Members of WA Delegation Announce Major Step Forward for Critical Work on Mud Mountain Dam

Design work to upgrade the Mud Mountain Fish Passage Facility is ongoing, but the project needed final designation to begin construction

Members had recently urged the Administration to move the project forward to support flood control and salmon habitat needs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, members of the Washington Congressional delegation, including Rep. Dave Reichert (WA-08), Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Reps. Adam Smith (WA-09), Denny Heck (WA-10), Derek Kilmer (WA-06), Suzan DelBene (WA-01), and Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), applauded the announcement that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) secured both the necessary authority and $16.4 million to start upgrading the Mud Mountain Dam facility on the White River. The upgrades are designed to better protect salmon runs and meet tribal trust responsibilities.  

The announcement comes after the delegation last week urged the Administration to move the project forward, citing new authority made possible by the recently-enacted spending bill. (Read their letter here.)

“Mud Mountain Dam’s fish passage facility was built in the early 1900s and is due for a much needed update,” Rep. Reichert said. “Thanks to the bipartisan work between the Washington delegation, we will now be able to greatly improve passage for salmon and better protect the species that call the White and Puyallup River valleys home.”

“Mud Mountain Dam is critical for flood management for a large part of our state, but for years, the facility has desperately needed upgrades to ensure safe fish passage, which play into larger efforts to restore salmon runs and meet federal commitments to the Muckleshoot and Puyallup tribes,” Sen. Murray said. “Thanks to bipartisan cooperation in Congress, diligence at the Army Corps, and a lot of work at the local level, the Army Corps can move forward with this important construction work.”

“While we have relied on the Mud Mountain Dam for critical flood control, the dam is in desperate need of upgrades to ensure salmon recovery and to support our fisheries. I’m glad the Army Corps is getting started on this important work,” Sen. Cantwell said.