Sec. 101. Sense of Congress regarding Water Resources Development Acts
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Congress finds the following: The Corps of Engineers constructs projects for the purposes of navigation, flood control, beach erosion control and shoreline protection, hydroelectric power, recreation, water supply, environmental protection, restoration, and enhancement, and fish and wildlife mitigation. The Corps of Engineers is the primary Federal provider of outdoor recreation in the United States. The Corps of Engineers owns and operates more than 600 dams. The Corps of Engineers operates and maintains 12,000 miles of commercial inland navigation channels.
The Corps of Engineers manages the dredging of more than 200,000,000 cubic yards of construction and maintenance dredge material annually. The Corps of Engineers maintains 926 coastal, Great Lakes, and inland harbors. The Corps of Engineers restores, creates, enhances, or preserves tens of thousands of acres of wetlands annually under the Corps’ Regulatory Program. The Corps of Engineers provides a total water supply storage capacity of 329,200,000 acre-feet in major Corps lakes.
The Corps of Engineers owns and operates 24 percent of United States hydropower capacity or 3 percent of the total electric capacity of the United States. The Corps of Engineers supports Army and Air Force installations. The Corps of Engineers provides technical and construction support to more than 100 countries. The Corps of Engineers manages an Army military construction program that carried out approximately $44,600,000,000 in construction projects (the largest construction effort since World War II) between 2006 and 2013.
The Corps of Engineers researches and develops technologies to protect the environment and enhance quality of life in the United States. The legislation for authorizing Corps of Engineers projects is the Water Resources Development Act and, between 1986 and 2000, Congress typically enacted an authorization bill every 2 years. Since 2000, only 3 Water Resources Development Acts have been enacted. In 2014, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 was enacted, which accelerated the infrastructure project delivery process, fostered fiscal responsibility, and strengthened water transportation networks to promote the competitiveness, prosperity, and economic growth of the United States.
Section 1001 of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 ( 33 U.S.C. 2282c ) requires typical Corps of Engineers project feasibility studies to be completed in 3 years. Section 7001 of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 ( 33 U.S.C. 2282d ) requires the Corps of Engineers to submit annually a Report to Congress on Future Water Resources Development, which ensures projects and activities proposed at the local, regional, and State levels are considered for authorization.
Passing Water Resources Development Acts on a routine basis enables Congress to exercise oversight, ensures the Corps of Engineers maintains an appropriately sized portfolio, prevents project backlog, and keeps United States infrastructure competitive. It is the sense of Congress that— the missions and authorities of the Corps of Engineers are a unique function that benefits all Americans; water resources development projects are critical to maintaining economic prosperity, national security, and environmental protection;
Congress has required timely delivery of project and study authorization proposals from non-Federal project sponsors and the Corps of Engineers; and Congress should consider a Water Resources Development Act at least once every Congress.
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