Broad Coalition Asks Senate to Pass Water Resources Bill
June 23rd, 2016 | By: Becky Moylan
On Wednesday an initial group of 87 organizations–now up to 93–asked in a letter that the U.S. Senate pass the Water Resources Development Act of 2016 (WRDA; S.2848) before leaving for summer recess. The coalition, led by the American Society of Civil Engineers, includes a wide range of interests—demonstrating the impact that WRDA has on many industries, and the benefits of this infrastructure to Americans. Among the signers are The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Counties, the Labors International Union of North America, Water Environment Federation, the National League of Cities, the National Association of Manufacturers, and dozens more. Water resource bills were once viewed as so important that Congressional leaders tried to pass one every two years. The legislation is the main mechanism for authorizing new projects at the Army Corps of Engineers—the nation’s largest manager of flood control, navigation and ecosystem restoration projects. WRDA also authorizes funding for improvement projects for ports, inland harbors, waterways, dams, and flood control systems. The last bill was passed was passed in the 2014, by a 91-7 vote in the Senate and a 412-4 vote in the House. However, before 2014, the process had lapsed for seven years. By passing a bill this summer, WRDA can get back on track for an every two years cycle. You can share your support of WRDA by sending a letter to your Senators.Raising The Grade: How the 2016 Water Resources Bill Can Help Improve America’s Dams & Levees
June 22nd, 2016 | By: Whitford Remer
In this three-part blog series, we’ll take a look at projects, policy changes and programs included in S. 2848, the Water Resources Development Act of 2016. First up, Dams and Levees Improving the Nation’s Aging Dams: the National Dam Rehabilitation Program The early days of dam building across the U.S. provided energy, flood control and reliable drinking water reservoirs. In the late 1970s and early 80s following several high profile dam failures, President Carter ordered a review of dam safety across the U.S. In 1986, following recommendations provided by the Carter-Federal Emergency Management Agency Task Force (FEMA), Congress established a National Dam Safety Program (NDSP) in the 1986 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). For the last 30 years, the NDSP has allowed civil engineers to survey and assess thousands of dams across the nation. We now know there are around 84,000 dams in the U.S. with an average age of 52 years old. The Report Card most recently gave dams a grade of “D.” 4,000 of those dams are deficient. That information is extremely helpful in informing communities of potential risk living within a dam’s potential inundation zone. It’s also helped emergency planners develop action plans in case of failure. However, a shortfall has existed in providing well-rounded dam safety: no federal program to rehabilitate, repair or remove deficient dams. The Water Resources Development Act of 2016 changes that. Sec. 3004 of WRDA 2016 for the first time will add an important rehabilitation program the NDSP. Under the program high hazard potential dams, would be eligible for grants provided by FEMA. Nonfederal sponsors must contribute at least 35% of the cost of the project and grants are capped at $7.5 million. Finally, for grants over $1 million qualification based selection (QBS) is required. If this program does in fact become signed into law, it will provide a significant step toward improving our nation’s dams. Strengthening Existing Levee Programs; Building Levees for the Future Over 100,000 miles of levees stretch across 50 states and the District of Columbia. Behind these thousands of miles of levees sit trillions of dollars in property assets and hundreds of thousands of lives. Ensuring the safety of our nation’s levees should be a top priority governments and agencies responsible for these critical assets. The Report Card gives levees a “D-” grade. The Water Resources Development Act of 2014 made great strides to strengthen levee safety by establishing the National Levee Safety Initiative. The program will allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to promote consistent safety standards, create levee safety guidelines and provide funding assistance to states for establishing participating levee safety programs. However the program, which was authorized at $395 million over five years hasn’t yet been funded. The new WRDA of 2016 take a more targeted approach by strengthening levees in state like California, Missouri and Kansas. It also required further review of potential weakness to levees found in coastal area’s threatened by sea level rise. The dam and levee programs authorized in WRDA 2014 and proposed in WRDA 2016 are important first steps to strengthening our nation’s flood control infrastructure, they must be followed with significant funding commitments by the President and Congressional appropriators.New Jersey Infrastructure Receives D+ Report Card
June 16th, 2016 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
Today, the 2016 Report Card for New Jersey’s Infrastructure gave an overall D+ grade for the State’s infrastructure. The report evaluated 13 separate components of New Jersey’s infrastructure, all of which were given a grade based on the components’ condition, capacity, funding, future need, operation and maintenance, public safety, resilience, and innovation. The transit and levee components received the lowest grade of D-, while solid waste received the highest grade of B-. The other individual grades were: bridges (D+), dams (D), drinking water (C), energy (C+), hazardous waste (C), parks (D+), ports (C), rail (C), roads (D+), and wastewater (D).
