The bill passed by the U.S. Senate Wednesday includes $65.5 million for the Emergency Watershed Protection program which could help areas of Colorado devastated by last summer’s deadly wildfires.
Colorado Senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall advocated to include the funding in a Continuing Resolution bill that will fund the government through the rest of 2013.
Bennet says Colorado communities have been working hard to recover from large wildfires including the High Parkand Waldo Canyon fires. “Passing this bill with EWP resources will allow these communities to take the next step to complete the recovery process,” Bennet said in a statement released Wednesday. “These funds will help restore our land and repair critical infrastructure to help prevent larger costs and bigger problems down the road. I’m grateful for the efforts of our state’s delegation, which worked together in this fight to secure these critical funds for Colorado.”
The funding was also included in a U.S. House Continuing Resolution, which Bennet says is a good indicator the funding will make it into the final version of the bill that will be sent to the President’s desk and signed into law.
The Emergency Watershed Protection program helps restore critical watersheds damaged by natural disasters.
