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.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.
D.C. Infrastructure Report Card Gives C- Overall, Lowest Grade to Levees
January 14th, 2016 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
The 2016 Report Card for D.C.’s Infrastructure is an independent review of the current state of infrastructure needs, capability and funding in D.C. by the National Capital Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers. The Report Card was written over the past year by ASCE members from the D.C. region who assigned the grades according to the following eight criteria: capacity, condition, funding, future need, operation and maintenance, public safety, resilience, and innovation. The report grades the infrastructure assets and is not a reflection of the agencies and professionals who work every day to solve infrastructure issues. It is a tool that shows the condition and importance of D.C.’s vital infrastructure assets that support our daily life or can interrupt our lives if we don’t maintain them. To put it another way, if you drive or ride in D.C., if you drink the water or flush a toilet in D.C., or if you just want infrastructure that works – this Report Card is for you. In the 2016 Report Card for D.C.’s Infrastructure, ASCE assessed 11 categories of infrastructure and found that 3 of them earned poor D grades, 6 earned mediocre C grades, and 2 earned B grades. Levees earned the lowest grade in the Report Card at a D-. Levees protect the capitol area from flooding as well as the Anacostia Bolling base, and both have earned “Unacceptable” ratings creating a need for emergency repairs and an additional $5 million would be needed to finish the work to protect the capitol area. Transit received a D grade due primarily to the condition of Metro system and the safety implications of a lack of consistent funding and focus on maintenance. While bright spots exist with new Metrobuses, Circulator bus success, and an innovative Capital Bikeshare, with 85% of D.C.’s commuters using Metro, it should be clear that this should be a priority not only in D.C. but also for each stakeholder in this system. While we know D.C. Roads are congested, the D+ grade for roads is in large part due to DDOT needing 4 times its current maintenance budget. For every dollar of need, there’s only a quarter to spend. School facilities earned a grade of C- with more than 49 schools reporting at least one “poor” condition structural element, impacting more than 14,000 students. However, almost half of D.C. schools have been modernized which show a tremendous leap in the right direction and a clear investment in D.C.’s future. Energy earned a C with $3 billion needed for electricity upgrades and $650 million need to replace 50-year old natural gas pipelines. Both water and wastewater were given grades of C+. With pipes’ median age being about 79 years old, we shouldn’t be surprised that there are 400 to 550 pipe breaks each year, but we’re starting to replace 1% per year and renew the clean drinking water infrastructure residents use. Wastewater work is happening right now to expand the capacity of our system that will not only prevent neighborhood flooding but improve the quality of the Anacostia River. Solid Waste earned a grade of C+. Our city’s growth is requiring an increase of trucks to take away our waste. While 10% more of it is recycled than a decade ago, we still need to make progress to reach the long-term goal of 45%. We have more Parks per person in D.C. than almost any place in the U.S. yet 50% of D.C.’s open spaces have challenges leading to a C+ grade. Rail received a B- grade due to the significant private investment of CSX in their rail infrastructure and the Virginia Avenue Rail Tunnel allowing 400,000 freight carloads to pass through D.C. While more capacity is need for rail and passengers, future plans being set today could serve D.C.’s needs and improve our congestion. Finally, D.C. Bridges received a B-, one of the highest grades, showing tremendous progress in reducing the structurally deficient bridges from 8% to 3% in just 3 years. The future will require consistent maintenance of older bridges reaching the end of their lifespan, but improvements like this show that diligent management, maintenance, and investment together create the changes we need to see. The Report Card shows us the condition and needs in a letter grade, but what is very clear when you read this report is that innovative solutions to our challenges, like DC Water’s Clean Rivers Project, are going to shape D.C.’s future if we let them. Yes, we have infrastructure challenges, but there are solutions to each of them and some are already on the way and some we need to support to make reality. We’re also going to need to get back to the basics – maintenance needs to be as essential to our budgets as water for hot coffee in the morning. With innovation and maintenance, we can prepare for the future and modernize the infrastructure that will serve us and future generations.Read the full 2016 Report Card for D.C.’s Infrastructure.