Throughout the report, the New Jersey Section of the ASCE calls attention to numerous challenges confronting the state’s vast and diverse infrastructure, many of which are magnified by the dangerous insolvency facing New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund (TTF). Key issues concerning infrastructure in the Garden State include:
- Of the state’s 6,657 bridges, the report found that 1 in 11 are classified as structurally deficient and the average age of New Jersey bridges is 51 years. More than 40% of the state’s bridges are expected to require repair or replacement in the near future.
- No single agency exists to oversee New Jersey’s 126 miles of levees, despite numerous reports citing significant condition issues with levees across the state.
- 42% of New Jersey’s roadway system is deficient, with many highways now past their anticipated lifespan. Deficient roads are costing the average driver $1,951 each year.
- 213 high and significant hazard dams in New Jersey are in poor or unsatisfactory condition, and hundreds of millions of dollars will be necessary to repair them.
- If the approaching insolvency of New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund is not addressed, there will be no permanent revenue source for the billions of dollars of critical investment that is needed in the state’s bridges, transit systems, railways, and roads.
- Establish a long-term funding source for the Transportation Trust Fund. This will generate the funds needed for highway, rail and transit projects.
- As evidenced by the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, the state needs to continue to invest in resilient infrastructure that can better withstand severe weather events and limit the need for frequent, costly maintenance in the future.
- In order to address infrastructure assets facing delayed maintenance or replacement, the state must implement new technology and updated strategies to prioritize infrastructure investment.
New Jersey Report Card Coming Next Week
June 8th, 2016 | By: Becky Moylan
With only a few weeks left before New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund goes insolvent, the Report Card for New Jersey’s Infrastructure will be released on Thursday, June 16 to underscore the importance to #FixNJTrustFund with a sustainable, long-term funding solution.
The report will grade surface transportation categories of bridges, rail, roads, and transit, along with dams, drinking water, energy, hazardous waste, levees, parks & recreation, ports, solid waste, and wastewater.
The event will be released to the media via a conference call at 10 a.m. and at a rally at the state capitol hosted by Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto. For additional information contact reportcard@asce.org.
Stay tuned for additional details, the release of the grades, and (hopefully) the resolution to the Transportation Trust Fund crisis in the coming days and weeks.
National Dam Safety Awareness Day 2016: Safety of Dams and Safety at Dams
May 31st, 2016 | By: Infrastructure Report Card
By Lori C. Spragens, Executive Director, Association of State Dam Safety Officials
Today, May 31, is National Dam Safety Awareness Day. The day commemorates when the South Fork Dam failed on May 31, 1889, sending a deadly rush of water and debris into the city of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Commonly known as the Johnstown Flood, the disaster destroyed much of the city and took the lives of more than 2,200 people. Caused by human error and indifference, it is one of the worst human tragedies experienced in U.S. history. National Dam Safety Awareness Day is also an opportunity to better educate elected leaders and the public about the importance of dam safety, including having Emergency Action plans for high-hazard dams.
The upcoming anniversary of another landmark and tragic dam failure echoes the need to learn lessons from history. On June 5, 1976, Teton Dam in Idaho broke, inundating over 300 square miles and killing 11 people. The flood resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage, as well as extensive environmental damages.
Faulty decision making played a leading role in these catastrophes, both of which could have been prevented with better planning, more communication, and more humility. The good news is lessons learned from Johnstown and Teton have been applied to the establishment and improvement of dam safety programs at federal and state agencies throughout the U.S. Yet lack of dam owner vigilance and awareness continues. Over 65 percent of known dams in the U.S. are owned privately. Many dams determined to be deficient (there are over 4,000 in the U.S.) are not getting the upgrades needed to improve public safety. Many times this is due to a lack of funding and understanding of the risk.
