NWC Federal Spotlight
December 6, 2021, Edition
Happy post-Thanksgiving NWC members!
I hope your Thanksgiving was everything you had hoped and filled with joy, love and thankfulness. Below are a few updates about what is going on in DC and within NWC.
Congress is scheduled to be in session November 30 through December 10 (although it will likely be extended longer) and faced a packed end-of-the-year schedule. Last week, Congress successfully tackled and extended the current continuing resolution to keep the federal government open (more about that below). Concurrently, also outstanding, is the debt ceiling, although the Treasury Secretary has said the U.S. will not be in threat of a default until mid-December. This week, Congressional focus in on passage of the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Then, there is reconciliation in the wings. Before diving into that, did you hear that Rep. Pete DeFazio from Oregon, Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, announced he is retiring after 36 years in Congress at the end of next year. With DeFazio’s retirement, Democrats are losing 19 members to Republican’s 12 in next year’s mid-term elections. On another note, the House of Representatives work calendar for 2022 was released. To view it, click here.
And, after being confirmed by the Senate last month, Michael Connor has arrived and was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works at the end of November. Connor brings with him significant administration and Capitol Hill experience. He worked on Capitol Hill from 2001-2009 as staff counsel to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Additionally, from 2009 to 2014, Connor served as commissioner at the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation and served as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior from 2017-2017. Connor previously was a partner with the law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.
Speaking of Connor, I heard a bit of gossip about the updated Principles, Requirements and Guidelines (PR&G). USACE has a PR&G policy drafted that is “high-level and provides flexibility,” which may be released for public comment in the March/April time frame. Concurrently, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) plans to hold listening sessions with stakeholders and non-federal sponsors at that time.
On the status of NWC’s 2022 Legislative Summit, we are still working on assessing the best path forward. We know many of you use the Summit to visit Congressional members and federal agencies. However, as you are aware, most of the Capitol complex is still restricted. Additionally, while most federal agencies are tentatively planning to bring back employees, at least on a staggered schedule earlier next year, the timing remains uncertain. Furthermore, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has undertaken a significant remodel of their GAO space, which will not be completed until the March/April time frame.
Finally, in conjunction with USACE and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, NWC will be holding a webinar on the “National Levee Safety Program: What’s on the Horizon” on Tuesday, December 14, 2021, from 2:00pm—3:00pm ET. During this hour-long webinar, you will learn more about the goals of the program and upcoming opportunities for stakeholder engagement including dates and locations for in-person meetings and virtual webinars starting in January 2022. A calendar invite will be sent out to all NWC members later today.
As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.
FY2022 APPROPRIATIONS. Congress overcame one hurdle last week when they successfully passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the federal government open until February 18, 2022, at FY2021 levels. The CR passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 221-212 and the Senate by a vote of 69-28. The CR will give Congress time to negotiate on their 12 annual appropriations bills, which have yet to be signed into law for FY2022. In recent years, it has become increasingly common to use CRs due to policy disputes (aka which policy riders should be included in the base bill). However, under a CR, federal agencies must use the previous year’s appropriations funding, which gives the agency little flexibility to refocus funds and/or start or end programs.
RECONCILATION PACKAGE. Last week, Senate Appropriations Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) told reporters yesterday he expects Congress to be in session through the holidays to work on Biden’s Build Back Better $1.7 trillion reconciliation package, which passed the House before Thanksgiving. But this timing may be overly optimistic with the pending vote on the debt ceiling and the package faces an uncertain future in the Senate in its current form. Not only does it include provisions that some Senators have objected to, but some of the provisions may not meet Senate budget rules on what can (and can’t be included) in a reconciliation package. Some of the outstanding issues continue to be tax credits for union-built electric vehicles, state and local taxes, methane fees and other items. If the Senate revises the House-bill before passage, it will have to be sent back to the House for approval, before Presidential signature.
WRDA 2022. Reminder, the Senate is currently collecting “legislative text, agency technical assistance or requested report language” for WRDA 2022 (Water Resources Development Act 2022) from Senators until December 17, 2021. If you have not reached out to your Senators regarding your priorities, the window is fast approaching. Additionally, the Environment and Public Works Committee has set up a portal for stakeholders to submit requests here. NWC is currently working on their request list.
