May 21, 2014

Legislative Notice: Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (Conference Report to H.R. 3080)


Noteworthy

Background: On March 18, 2013, Chairman Boxer and Ranking Member Vitter of the Environment and Public Works Committee introduced S. 601, the Water Resources Development Act of 2013 (WRDA). The EPW Committee unanimously reported S. 601, as amended, on March 20, 2013. On May 15, 2013, the Senate voted, by a count of 83-14, to pass the bill. The House of Representatives passed H.R. 3080, the companion bill to S. 601, by a vote of 417-3, on October 23, 2013. After bicameral negotiations, Chairman Boxer and Ranking Member Vitter filed the conference report for the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA) on May 15, 2014. On May 20, 2014, the House passed the conference report for WRRDA on a 412-4 vote.

Floor Situation: It is anticipated the Senate could vote on the legislation Thursday, May 22.

Executive Summary: The conference report authorizes 34 U. S. Army Corps of Engineers projects, including developing, maintaining, and supporting the nation’s waterway infrastructure, flood protection and environmental restoration needs. 


Overview of the Issue

The Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA) promotes investment in the nation’s water resources infrastructure, accelerates project delivery, and reforms implementation of Army Corps of Engineers projects. The 110th Congress enacted WRDA in 2007, authorizing $29.8 billion in Corps of Engineers activities. Previously, WRDA was enacted in 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1996, 1999, and 2000.

Considerations on the Bill

The conference report establishes a process leading to the $18 billion deauthorization of previously authorized and inactive projects. Accordingly, the conference report requires the secretary of the Army to submit to Congress a list of inactive projects that were authorized prior to the Water Resources Development Act of 2007; have not begun construction; or have not received any funds for construction, federal or non-federal, in the past six years. The secretary is required to identify projects sufficient to account for $18 billion of deauthorizations, fully offsetting new authorizations. Section 7002 of the conference report details the costs of all projects. The bill also sunsets the new authorizations to prevent future project backlogs. 

The conference report includes provisions strengthening transparency and accountability requirements of projects, including a full listing of new authorizations. The conference report also establishes a new process to review and prioritize water resources development activities with congressional oversight, which originated in the House-passed WRRDA bill. 

Section 2101 of the conference report sets target expenditures from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, increasing each year so that by fiscal year 2025, 100 percent of the funds collected go to operation and maintenance activities. Currently, only about half of the $1.8 billion collected yearly in the HMTF is being used for its intended purpose. 

Additionally, provisions in the conference report reform bureaucracy, accelerate project delivery, and streamline environmental review. For example, the conference report sets hard deadlines on the time and cost of Corps of Engineers feasibility studies, which currently have no time limits. The conference report consolidates or eliminates duplicative or unnecessary studies. 

The conference report also maximizes the ability of non-federal interests to contribute their own funds to move studies and projects forward, and expands the ability of non-federal interests to contribute funds to expedite the evaluation and processing of permits. The conference report establishes a Water Infrastructure Finance Innovations Authority as a five-year pilot program to provide credit assistance for drinking water, wastewater, and water resources infrastructure projects. It is based on the Transportation Infrastructure Finance Innovations Authority program.

Notable Bill Provisions

Section 1001 – Vertical Integration and Acceleration of Studies  

Limits the Corps of Engineers feasibility studies to three years and $3 million in federal costs per feasibility study.

Section 1004 – Removal of Duplicative Analyses

Repeals a requirement that the Corps of Engineers reevaluate government cost estimates immediately after the initial cost estimates have been completed.

Section 1006 – Expediting the Evaluation and Processing of Permits

Provides permanent authority for the Corps of Engineers to accept funds from non-federal public interests to expedite the processing of permits. This section also directs the secretary of the Army to ensure that use of the authority does not slow down the permit processing of applicants that choose not to participate in the program and ensures oversight of decisions made under this authority.

Section 1007 – Expediting Approval of Modifications and Alterations of Projects by Non-Federal Interests

Requires the secretary of the Army to develop a 45-day benchmark for reviewing and processing applications from non-federal entities to modify or improve eligible federal water resources projects; and a 180-day benchmark for applications that require more complicated project modifications.

Section 1015 – Contributions by Non-Federal Interests

Clarifies that non-federal interests may contribute funds toward construction of authorized water resources projects. 

Section 1037 – Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction

Authorizes a non-federal interest to request a Corps of Engineers study of hurricane and storm damage reduction projects to determine if there is a federal interest in carrying out an additional 15 years of work. If the study is favorable, the non-federal interest may request project-specific authorization through the annual report process described in section 7001 of this act. For those projects that will expire in the next five years, the Corps of Engineers is authorized to continue work for another three years.

Section 1042 – Reports to Congress

Penalizes the secretary for failing to provide, in a timely manner, certain reports to Congress required under this act. 

Section 2006 – Preserving the Inland Waterway Trust Fund

Authorizes a change in cost sharing for the inland navigation project in the vicinity of Olmsted, Illinois, to provide that, beginning with fiscal year 2015, 15 percent of the cost of construction of the project shall be paid for each fiscal year from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund. It also provides a sense of Congress that expenditures for the Olmsted project should be not less than $150 million.

Section 2007 – Inland Waterways Oversight

Requires that the secretary and the Government Accountability Office report to Congress on the challenges associated with the Olmsted project.

Section 2101 – Funding for Harbor Maintenance Programs

Sets target expenditures from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund.

Section 5001 – General Authority for Capitalization Grants

Amends the preamble of Section 601 of the Clean Water Act to ensure grants to states to establish and finance revolving loan fund programs are used to accomplish the objective of the Clean Water Act.

Section 5014 – Water Infrastructure Public-Private Partnership Pilot Program

Authorizes the secretary of the Army to enter into agreements with non-federal interests, including private entities, to finance construction of at least 15 authorized water resources development projects. 

Section 6001 – Deauthorization of Inactive Projects

Establishes a process that will lead to the deauthorization of previously authorized and inactive projects, the value of which shall exceed the value of projects authorized in this act by $6 billion. The secretary shall identify projects until the total federal cost of projects on the list totals at least $18 billion. After a 180-day period of congressional review, the projects on the list are automatically deauthorized.

Section 6003 – Backlog Prevention

Terminates the authorization for any project or separable element of a project authorized for construction by this act after seven years unless construction has been initiated. After 12 years, the secretary shall submit a report to Congress that identifies any projects for which construction has been initiated but not completed, describes the reasons they were not completed, and provides a schedule for their completion based on expected levels of appropriations.

Section 7001 – Annual Report to Congress

Requires the secretary of the Army annually to publish a notice in the Federal Register requesting proposals from non-federal interests for project authorizations, studies, and modifications to existing Corps of Engineers projects. This section also requires that the secretary submit to Congress and make publicly available an annual report of those activities related to the mission of the Corps of Engineers that require specific authorization by law.

Section 7002 – Authorization of Final Feasibility Studies

Authorizes 34 water resources projects that have completed technical review by the Corps of Engineers and are recommended by the chief of engineers. The projects are authorized to be carried out in accordance with the plan and conditions described in the chief’s reports.

Administration Position

The Obama administration has not taken a position on the WRRDA conference report at this time. On May 6, 2013, the administration outlined policy recommendations for S. 601.

Cost

CBO estimates that WRRDA will cost $12.3 billion over 10 years.

Amendments

There will be no amendments to the conference report.