The United States Senate is beginning consideration of legislation governing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) civil works program, commonly known as the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). Congress traditionally passes this measure every two years. The bill will authorize Army Corps-related water resources projects such as dams, levees, shore protection, dredging, and ecosystem replenishment.

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works has asked each senator to provide the committee with a list of Corps-related water resources priorities for consideration in the bill. In accordance with that request, the WRDA is seeking information about any projects in your community you believe the Corps should make part of its program and be authorized under WRDA.

The application portal is live now. You are encouraged to submit your projects as early as possible for consideration before the November 12 5:00 PM due date. Please submit a new application for each request. If you have any questions please email [email protected] and [email protected]

The Senators’ offices will be hosting a webinar Thursday October 28^th, at 5 PM EST to discuss the bill and any questions you may have. [ Zoom Meeting Link ]

By way of background, the Corps has a wide-ranging mission that involves commercial navigation, flood risk management, and ecosystem protection and restoration on many rivers and bodies of water nationwide. The first step in making a project part of the Corps’ program is congressional authorization of a feasibility study that the Corps must complete within three years of authorization. Upon completion of the study, Congress must authorize and approve funding for the actual project. The vast majority of Corps projects require a non-federal cost-sharing partner for both the study and construction phases who has a shared interest in solving a water resources problem.

The passage of an authorization in WRDA does not guarantee funding for that project. Rather, an authorization is a necessary – but far from final – step in the process of getting federal funding. Put another way, an authorization allows for the possibility of funding, but the funding for the project is contingent on the availability of additional appropriations. This is not sadi to discourage you from submitting projects you believe are appropriate, but rather to set realistic expectations regarding the length and complexity of the process necessary to ultimately receive funding.

For purposes of this request, the WRDA is looking for projects that municipal and state leaders believe are: (1) appropriate for a feasibility study, (2) a priority for the community, and (3) ones which the community ultimately would be willing to allocate a 50 percent local match of the total cost of the feasibility study. Once the study is completed and if Congress appropriates funding for the project in question, the federal government will pay between 20 and 100 percent of the total construction costs, depending on the project.

The WRDA is also accepting construction, operations and maintenance, and other project requests in addition to requests for feasibility studies. If your town or organization has a project you would like to see move forward for which a feasibility study was already authorized in previous legislation, but which has not yet been funded, please share that information. Finally, if there are any projects in other stages of development or other Corps-related matters that affect your community that Congress should address, please let us know. 

Any project that you submit must be within the scope of responsibility of the Corps. You should contact the Corps to ensure that such project complies with this requirement.