Improving coastal resilience with ASBPA’s water level observing network
On The Capitol Beach, Derek Brockbank talks WRDA with Ryan Seiger, the Staff Director for the Water Resources and Environment sub-committee of the House Transportation & Infrastructure committee. Ryan has been working on WRDAs on Capitol Hill for over 20 years and is one of the most influential people on coastal policy that no one outside the DC Beltway knows. They discuss policies from the recently passed 2020 WRDA, including Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, coastal resilience and natural infrastructure, beneficial use of dredged material, and environmental justice at the US Army Corps of Engineers. This pod dives deep into the weeds of the nation’s most recent water policy, while showing that legislative language tweaks can have real world impact on how our coast is managed.
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More info:
Info on WRDA from Transportation & Infrastructure Committee: https://transportation.house.gov/committee-activity/issue/water-resources-development-act-of-2020
Guest
Ryan Seiger is the Staff Director for the Water Resources and Environment sub-committee of the House Transportation & Infrastructure committee. Ryan started on Capitol Hill working for former Representative Robert A. Borski (D-PA), where he served as Senior Legislative Assistant. After briefly working for the Washington, DC law firm of Arnold and Porter, LLC, Ryan returned to Capitol Hill to join the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure as Democratic Counsel for the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. In 2007, former-Chairman James L. Oberstar (D-MN) appointed Ryan as Staff Director of the Subcommittee, where he has continued to serve in that capacity under the leadership of Chairman Oberstar, Ranking Democrat Nick J. Rahall (D-WV), and the current Chairman, Peter A. DeFazio (D-OR). During his time with the Subcommittee, Ryan was the lead Democratic House negotiator for enactment of the Water Resources Development Acts of 2007, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020, and several Clean Water Act related laws.
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Podcast Host
ASBPA Executive Director, Derek Brockbank, hosts this semi-regular podcast. Prior to starting with ASBPA, Derek worked as campaign director for a coalition effort to restore the Mississippi River Delta and Coastal Louisiana, and was part of a gulf-wide campaign to pass the RESTORE Act, securing billions of dollars for Gulf Coast restoration. This followed up on his work with National Wildlife Federation on climate adaption. Derek started his career as a grassroots organizer. Derek grew up in New York City and got his coastal education from an early age playing on the beaches of Long Island, and kayaking and fishing in Peconic Bay.