Congress Takes First Step to Develop New Water Resources Bill
November 23rd, 2015 | By: Whitford Remer
Several members of Congress from the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee gathered in New Orleans earlier this month to listen to stakeholders offer their wishes for a new water resources bill the Committee has pledged to introduce in 2016. Spearheaded by freshman Congressman Garrett Graves (R-LA), T&I Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) and Water Resources Subcommittee Chairman Bob Gibbs (R-OH) joined a roundtable discussion focused mainly on flood control and dredging projects sponsored by the Army Corps of Engineers. The Committee’s goal is get the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) back on a two-year authorization cycle, after letting the legislation lie fallow for seven years before finally passing a bill in 2014. Stakeholders representing the ports and inland waterways industries focused heavily on Section 7001 of WRDA. That section requires the Corps to submit an annual report to Congress identifying feasibility reports, proposed feasibility studies and proposed modifications to projects or studies. Section 7001 is the way projects get “named” in the absence of earmarks. Panelists noted that in the Corps 2015 report to Congress of the 114 proposals submitted by non-federal sponsors around the country, only 19 were deemed to have satisfied the criteria in Section 7001. Moreover, they continued, all 19 were proposed feasibility studies, meaning that no proposals for project authorizations or project modifications were sent to Congress. The outstanding question is whether the “federal standard” to recommend a project or study is too strict or if there are larger issues with how the standard is being interpreted. Either way, new project authorizations are hard to come by in Congress and the Administration’s budget, slowing necessary infrastructure development down across the country. Another hot topic of discussion was the beneficial use of dredge material. Several stakeholders from Louisiana urged greater flexibility in the use of dredge material. The material is valuable for wetland restoration projects in Southern Louisiana, but current policy often prohibits pumping the material for use in restoration projects and instead contractors are often required to dump it downriver or off the continental shelf. Changes in Corps policy and cost-benefit analyses could help alleviate the problem. Moving forward the Committee will likely hold a hearing in early 2016 on the next WRDA bill. That pace, while welcomed by many, does face practical obstacles considering the Corps has only implemented about 50% of guidance required under the 2014 law. It’s important that the Corps continue to issue guidance and that Congress provides the agency necessary resources in both the operational and construction budgets. No word yet on a Senate timeline.Congress’ Infrastructure To Do List for Fall
September 3rd, 2015 | By: Infrastructure Report Card
Summer comes to an end next week as Congress returns to the Capitol after a five-week recess. Deadlines will be the theme this fall, with the first being the Oct. 1 funding deadline to keep the government open. The second important deadline for ASCE is Oct. 29, when MAP-21, the surface transportation bill, expires. With a D+ cumulative GPA, the topic of America’s infrastructure should be at the top of their to-do lists. Congress has several opportunities to address some of the nation’s infrastructure needs in the coming weeks. Here’s what to watch: 1. Transportation Before the U.S. Senate adjourned for August recess, they passed the DRIVE Act, a six-year surface transportation bill. The DRIVE Act would end the current cycle of short-term program extensions and increase federal funding for surface transportation programs. The U.S. House of Representatives has until a new deadline of October 29 to act to pass their own multi-year bill before the current law expires. ASCE has been focused on communicating with House members on the need to act quickly and pass a long-term bill. You can help by contacting your House members and urging them to #FixTheTrustFund. 2. Appropriations for Federal Infrastructure Programs So far this year, the House has only passed six of 12 annual appropriations bills and the Senate has not yet passed a single one. There is an Oct. 1 deadline to complete this year’s appropriation. Among the major dilemmas holding up the appropriations process are disagreements over the overall funding amounts for the federal government, policy riders that bog down spending bills and fundamental differences on what level to fund federal environmental, healthcare and military programs. While it’s difficult enough for Congress to fund popular established bipartisan programs like the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving funds (which are facing 23% cuts), newer programs, like the Levee Safety Initiative, have not received any funding since the Water Resources Reform & Development Act (WRRDA) passed. If these programs do not receive appropriations, then the progress made by creating them becomes stagnant and no real progress is made in addressing the infrastructure the legislation aimed to improve. With only 12 days to debate the remaining appropriations bills and take full chamber votes, Congress will resort to passing a short-term extension of federal government programs at the same funding levels as last fiscal year. These patches – also known as continuing resolutions – have become the common fallback solution where such large disagreements – even among members in the same party – impede the “regular order” appropriations process from working. 3. STEM and Science To ensure we have enough engineers to be stewards of our nation’s infrastructure in the future, we need to educate today’s students in STEM. Congress will return with competing legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA); the last version was known as the No Child Left Behind Act, which would make changes to STEM education policies. The House version, known as the Student Success Act (H.R. 5), has been a purely partisan affair from the beginning, and passed the House with no Democratic Support. The Senate version, known as the Every Child Achieves Act of 2015 (S. 1177), is a bipartisan compromise measure which passed that chamber with wide support. The House bill makes significant cuts to educational programs and places no emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs. The Senate bill includes a focus on improving learning in the critical STEM subjects. ASCE, as a founding member of the STEM Education Coalition, strongly favors the Senate bill. It remains to be seen if House Republicans will be willing to compromise enough to move the legislation. Also facing the House/Senate divide is legislation to reauthorize the America COMPETES Act, which authorizes most of the nation’s non-medical, civilian research and development programs. The House passed H.R. 1806, the America COMPETES Act Reauthorization, earlier this year along the same partisan divide on their education bill. The House bill has been strongly condemned ASCE and other engineering, scientific, academic, and industry groups for making cuts to several areas including geosciences, as well as altering the National Science Foundation’s time-tested peer review method of awarding grants. The Senate Commerce Committee is meanwhile struggling to reach a bi-partisan compromise. Both pieces of legislation are long overdue and needed going forward, however if past performance is any indication then success is unlikely. This summer the Senate demonstrated that they can make infrastructure legislation a priority by passing the DRIVE Act. Now it’s time for that momentum to carry into the fall. Tell your members of Congress to make infrastructure a priority through the Save America’s Infrastructure phone app for iPhone and Android or online.ASCE Provides Expertise at Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Academies
