Water Bill Passes House

House of Representatives Passes Water Bill, Next up for the Senate

The American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) was pleased to see the House of Representatives pass H.R. 8, the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) on Tuesday, June 6.

Biennial water resources legislation is important to the nation to keep federal water resources infrastructure projects moving forward. WRDA also updates policy and provisions that will ensure critical water infrastructure is modernized and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is providing the best service to its constituents — the U.S. taxpayers. Coastal communities around the country are better off with WRDA passing in Congress every two years.

ASBPA is particularly pleased to see the following sections in H.R. 8:

• Section 108, “Emergency Response To Natural Disasters,” which fixes a problem that stemmed from language in WRRDA 2014.  This allows for Flood Control and Coastal Emergency (FCCE) funding to be used to restore coastal risk management project, including beaches, “to either the pre-storm level or the design level of protection, whichever provides greater protection.” A small, but critical fix for communities who had been properly maintaining their federally authorized beach only to see FCCE funds used to rebuild their beach after a storm to a width less than it was before the storm.
• Section 118, “Study Of The Future Of The United States Army Corps Of Engineers.” The inclusion of a National Academies Study to look at, “(1) the ability of the Corps of Engineers to carry out its statutory missions and responsibilities, and the potential effects of transferring the functions (including regulatory obligations), personnel, assets, and civilian staff responsibilities of the Secretary relating to civil works from the Department of Defense to a new or existing agency or sub-agency of the Federal Government, including how such a transfer might affect the Federal Government’s ability to meet the current statutory missions and responsibilities of the Corps of Engineers; and (2) improving the Corps of Engineers’ project delivery processes, including recommendations for such improvements, taking into account factors including….” This is vital to assure that the nation continues to receive the best possible water resources services and the best available science and technology support. Critical to this investigation is an examination of the current benefit/cost analysis that the Corps uses and whether it accurately informs the full national benefits that stem from water resources infrastructure investments.

ASBPA is pleased to see the House of Representatives pass this WRDA and continue the trend of passing WRDAs every two years. We eagerly await the Senate voting on its companion bill, America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018, which also has several provisions that ASBPA supports.

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ABOUT ASBPA: Founded in 1926, the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that advocates for healthy coastlines by promoting the integration of science, policies and actions that maintain, protect and enhance the coasts of America. For more information on ASBPA, go to www.asbpa.org, www.facebook.com/AmericanBeaches or www.twitter.com/asbpa.