U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, R-Skamania, has requested more than $15.5 million in federal funding for over a dozen projects in Washington’s Third Congressional District, including three targeting key infrastructure needs in north Clark County.
“Every day across Southwest Washington, good people are sitting down and coming up with solutions for their communities — instead of waiting for the federal government to tell them they need to jump through more hoops and wade through more red tape to help their neighbors. The Community Project Funding process is a way I can recognize these community-led efforts and proactively bring dollars home for projects that might have otherwise been underappreciated or difficult for small, rural communities to fund in another manner,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in a news release. “Last Congress, I successfully urged my bipartisan colleagues to give these projects the respect they merit — and I secured $21 million for projects in every county across our district, many of which have now broken ground. I’m now fighting on the Appropriations Committee to bring dollars home for more community projects that will grow our rural economies and that represent the nuts and bolts of good governance — from local meat processing for farmers, to ag education for high school students, to water and energy investments for ratepayers.”
Wallace Heights Septic Elimination Project, $1,092,000
The Clark Regional Wastewater District would use $1,092,000 in requested federal funding to construct sewer mains serving 66 homes with failing septic systems. The project addresses an ongoing public health concern and aims to improve water quality in nearby streams, which are impaired by high bacteria and nutrient levels.
The funding for Wallace Heights was included in one of the FY26 government spending bills that cleared the House Appropriations Committee earlier this month. The measure still needs approval from the full House and Senate.
Kennedy Farms Well Project, $1,092,000
The City of Ridgefield seeks funding to develop two new water source wells under the Kennedy Farms Well Project. Ridgefield expects water demand to outpace supply by 2026 or 2027. Each well is projected to add up to 300 gallons per minute to the city’s water system, increasing reliability and capacity for emergencies and future growth.
This request also passed the House Appropriations Committee this month as part of a FY26 funding bill, pending further congressional approval.
Sea Lion Mitigation and Salmon Protection, $1,031,000
The third local request, totalling $1,031,000, is for a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife program aimed at mitigating sea lion predation on salmon and steelhead in the lower Columbia River. The funding would support the department’s ongoing effort to remove sea lions under a federal permit, protecting vulnerable fish populations.
Gluesenkamp Perez also secured language in the FY26 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies funding bill to direct NOAA and Tribal and state partners to evaluate the effectiveness and cost of different sea lion removal methods. That legislation is awaiting a vote in the House Appropriations Committee.
Readers can learn more about Community Project Funding requests made by Gluesenkamp Perez at shorturl.at/0KxWa.
