Kanjorski Announces $7.3 Million for Wyoming Valley Levee Raising Project
Funding To Be Used for Flood Control

WASHINGTON- Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (PA-11) today announced that he secured $7.3 million for the Wyoming Valley Levee Raising Project in the Energy and Water Bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday afternoon.

The Wyoming Valley Levee Raising Project, estimated to cost about $200 million, is one of the largest flood control projects east of the Mississippi River. Congressman Kanjorski has worked tirelessly to obtain funding for the project since he took office in 1985. To date, Congress has appropriated more than $123 million for the project, not including the $7.3 million included in next year's budget.

"The Wyoming Valley Levee Raising Project has been one of my highest priorities since being elected 20 years ago. I am pleased that I was able to secure funding to continue this ongoing project that is critical for the safety of the Wyoming Valley. I lived through the wrath of the 1972 flood and my hope is that by taking preventive actions, no families will have to suffer that fate again," Congressman Kanjorski said.

Tropical Storm Agnes caused $1 billion damage to Luzerne County in 1972 and left more than 20,000 families homeless. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the major flood protection phase of the Levee Raising Project in 2003, which now provides Wyoming Valley residents with Agnes-level flood protection.

The funding secured by Congressman Kanjorski for the next fiscal year will allow the Corps to continue modifications to pump stations, completion of the concrete caps on the sheet pile walls and a small levee-raising project in Plymouth. The funding will also be used for continued modifications to Toby Creek and Abrahams Creek.

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