By Matt Fogleson
In a bitterly divided Congress amid a contentious race for the presidency, one piece of legislation that is beneficial to society and the engineering community stands out for its bipartisanship.
Congress reconvenes next week, and the Water Resources Development Act of 2024 is expected to be taken up and likely passed in relatively short order. Its passage would provide a big boost for ports and inland waterways, bolster flood risk management and storm risk reduction programs, and emphasize ecosystem restoration, according to statements from ASCE President Marsia Geldert-Murphey, P.E., F.ASCE.
What is happening?
The House of Representatives’ version easily passed 359-13 on July 22. The Senate followed suit on Aug. 1, passing its version by unanimous consent.
For the next step, a joint committee is expected to work on ironing out the differences in the bills and sending a final version to President Joe Biden for his signature.
The legislation is “extremely well supported on a bipartisan level,” said Jennifer Sloan Ziegler, Ph.D., P.E., ENV SP, M.ASCE, an environmental senior project manager in the Jackson, Mississippi, office of Neel-Schaffer Inc.
What does it mean for civil engineers?
WRDA is taken up every two years and authorizes water resources infrastructure projects and studies with an emphasis on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ civil projects. Sloan Ziegler says it’s important to note that the legislation is authorizing but does not provide funding. While appropriations come in the form of different bills, WRDA sets the stage for needed projects.
“It allows you to do studies, design projects, construct projects, do research activities that can lead to the improvement of our water resources across the United States of America,” said Sloan Ziegler, who is president-elect of ASCE’s Environmental & Water Resources Institute.
Further reading:
- ASCE statement on House passage of the Water Resources Development Act of 2024
- Panel backs federal dam safety risk policies and methodologies
- Engineers work to reduce drowning deaths at low-head dams
One big gap between the House and Senate bills is the number of projects and studies enumerated.
The Senate legislation includes the authorization of $2.28 billion for eight federal water resources infrastructure projects and 62 project feasibility studies. The House version includes $6.7 billion for 12 infrastructure projects and 159 project feasibility studies.
Sloan Ziegler, though, says those gaps are not unusual based on past incarnations of WRDA.
“The Senate really sticks closely to Corps civil works projects,” she said. “The House is a little bit more flexible with the interpretation of USACE and USACE-related programs, so you’ll see a lot more projects in the House version than you do in the Senate version when it first comes out.”
If history is any guide, Sloan Ziegler says, the joint committee will come to a resolution. While the Senate normally is hesitant to include non-Corps projects in its initial WRDA legislation, historically the body is open to negotiation of those put forward by the House.
Similarly, the House bill includes reforms and the reauthorization of the National Dam Safety Program, a priority for ASCE. The program, which falls under the Federal Emergency Management Agency umbrella and expired almost a year ago, is not included in the Senate bill. Again, Sloan Ziegler explains, this can be attributed to the Senate focusing on Corps priorities.
“The House has a more broad interpretation of what should be included in WRDA, so they will include things like the National Dam Safety program,” she said. “We are extremely hopeful that the joint version will include the National Dam Safety Program.”
Dams received a D in ASCE’s 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure.
Geldert-Murphey, in her statement about the Senate bill, said: “We encourage lawmakers to include several provisions included in the House version in their final conference bill. This includes the reauthorization of the National Dam Safety Program through 2028.”
One aspect of the Senate bill that ASCE sees as beneficial is an adjustment to the cost share requirements for rehabilitation projects that receive funding from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund.
The Senate would change the current model – which mandates 65% from the general fund and 35% from the trust fund – to a 75%-25% split, leaving more money for the trust fund. While this change is not in the House bill, Sloan Ziegler is hopeful that it will land in the final legislation.
Inland waterways received a D+ on ASCE’s report card.
“We like that it increases the general fund amount and decreases the Inland Waterways Trust Fund amount because sometimes funding in the Inland Waterways Trust Fund is either not funded or receives low funding,” Sloan Ziegler said. “And then it really inhibits what we can do for those types of projects.”
The Senate legislation also:
- Calls for more timely updates to the Corps’ online permit finder, “which is really nice because sometimes it takes a long time for the Corps to update permits online,” Sloan Ziegler said.
- Creates the Levee Owners Advisory Board to provide guidance to the Corps on levee safety and flood control issues.
The House version, meanwhile:
- Incorporates low-head dams into the National Inventory of Dams. “We don’t know how many low-head dams there are in the U.S., but they can be extremely dangerous to navigation, and they can pose a critical threat to kayakers and other people that are using these waterways,” Sloan Ziegler said.
- Takes steps toward implementing the newly authorized Inland Waterways Regional Dredge Pilot Program.
- Authorizes a new national coastal mapping program.
- Extends the National Levee Safety Program through 2033.
Section-by-section summaries of the bills:
One item not on the table that ASCE would like to receive future consideration is a funding and financing program for stormwater infrastructure, as recommended in the 2021 report card. The existing Clean Water State Revolving Fund allows funding to be used on stormwater projects, but states tend to use the bulk of that money on wastewater projects.
Stormwater infrastructure received a D on the 2021 report card.
Sloan Ziegler understands that states must spend on wastewater projects but would like to see “some type of program that’s specifically for stormwater infrastructure, so our stormwater infrastructure program doesn’t have to compete against our clean water infrastructure program.”
What’s next?
Ultimately, it is important to get a bill passed soon. Congress will be on hiatus in October until after the election. WRDA has been on a two-year cycle since 2014. That consistency is important for engineers and planners of big projects that are affected by the legislation.
“We’re talking about big infrastructure projects, and they take time,” Sloan Ziegler said. “It’s difficult for the Corps to plan long-term projects if they don’t know when authorization or reauthorization is coming or when appropriations are coming, so keeping on a consistent cycle is extremely important.”
Also of note
A sampling of other happenings that will affect civil engineers:
- ASCE’s Oregon Section was the latest to grade its state’s infrastructure, issuing a C- on the 2024 Report Card for Oregon’s Infrastructure. The overall grade was unchanged from the 2021 Oregon report card and matched ASCE’s 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. The Report Card for Wisconsin’s Infrastructure will be released this month.
- The White House awarded $521 million in grants for electric vehicle charging and alternative fueling infrastructure projects. The grants will support the deployment of more than 9,200 EV charging ports across the nation. The funding comes from programs created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
- A House member from California introduced the Earthquake Resilience Act that would make changes to the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program. Changes include emphasizing lifeline services and setting standards for restoration to ensure communities and businesses recover as quickly as possible.
