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Momentum for Water Resources Bill Builds; 30 Republican Senators Urge Floor Time
June 30th, 2016 | By: Whitford Remer
While gun control and a Puerto Rico debt restructuring package were the central focus of the Senate in the last 10 legislative days, momentum for bringing a major, bipartisan water resources bill to the Senate floor before summer recess is growing in the halls of Congress. Efforts to bring S.2848 the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which first passed out of the Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) on April 28, made significant headway as 93 WRDA stakeholders urged action on the bill last week. This week that letter was followed by 30 Republican Senators sending a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to take up the bill. The letter writes that WRDA “contains substantive reforms and authorizations that prepare our nation to compete in the global marketplace, strengthen protections for coastal and inland communities from disastrous floodwaters, modernize Corps policy to ensure efficient and effective project delivery, and create mechanisms to provide affordable clean water and safe drinking water infrastructure.” The letter from Senate Republicans went on to declare that passing WRDA 2016 would be a “victory for all Americans,” and asked that the bill be brought to the floor for passage before the summer recess. It also stated that the legislation would prove Congress can effectively provide bipartisan results to citizens, and will save taxpayers $6 million over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Finally, on Wednesday morning Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) – the legislation’s main sponsor – took to the Senate floor to discuss the importance of the bill. In his speech, Sen. Inhofe discussed major port deepening projects necessary for post Panamax ships, showed pictures of busted water mains and endangered ecosystems – all issues that would be aided through this bill. Calling WRDA a “must-pass bill,” Senator Inhofe emphasized the importance of returning to the original cycle of passing WRDA legislation once every two years. The Chairman of the Senate EPW Committee, Inhofe also praised several key provisions of the bill that would help communities meet their water resources needs while allowing them to prioritize the projects addressing the greatest public health risks. Regarding the state of America’s water infrastructure, he asserted that, “This is not a partisan problem, this is a national crisis.” With a 91-7 vote on the 2014 WRDA bill, many expect this bill could garner and even stronger vote count. But the question isn’t about support for the legislation- it’s about timing. The Senate recesses on July 15th and many believe the best shot for bringing the bill to the floor is the week of July 11th as votes on immigration have been scheduled following the July 4th weekend. If the Senate does in fact take up WRDA before the summer recess, focus will shift to the House, where a much smaller and more Army Corps focused bill passed unanimously out of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on May 25.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.House Transportation Committee Passes Water Resources Bill
May 26th, 2016 | By: Whitford Remer
The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee advanced a $5.5 billion Water Resource Development Act (WRDA) this week. A path forward for H.R. 5303 will require support from the full chamber, a commitment by House leadership to give the bill floor time, and ultimately a compromise with the much more expansive Senate bill that advanced out of the Environment and Public Works Committee several weeks ago. It was expected the House would introduce a much smaller “pamphlet” sized bill that would be limited primarily to Army Corps projects studies and authorizations. The base text of the bill includes 28 Corps project authorizations, but also several policy reforms, including one to continue to improve funding of the nation’s harbors. Currently, ports will collect fees from shippers for harbor maintenance, but those funds first go to the Treasury where Congress has made a habit of using the money for unrelated activities. The WRDA bill would set target levels Congress would have to follow to ensure the funds are used for harbor maintenance. The bill would establish a new pilot program to beneficially use sediment dredged from navigation channels to restore shorelines, beaches, and wetlands. The Senate WRDA bill (S.2848) also included a provision on beneficial use of dredged material (section 2017). During the House WRDA markup 21 amendments were offered, most of which were ultimately withdrawn after Chairman Shuster (R-PA) agreed to work with members to resolve their issues separately. Several amendments did pass including one that would allow wetland mitigation banks for Gulf Coast restoration, a new comprehensive study at the Corps South Atlantic Division and a manager’s amendment that includes a study of nature based solutions for water resources projects. The Senate will likely make the next move and work to get their version of the WRDA bill floor time in late June. Timing on the House side is less clear. There remains significant differences in the two bills, including the major clean water/ drinking water titles in the Senate bill that weren’t included in the House bill. Even if each full chamber passes their respective versions, working details out in conference will likely prove to be challenging.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.Water Week Highlights Diverse Needs Across the Country
April 13th, 2016 | By: Whitford Remer
