Gluesenkamp Perez Holds Log Truck Roundtable, Visits Wahkiakum County Priorities

Last week, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03) held a roundtable with log truck operators, visited the Puget Island Alternate Water System Project, and toured Grays River priorities.

During Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez’s roundtable with Southwest Washington log truck drivers, the group discussed the need to make it easier to run or start an independent operation and hire apprentices, make common sense adjustments to federal regulation, and ensure more young people have the training necessary to pursue these careers early and safely.

“Being able to harvest and move timber is an important part of being able to prevent wildfire, build houses, and support family wage jobs. Hearing from our log truck operators, a decline in timber and complicated red tape can make it difficult to run a small, family operation, much less get one off the ground,” said Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez. “We had a productive discussion about ways to ensure federal regulations actually make sense for independent operators and to get more young people the skills they need to build these careers as the workforce ages. Having operated an auto repair and machine shop before coming to Congress, I know how difficult it can be to hire an apprentice, yet these opportunities remain a critical pathway to the middle class.”

Last month, Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez’s provisions were signed into law to extend eligibility for the Forest Service’s Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) for federal forest restoration and management projects to Tribes and counties to increase opportunities for cross-boundary restoration.

Afterward, Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez spoke with Wahkiakum PUD about local utility priorities and visited the site of the Puget Island Alternate Water System Project.

In March, Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez secured $959,752 of federal funds for the project as one of her Community Project Funding (CPF) requests. The funding makes the project possible without rate impacts to Wahkiakum PUD customers.

“Nearly a quarter of Wahkiakum County lives on Puget Island, and they’re served by a single water supply. Right now, three of four fire hydrants don’t have adequate water flow, so I secured funds to build an alternate, reliable water source to keep folks safe and protect their livelihoods and reliable access to clean water. By bringing our federal tax dollars home, we’re avoiding a rise in utility rates to get this done,” said Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez. “Wahkiakum PUD has a small but mighty team that takes immense pride in doing high-quality work in house. I’m glad I could see their skilled work firsthand as this critical project rapidly gets underway.”

The Congresswoman has helped bring home more than $12.9 million for water and wastewater projects across Southwest Washington. An interactive map of community investments she has supported can be found at gluesenkampperez.house.gov/invest.

Lastly, Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez joined the Wahkiakum County Sheriff’s Office and County Commissioner Gene Strong for a boat tour of the Columbia and Grays Rivers to learn how the rivers have changed over the years and discuss local priorities and ways to address sediment accumulation and flooding challenges.

“Rosburg and Grays River know the impacts of flooding all too well – and it’s only been getting worse. These floods are dangerous, leave behind debris, and cut off critical services, so our federal government needs to take urgent action to find solutions, as well as to support smooth, reliable transportation on our rivers,” said Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez. “Our rural communities deserve an attentiveness to their needs – and I’m glad we could secure a federal flooding assessment after Congress has long failed to act. I appreciate the Wahkiakum County Sheriff’s Office and County Commissioner Strong for sharing their rich knowledge of the area’s history, and I’ll continue to look for opportunities to assist at the federal level.”

Last month, the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) was signed into law, which requires the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to assess the causes of fine sediment accumulation that causes flooding in Rosburg and Grays River, as well as potential solutions to manage flood risk – a provision the Congresswoman helped secure.