August 4th, 2015 | By: Whitford Remer
Whit Remer, ASCE Government Relations staff, Sam Carter, Rockefeller Foundation, Bill Wallace, ASCE Member, Jessie Handforth Kome, HUD
WRRDA One Year Later
June 18th, 2015 | By: Whitford Remer
Just over a year ago President Obama signed the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA) into law. It was the first major water resources bill Congress passed in nearly seven years. Historically, major water resources bills were signed on a two year cycle, but partisanship and a ban on congressional earmarks made the legislation increasingly difficult to pass. Below are some of the major provisions of the law and how far along they have come in the last year. Levee and Dam Safety Programs WRRDA reauthorized the National Dam Safety Program and establishes a Levee Safety Initiative. The Dam Safety Program was last authorized in 2006 and the levee program expands an existing program beyond federally owned levees. WRRDA authorizes $13.9 million annually for the dam program which provides grants to states for activities such as inspections, training programs and public safety awareness campaigns. The levee program is authorized at $79 million annually and charges FEMA and the Army Corps to inventory the estimated 10,000 miles of levees across the country and develop consistent guidelines for designing, building, operating and maintaining the vital flood control structures. For both programs, we recommend full congressional appropriation. While new appropriations are negotiated, the Corps and FEMA should rely on WRRDA authorization and existing funds to set these up. Water Infrastructure Finance Innovative Authority WRRDA establishes a new lending program called the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers for major water resources projects. The program works cooperatively with the Department of Treasury and is modeled off the popular transportation lending program TIFIA. EPA has so far embraced the program and has held a series of informational webinars on its progress and is reportedly hiring staff to oversee the program. The 2015 omnibus appropriations bill gave EPA $2.2 million in administrative costs to get the program up and running and the recently released FY16 draft House EPA appropriations bill provides $4.2 million over two years. The Army Corps has yet to provide any public information on their efforts to start the program and recent Corps appropriations bills make no mention of the program. One thing we’re keeping an eye out on are efforts to remove the prohibition on using tax-exempt bonds to fund the 51% of project cost not eligible for funding through WIFIA. Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and Inland Waterway Trust Fund Arguably two programs to make the most headway following the passage of WRRDA are the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) and Inland Water Way Trust Fund (IWTF). WRRDA provided important fixes to these two programs desperately needed to meet demands placed on our on waterway transportation systems. First, WRRDA set new target appropriations for the HMFT, which both the House and Senate hit in their FY16 funding bills. Previously Congress only appropriated a fraction of the funds collected back into related O&M activities. On the inland side, the biggest progress made since WRRDA was actually a result of a late 2014 December bill that extended numerous tax benefits set to expire at the end of the year. Stuffed in that bill was a 9-cent increase to the barge diesel fuel user fee which funds the IWTF. The increase was widely supported by the inland waterway community. Clean Water State Revolving Fund WRRDA made several changes to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). The new CWSRF provisions provide loan flexibility, lower interest rates and extended repayment periods of 30 years. CWSRF funds may also now be used to implement watershed plans, water conservation, stormwater recapture, and for technical assistance to small and medium treatment works. Reports from the field show the expansion of eligible activities are being utilized. ASCE and other stakeholders also advocated for Qualifications Based Selection (QBS) requirements in the update, which were ultimately adopted in EPA’s implementation guidance to its regional offices. Army Corps of Engineers Project Prioritization Identifying water resources projects ripe for federal investment in the era of earmark bans has proved to be a headache for Congress and the Army Corps of Engineers. To comply with the self-imposed ban, WRRDA Sec. 7001 requires the Corps produce an annual project list for Congress which outlines potential new authorizations. Because the list originates with the Administration rather than with Congress, the process complies with the earmark ban. The Corps released its first report in February, which was front and center at a House Transportation and Infrastructure committee hearing last week. According to testimony by Rep. Gibbs, Congress envisioned a process where nonfederal sponsors would recommend projects to the Corps, which would be included in the list so long as the federal government had some jurisdiction over the project. The issue is only 19 of the 114 projects identified by nonfederal sponsors were included in the report—the rest were relegated to an appendix and according to some congressional lawyers are therefore not eligible for funding. It’s likely Congress will provide cleared instructions on 7001 in the next WRRDA; in the meantime all eyes are on the Army Corps and White House Office of Management and Budget, which also has oversight over the list. Conclusion As described above, a lot has been done in the last year since WRRDA was signed. While this may help tick up the ASCE Report Card for Americas Infrastructure Cumulative Grade of D+, much work lay ahead. There is still a $60 billion backlog of projects at the Army Corps and skepticism remains that WRRDA’s public private partnership can help reduce that backlog. President Obama’s proposal for new public infrastructure financing still needs support in Congress. We hope Congress will stick to its goal of passing a WRRDA every two years. In the meantime, they should appropriate funds for the programs that were authorized in the last WRRDA 2014.Infrastructure in Arkansas Earns D+
October 17th, 2014 | By: Infrastructure Report Card
This Thursday, the Arkansas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers released their inaugural Infrastructure Report Card for the state grading the states’ infrastructure.