Lack of awareness also contributes enormously to a danger posed by dams: including the hydraulic currents around them. This year, National Dam Safety Awareness Day will focus on encouraging swimmers and boaters to remain safe around dams.
Last year, at least 25 people drowned at dam sites across the U.S., and the trend is continuing this year, with at least 12 deaths reported in Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Several federal agencies and 49 states have statutes creating dam safety programs. Alabama is the only state without a dam safety program. These programs all share a common goal of safety of dams; striving to reduce the risk of catastrophic dam failures such as the Johnstown and Teton failures. No such nationwide initiative exists, however, to address the topic of recreational safety at dams; only a few states have directly confronted the issue.
Another challenge facing the nation’s aging dams is inadequate funding. The proposed Senate WRDA legislation has an opportunity to address that through a new dam rehabilitation funding assistance program. The program would authorize grants to go toward dam rehab. It will help dam owners who lack funding to rehabilitate, repair, or remove a high hazard potential dams, which are at risk of failure.
Water Resources Bill Passes Senate Committee
May 5th, 2016 | By: Whitford Remer
On April 28 the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) advanced a new Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) by a vote of 19-1. The $9 billion bill authorizes new projects and studies at the Army Corps of Engineers, adds a dam rehabilitation component to the National Dam Safety Program, establishes a new Water Infrastructure Trust Fund and provides $220 million in aid for Flint, Michigan. The last WRDA bill passed Congress in 2014. Water resource bills were once viewed as so important that Congressional leaders tried to pass one every two years. The legislation is the main mechanism for authorizing new projects at the Army Corps of Engineers—the nation’s largest manager of flood control, navigation and ecosystem restoration projects. But with partisanship, fiscal constraints and a self-imposed a ban on earmarks, getting these important projects approved and funded has become more and more difficult. WRDA bills also can provide policy changes to existing programs across the federal government on issues such as drinking water and wastewater, which have become increasingly important in the wake of the Flint, Michigan lead crises. The legislation approved last week will address western drought issues, increase federal drinking water and clean water infrastructure funding, strengthen the nation’s levees, and make changes to the nation’s dredge material policy, making it easier to use for ecosystem restoration projects. These issues were important to several members of the Committee from western states, coastal states and states with older water infrastructure systems. Important to the civil engineering profession was that both the dam rehabilitation program and drinking water revolving fund program will be subject to Qualifications Based Selection (QBS)/Brooks Act requirements—another priority of ASCE. The strong vote for the bill is a rarity in Congress and committee staff are optimistic the bill will advance to the Senate floor at the beginning of summer. The House is expected to introduce their version of the bill in late May.Infrastructure in the News: Dams, Potholes…
April 29th, 2016 | By: Olivia Wolfertz
A new dam rehabilitation bill introduced in the Senate and continued attention to our nation’s water and surface infrastructure needs marked this week’s infrastructure headlines. The High Hazard Potential Small Dam Safety Act, a Senate bill sponsored by bipartisan lawmakers, would provide the first non-emergency federal grants to help local governments repair or replace aging dams to ensure public safety. The measure would provide $600 million of matching grants to states, local governments, and water districts over the next 10 years, with the federal program picking up 65% of the costs. We believe this act is a great step, as there are 85,000 dams in the U.S. and the average age is 52 years old. Dams aren’t the only facet of infrastructure that needs critical attention. According to Politico Magazine’s fifth national Mayors Survey, nearly 1 in 3 American mayors think that they may have already hurt their own citizens by making cost-saving decisions on critical infrastructure. According to the survey, the top concerns were roads and bridges, followed by water quality and pipe stability. However, mayors are struggling to find the money from their governors and states to properly address their infrastructure maintenance issues. Mayors aren’t the only ones who are fed up with deteriorating infrastructure. A Mississippi resident expressed his frustration with our beleaguered roads by actually throwing a local pothole a birthday party. After several local news outlets reported on the pothole party, city officials finally filled it in, and will proceed to pave the surrounding area. This action, though comedic, is telling of the level to which our nation is collectively frustrated with poor infrastructure. In a little under one month, we will celebrate Infrastructure Week to remind us all of the critical role that infrastructure plays in our economy, quality of life, safety and communities. You can support Infrastructure Week by sharing this thunderclap and remind everyone how #InfrastructureMatters.Dam Rehab Bill Introduced in Senate