Over 100 water and wastewater utility managers, operators and engineers visited Washington, D.C. this week to advocate for more federal investment in water infrastructure. Lead by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) and several other sponsoring organizations, including the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) the week provided an opportunity for water industries to join together with a single voice and stress the importance of providing clean water services to the public and the role of the federal government. On Tuesday, water experts took to Capitol Hill to discuss federal water issues, including responding to the Flint, Michigan water crises, the need to increase federal water infrastructure appropriations and educate lawmakers on newly authorized but stalled financing programs such as the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA). Water infrastructure has become a hot topic on Capitol Hill over the last several months as the story of Flint, Michigan shot into the national spotlight after that city was found to have exceptionally high levels of lead in its drinking water. Lead exposure is extremely dangerous to children. The crises ignited a national conversation about water infrastructure systems and the role of local and federal government in ensuring the systems are safe and well maintained. Other water issues from around the country discussed this week included alleviating drought in the west, managing combined sewer overflows and storm water management in mid-sized, sprawling cities. To alleviate drought, many experts have argued for investments in desalination, water reuse and adding storage capacity in western reservoirs. To combat combined sewer overflows, which the EPA recently estimated will cost nearly $50 billion to fix, some cities are investing in green infrastructure projects. Green infrastructure can help reduce both CSO and stormwater issues by mitigating the amount of stormwater entering a combined system, by letting the water naturally infiltrate where it falls with the use of bioswales and natural retention areas. Water week is timely this year not only because the need to shine a light on the crisis in Flint, but also because Congress is considering a range of options to address water infrastructure issues in the upcoming Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), slated to be marked up by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) at the end of the month.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.
2015 Federal Issues in Review
January 5th, 2016 | By: Whitford Remer
As civil engineers, ASCE works with federal lawmakers to pass legislation that will improve the nation’s “D+” infrastructure. In 2015, the federal government passed several notable pieces of legislation that will increase investment into our nation’s infrastructure and also prepare the next generation of civil engineers through STEM education. Here’s a review of the accomplishments.
U.S. Senator Thomas Carper (DE) speaking on the Senate floor on the need to #FixTheTrustFund.
- Maintaining standards and tests in math and science
- Expanding high-quality STEM courses
- Encouraging development of statewide assessments that integrate engineering and technology concepts
- Providing direct grants for students’ STEM educational enrichment activities
- Maintaining funding for teacher training
Historic Agreement Reached in Paris to Reduce Global Climate Emissions
December 17th, 2015 | By: Whitford Remer
This week more than 190 countries adopted the most ambitious climate change agreement in history. The Paris Agreement sets up a long-term framework to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and should keep global temperature rise below the 2 degrees Celsius tipping point. Implications for infrastructure and the civil engineering profession are profound: the plan will drive private investment in renewable energy generation and distribution, facilities generating the dirtiest sources of fossil fuel will be decommissioned, and billions have been pledged on adapting infrastructure and communities to extreme weather events and sea-level rise. For two weeks, top diplomatic negotiators from around world worked frantically to reach the Paris Agreement. There were times that major differences between U.N. super weights the United States and China almost plummeted the deal. The sticking point: how much developed countries would help (i.e. pay) for developing countries to comply with new emissions requirements and assist with climate change impacts already being felt. During the talks, Secretary John Kerry announced the U.S. would double its commitment to climate adaptation grants for developing countries. The U.S. entered the talks with advantages and disadvantages. Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the Clean Power Plan (CPP), which will require states across the U.S. to develop carbon reduction plans. In that regard, the U.S. already had a jumpstart on reductions back home. But with the CPP engrossed in court battles, combined with the Republican controlled Congress U.S. negotiators had to strike important balances in the final Agreement. Chief among those: ensuring the agreement was not called a “treaty,” which would require ratification by the Republican controlled Senate. In the end, the U.S. got almost everything they wanted from the deal. While the legal path for the CPP remains unclear, one thing that’s certain is that the energy industry in the U.S. is undergoing a radical shift. This presents an exciting future of building new renewable energy infrastructure and rethinking the way we protect coastal and inland communities from extreme weather and sea level rise.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.