Arkansas’ infrastructure received a cumulative GPA of “D+” in the 2014 Report Card for Arkansas’ Infrastructure. The seven infrastructure categories evaluated in the report include:
Roads (D+)
Drinking water (D+)
Transit (D+)
Levees (D)
Dams (D)
Bridges (C+)
Wastewater (C+)
The report noted that Arkansas has the 12th largest highway system in the nation, as well as the second highest traffic fatality rate in the country as of 2010. In addition, the state has 214 wastewater treatment facilities that will need upgrades and improvements in the next 20 years.
The Report Card, the first for Arkansas, was released during the annual ASCE Arkansas Section Conference and included a keynote address by Scott Bennett, director of the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. The report was featured in both the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and the Times-Record. The effort was led by Aaron Robinson, P.E., based in Jacksonville, Arkansas.
Read the full Arkansas Report Card
Tags: Arkansas, bridges, dams, infrastructure, levees, report, report card, roads, transit, wastewater, water
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Everything You Need to Know About the 2014 Water Resources Reform Development Act
June 17th, 2014 | By: Whitford Remer
President Obama last week signed a $12.3 billion water resources bill that will modernize critical water infrastructure while also promoting economic growth and job creation. The Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA) authorizes 34 new Army Corps projects, establishes a new loan financing program, strengthens levee and dam safety programs and codifies new reforms to the project review process. There are a number of significant victories for ASCE and the nation’s infrastructure. The legislation is the first major water resources bill in seven years and is being applauded by organizations across the spectrum. ASCE’s 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure graded the nation’s ports a C, inland waterways a D-, dams a D, and levees a D-. ASCE lobbied Congress to pass the bill and is particularly supportive of the Levee Safety Initiative and The National Dam Safety Program. The national Levee Safety Initiative will promote consistent safety standards, create levee safety guidelines and provide funding assistance to states for establishing participating levee safety programs. WRRDA authorizes $395 million to support levee safety initiatives and $70 million over five years for dam safety. Once funded, these programs will provide critical resources necessary to improve the safety of the nation’s dams and levees. The bill also solves long standing expenditure issues in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF). WRRDA authorizes that 100% of funds collected by the HMTF to be allocated to the intended purpose (dredging the nation’s ports and harbors) by 2025. Previously only a fraction of funds collected by the fund were used to support port and harbor programs. The bill also allocates 10% of HMTF expenditure for emerging harbors. WRRDA makes a number of changes to the popular Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and creates a new water financing pilot program similar to TIFIA for surface transportation projects. The new SRF provisions provide loan flexibility, lower interest rates and extended repayment periods of 30 years. SRF funds may also now be used to implement watershed plans, water conservation, stormwater recapture, and for technical assistance to small and medium treatment works. A significant win for the engineering community is the requirement for the use of the Brooks Act qualifications based selection for A/E services or an equivalent State qualifications-based requirement (as determined by the Governor of the State when using SRF fund). ASCE has worked to include this provision for over 10 years. The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) is intended to increase flexibility for non-federal interests and leverages private sector investments to increase the effect of federal funding. The new WIFIA program can be used for traditional clean water and drinking water project, and also will provide assistance to projects with the goal of reducing flood damage; restoring aquatic ecosystems; improving inland and intracoastal waterway navigation systems. Finally, the bill includes new reforms at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that codifies a new internal expedited project delivery process that limits feasibility studies to 3 years at a cost of no more than $3 million in federal funding. ASCE applauds Congress for their bipartisan work passing WRRDA. We look forward to working with appropriators to ensure these programs and projects are properly funded.Tags: clean water, dams, economy, levees, sustainability, water, waterways, wrrda
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