April 26th, 2016 | By: Becky Moylan
Late last week, Senators Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV) and Jack Reed (D-RI) introduced S. 2835, a bill that, if enacted, would provide funding assistance to rehabilitate, repair, or remove nonfederal high hazard deficient dams. This is a promising step in the effort to improve the nation’s aging dams, which received a “D” grade in the 2013 Report Card. Dams are a vital part of the nation’s aging infrastructure, providing enormous benefits to the majority of Americans including drinking water, flood protection, renewable hydroelectric power, navigation, irrigation and recreation. Yet there are more than 4,000 dams that are determined to be unsafe or deficient. Through a grant program, the bipartisan bill proposes $600 million over 10 years to go toward dam rehab. It will help local communities that lack funding to rehabilitate, repair, or remove a high hazard dam before it breaches. As Sen. Reed said in a press release issued by ASCE “By assisting in the repair or removal of high hazard dams before they fail, the bill makes an investment in future cost savings, not to mention lives and property saved.” This bill would allow communities to make the preemptive investment into aging infrastructure, and in the process make the communities below a dam safer. The legislation was referred to the Senate’s Environment & Public Works Committee. Since the bill’s introduction, the Senate’s Water Resources Development Act 0f 2016 section by section summary was released. The bill includes a very similar program, named in Section 3004 as the Rehabilitation of High Hazard Potential Dams. Send a letter to your Senators asking them to support S. 2835, which will address aging dams that protect our communities and provide benefits to our economy.Senate Takes Turn Preparing for New Water Resources Bill
February 11th, 2016 | By: Whitford Remer
Just a week after the House held a discussion on what a new Water Resources Develop Act (WRDA) should look like, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing Wednesday to kick off that chambers work on the legislation. Opting for a more formal setting than the House roundtable approach, the Senate held a full Committee hearing, giving stakeholders an opportunity to express requests for the bill on the record. Norma Jean Mattei, President-Elect of the American Society of Civil Engineers provided testimony on the state of the nation’s water infrastructure, using the 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. Representatives from the Port of Tusla, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Nucor Corporation, and North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters also testified. Dr. Mattei testified that the Report Card grades for water resources were so bad that failing to address problem could cost 800,000 American jobs by 2020. The grades (Inland Waters Ways D-, Dams D, Levees D-, and Ports C) were so bad that Senator Barbra Boxer (D-CA) asked to enter the entire report card into the Congressional record. Nearly every Senator on the Committee referenced the Report Card grades, with Senator Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) even noting her state’s own report card, Report Card for New York’s Infrastructure, released in 2015 didn’t fare much better. Airing out the poor grades teed up a more serious conversation on how to address the nation’s aging infrastructure. Nothing was left off the table: aging locks causing multimillion dollar delays at ports, the drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and high hazard deficient dams across the country were all brought up as possible issues to address in the new bill. Lawmakers have promised to get a bill through this Congress, retuning the legislation to its previous two year cycle. All the witnesses agreed that a two-year cycle provides certainty to project sponsors, keeps the price of the bill manageable and helps reduce the backlog of Army Corps projects. Keeping the bill bipartisan and getting enough momentum in an election year will be the challenge moving forward. The Committee will be on a tight deadline to mark-up and pass a bill with dwindling Congressional calendar work days.House Committee Convenes Roundtable Discussion on Next Federal Water Resources Bill
February 4th, 2016 | By: Whitford Remer
The House Subcommittee on Water Resources held a round table this week as Congress gears up to pass a new Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) in 2016. Back in November the committee held a similar discussion in New Orleans. During each roundtable – a less formal setting than a traditional hearing – committee members heard from industry stakeholders on policy matters to consider for the primary legislation that controls the nation’s ports, harbors, levees, dams and flood control structures. In the past, WRDA bills were completed every two years, but congressional gridlock and the ban on earmarks posed significant problems for the bill in the last decade.
ASCE President- Elect, Norma Jean Mattei discusses the next WRDA bill with Derek Brockbank, Executive Director of The American Shore and Beach Preservation Association.
