one of the priorities above inside it. On September 16, the full House of Representatives passed the bill (H.R. 9497) by a vote of 415–9. Now it heads to the Senate, where the companion bill (S. 4949) is waiting—the last stop before WRDA goes to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

Rep. Brian Mast speaking at the Everglades Foundation Summit
Rep. Mast speaks at the annual Everglades Foundation Summit in Washington on June 9, 2026.

Why we send the water south

Watch: the case for finishing Everglades restoration and ending the discharges.

WRDA passed the House. Get updates as it moves through the Senate.

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This fight belongs to all of us

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