WRDA Advances in Congress
Before heading home for the Memorial Day recess, both the House Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committees advanced their respective water resources legislation, H.R. 8, the Water Resources Development Act of 2018, and S. 2800, the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018.
Both bills authorize projects in Chief’s Reports and the Section 7001 annual report submitted to Congress in accordance with WRRDA 14, and both provide for modifications and post-authorization change reports of enumerated projects. Each also provides for various policy changes, with the House version more focused on traditional U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil works policies, while the Senate version has a broader scope to include EPA provisions, consistent with EPW’s more expansive committee jurisdiction.
Both bills call for a study into the structure of the Corps of Engineers and the placement of the civil works function in the Department of Defense. There have been some questions as to whether that hinders the Corps’ capabilities. For additional background on the history of the civil works mission, see NWC’s April Newsletter, www.waterways.org
Committee leadership in both chambers have pledged to move their bills to the floor quickly. Although no dates are available, it is possible the House version could see floor time in early June.
Legislative text can be viewed here:
https://transportation.house.gov/wrda-2018/
https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/s2800/BILLS-115s2800rs.pdf
