On Friday, January 31, NWC hosted a packed “WRDA 101” briefing for U.S. House of Representatives (House) staff, in partnership with the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Speaking to a record number of attendees, our expert panel gave their insights about the mission of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), how the Corps studies water resources projects and the process by which Congress authorizes Corps projects and provides policy direction.

David Wethington, Chief of the Future Directions Branch of the Corps, gave a comprehensive overview of the Corps processes and stressed that the first step of addressing every local problem starts with a discussion at the local Corps office. He further explained to participants that getting the project or study authorized is only the first step of the process; the project will need to receive funding through the federal appropriations process. Click here to download Dave’s presentation WRDA 101 Presentation (6340 KB)

Geoff Bowman, Vice President of Van Scoyoc Associates, stressed the invaluable experience he gained as the staff director for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee. Bowman clarified how both the agency and Congress determines which projects get funded. Furthermore, he stressed that traditionally the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) is a bipartisan bill. That means that both the majority and minority work hand in hand to write the bill. His advice to the staffers: engage the committee early on your priorities so the committee can include those issues in WRDA, or if more appropriate, assist in resolving with the Corps.

Jason Albritton, Director of U.S. Climate and Energy Policy at The Nature Conservancy, also brought a unique perspective to the table. Previously, Albritton served as the senior policy advisor for the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW). He explained how the Senate works a little differently by getting feedback from all of their members early on. While the committee worked to include all the provisions they could, not all requests could be honored. Sometimes, requests from individual senators were not within the Corps mission area, the requests were earmarks and did not comply with the process, the proposed policy already existed or the request was against existing policy. Albritton’s message to staffers: be flexible. There is a desire to get everyone behind the bill to develop a bipartisan consensus.

Both the Senate and the House are planning to move WRDA packages this summer. The Senate EPW staffers are currently going through the 500 plus member requests they have received and anticipate holding a hearing in late March/early April on their bill. The House plans to hold a Members Day later in the month for members to discuss their priorities.

NWC will continue to be active with both committees.