Examining the Benefits of Investing in US Army Corps of Engineers Water Infrastructure Projects: July 28th U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Hearing

The United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a July 28th hearing titled:

Examining the Benefits of Investing in United States Army Corps of Engineers Water Infrastructure Projects (“Hearing”)

The Chairman of the Committee is Thomas R. Carper of Delaware and Ranking Member is Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia.

The witnesses included:

• Remove Outdated technical Barriers to Resilience Planning
• Provide Critical Tools for Resilient Solutions
• Redress Environmental Injustices Through Resilient Solutions
• Establish a Resilience Directorate to Leverage All Corps Programs
• Improve Planning for Fish and Wildlife Resilience

• American Association of Port Authority’s three key issues for the next WRDA include:
  • Authorize for both (1) new studies for navigation channel improvements; and (2) proceed to as well as construct navigation project improvements recommended in Chief of Engineer’s reports.
  • Visibility of the United States Army Corps of Engineers’ (“Corps”) plans to restore and properly maintain Federal navigation projects with the increased funding from full use of Harbor Maintenance Trust fund revenues as established in WRDA 2020.
  • Continue to identify process improvements for improved product delivery. AAPA will submit a list of specific streamlining improvements soon.

• Describes how Corps Civil Works projects are authorized and funded
  • Notes national planning objectives are still relevant addressing economic, environmental, and social well-being along with public safety
  • Addresses calculation of net economic benefit issues related to funding projects
  • Challenges exist which pose issues for the Corps’ Continuing Authorities Program
  • Congress’s continued support for the Continuing Authorities Program would provide certainty and stability for the Corps’ execution of the program

• Locks and dams on the states’ rivers are critical for navigation
  • More than half the system operated by the Corps is more than 50 years old (i.e., their design life)
  • Section 109 of WRDA 2020 establishment of a new statutory cost-share formula provides additional construction funding for navigation improvements on the inland system
  • Study under the sponsorship of the National Waterways Foundation concluded that construction of the current portfolio of Congressionally authorized projects will add 35,000 more jobs
  • Adjustments made in infrastructure package can build a more resilient and efficient inland waterway system

A link to the witness testimonies can be found here.