"A sprawling $1.5 trillion fiscal 2022 spending deal is awash in cash for water and natural resources projects, including a number of Republican proposals to gird coastal communities against the effects of climate change.

The omnibus package is the first in years to contain congressionally directed spending, also known as earmarks. Lawmakers revived them under tight rules and only for certain parts of the federal budget.

“Allowance for earmarks this year likely increased the likelihood that Congress would eventually overcome obstacles and agree to pass the bill, greasing the legislative wheels, so to speak,” said Mike Strachn, a former House staffer and Army Corps of Engineers official now working as a senior adviser at Dawson & Associates, a consulting firm that specializes in permitting.

The Energy and Water Development portion of the spending package includes a $350 million earmark backed by Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) for restoration work in South Florida, home to the Everglades."

Hannah Northey reports for E&E News  March 10, 2022. [2]