Upcoming Capitol Hill hearings of interest:
- HEARING. Forever Chemicals: Research and Development for Addressing the PFAS Problem (Tuesday, December 7 at 10am ET) before the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. For more information, click here.
- HEARING. Ensuring Equitable Delivery of Disaster Benefits to Vulnerable Communities and People: An Examination of GAO’s Findings of the CDBG Program (Tuesday, December 7 at 10am ET) before the House Committee on Financial Services: Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations). For more information, click here.
- HEARING. Uncharted Waters: Challenges Posed by Ocean Shipping Supply Chains (Tuesday, December 7 at 10am ET) before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. To learn more, click here.
- HEARING. Promoting Economic and Community Redevelopment and Environmental Justice in the Revitalization and Reuse of Contaminated Properties (Wednesday, December 8 at 10am ET) before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee: Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. For more information, click here.
- HEARING. Disaster Recovery Assistance – Authorization of the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery Program (Thursday, December 9 at 10am ET) before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. For more information, click here.
- HEARING. Examine Federal efforts to address PFAS contamination (Thursday, December 9 at 10:15am ET) before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee). For more information, click here.
EPA/USACE. PROPOSED RULE TO RE-ESTABLISH PRE-2015 WOTUS RULE. On November 18, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) announced a pre-proposal of a 290-page proposed rule to re-establish the pre-2015 definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS), which are the 1986 WOTUS regulations (with amendments). Once the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, the agencies will accept public comments for 60 days. WOTUS is a term used in the Clean Water Act to differentiate between which waters are regulated under state vs federal law and there is only one WOTUS definition used across a host of CWA programs.
As part of this effort, the agencies also released an Economic Analysis for the Proposed “Revised Definition of “Waters of the U.S.” Rule which state that the benefits and costs to implement the pre-2015 rule to be “0.” The agencies plan to hold several virtual hearings on the proposed rule:
- Wednesday, January 12, 2022 from 10am—1pm ET (to register, click here)
- Thursday, January 13, 2022 from 2pm—5pm ET (to register, click here).
- Tuesday, January 18 from 5pm—8pm ET (to register, click here).
FWS. EXTENTION OF ESA COMMENTS. The Fish and Wildlife Serviced announced that they are extending the comment period for “Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Regulations for Listing Endangered and Threatened Species and Designating Critical Habitat until December 13, 2021. For more information, please click here.
NWC Legislative Policy Committee and caucuses have been hard at work. All of NWC’s caucuses have been tasked with developing and vetting proposed provisions for WRDA2022. LPC did their initial vet last Thursday during their December call. Additionally, NWC is working with a small work group to develop comments for FEMA’s request for information on changes to the National Flood Insurance Program—these comments are due on January 27, 2022. If you would like to serve on this work group, please let Julie Ufner know.
CAUCUS MEETING. NWC Water Supply Caucus meeting (Friday, December 17 at 2pm ET). The Water Supply/Reuse Caucus is tasked with studying issues that pertain to water supply storage and reuse issues. Primary federal agencies of interest include but are not limited to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Bureau of Reclamation. Caucus membership is open to all NWC members. If interested in serving, please reach out to Julie Ufner, NWC President.
NWC POLICY MEETING. NWC Legislative Policy Committee meeting (Thursday, January 6 at 4pm ET). NWC’s Legislative Policy Committee (LPC) serves as the primary advisor on NWC federal policy positions and decisions. Comprised of a broad scope of NWC membership, LPC is a consensus-based committee that is tasked with studying issues, recommending new federal policy positions, and drafting and signing off on NWC letters. LPC meets face-to-face twice a year at NWC’s Legislative Summit and Annual Meeting and holds monthly video calls on the first Thursday of the month. LPC is open to all interested NWC members. If interested in serving on LPC, please reach out to Julie Ufner, NWC President.
CAUCUS MEETING. NWC Navigation Caucus Meeting: (The next regularly scheduled quarterly meeting is Tuesday, January 11 at 2pm ET). The Navigation Caucus focuses on opportunities and challenges to keep inland and deep draft navigation channels open and usable, as well as issues that may impact those entities that depend on these waterways. Primary federal agencies of interest include but are not limited to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard, and the Maritime Administration. Caucus membership is open to all NWC members. If interested in serving, please reach out to Julie Ufner, NWC President.
As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. Thank you again for your support of NWC!
Best,
Julie Ufner, NWC