Congress has provided an infusion of $10.7 billion of federal funds for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers water projects, thanks to a newly enacted, multifaceted federal infrastructure package.

Along with the funding authorizations, the measure implements industry-supported changes in cost sharing for certain waterway and dredging projects.

President Joe Biden signed the new Water Resources Development Act, or WRDA, on Jan. 4. The measure had strong bipartisan support in Congress. The House passed the bill 399-18 on Dec. 10 and the Senate followed on Dec. 18 with an overwhelming 97-1 tally.

Traditionally, the centerpieces of WRDA bills have been their lists of federal funding authorizations for individual Corps water projects.

The new compromise measure includes 21 such projects. They would receive a total of about $10.7 billion in federal funds, a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee spokesman told ENR. Many of the projects also will use nonfederal funding.

Advancing Megaprojects

The project with largest federal allocation is a coastal storm and flood-risk management plan in Louisiana’s St. Tammany parish, which is receiving $3.7 billion.

Other $1-billion-plus authorizations are: $1.78 billion for a coastal storm risk management project on the South Shore of New York City’s Staten Island, and $1.76 billion for a coastal storm risk management project in Florida’s Miami-Dade County.

Additionally, the legislation includes $1.06 billion for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan in Florida. That project is in the Corps’ ecosystem restoration project category. 

One caveat is that the WRDA funds are authorizations and will have to compete with other projects for annual appropriations.

Victories for Cost-sharing Adjustments 

Besides the project authorizations, perhaps the most significant Corps-related provisions in the new WRDA are changes in the cost shares for inland waterway and port dredging projects.  

Waterways Council Inc. says it scored a significant win in a provision that permanently increases the general fund’s share for financing inland waterways construction and major rehabilitation projects to 75% and reduces the Inland Waterways Trust Fund’s share to 25%. That is a change from a current 65/35 split.

Tracy Zea, Waterways Council Inc. CEO,  said the new cost sharing arrangement would provide an additional $130 million a year towards inland waterway construction projects. Over 10 years, he says, “That’s basically funding one more construction project to completion a year.”

The American Association of Port Authorities praised a provision that changes the depth threshold at which the Corps would fund dredging projects. 

In the new WRDA, the Corps will fund 75% of the costs of construction dredging to depths between 20 ft and 55 ft. That compares with a previous maximum depth of 50 ft for such projects.

In addition, the Corps will fund 100% of operations and maintenance dredging costs for depths up to 55 ft, up from 50 ft. 

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) said the legislation also includes provisions to “streamline Corps processes, reduce cumbersome red tape and get projects done faster.”

Among non-Corps provisions is language dealing with the federal highway program. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Executive Director Jim Tymon said in a letter to the WRDA negotiators that AASHTO was pleased to see a provision that transfers $1.8 billion of “existing and stagnant” contract authority from the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) federal credit assistance program to the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program, which is in demand among states. 

Tymon said the WRDA also redistributes 75% of any future unused amounts out of the $250 million provided to TIFIA in fiscal year 2025 and in 2026. 

Moreover, the new WRDA package reauthorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Dam Safety Program through 2028 and takes steps to strengthen the High Hazard Potential Dam program, according to the House committee. In addition, the bill reauthorizes the Commerce Dept.'s Economic Development Administration for the first time in 20 years.

Another part of the legislation focuses on General Services Administration management of federal buildings. Graves said the bill would improve the use of federal office space and “reduce the amount of taxpayer dollars wasted on empty federal buildings and get federal workers back in the office.”

The measure's full name is the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act and is named for the long-time Senate Democrat who stepped down from the chamber after the session just completed.

Carper served on the Environment and Public Works Committee since 2001 and as chairman, was the lead Democratic author of the latest WRDA. 

More significantly, he played a lead role in crafting the landmark 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, particularly the highway and water sections.