FEINGOLD, MCCAIN REINTRODUCE BILL TO MODERNIZE THE ARMY CORPS OF
ENGINEERS
After Successfully Pushing Reform Provisions Through Senate Last
Year, Senators Once Again Introduce Corps Reform Legislation Addressing
Vulnerabilities Exposed by Hurricane Katrina
February 13, 2007
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and John
McCain (R-AZ) have reintroduced legislation to modernize the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers. The Water Resources Planning and Modernization Act
of 2007 builds upon legislation the Senators have previously introduced
to strengthen the Corps and would respond to some of the problems exposed
after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Last year, Feingold and McCain were
successful in including many of their proposed reforms in the Senate
version of the Water Resources Development Act. Subsequent negotiations
between the House and Senate stalled and no conference report was agreed
to.
“It’s been over a year and a half since Hurricane Katrina
tragically exposed how broken our current water planning process is,”
Feingold said. “It is irresponsible for Congress to allow the
status quo to continue. By modernizing how the Army Corps of Engineers
plans, designs and carries out its projects, we can better ensure the
safety of Americans, proper stewardship of taxpayer dollars, and the
protection of our natural resources.”
“In the 110th Congress, we have another opportunity to take the
lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina and enact much needed reforms
to the way the Army Corps does business. We must shepherd in a new era
within the Army Corps that prioritizes critical projects and allows
the American taxpayers to know that their money is being spent in an
effective and efficient manner,” McCain said.
The provisions Feingold and McCain were successful in attaching to
last year’s WRDA bill included independent review of Corps projects,
improved environmental mitigation standards similar to those already
followed by private parties, and updating the way the Corps plans and
analyzes projects. The legislation they are introducing today would
ensure that Corps projects protect communities, taxpayers, and the environment
by making needed adjustments to key aspects of water resources planning.
The legislation would help direct scarce federal resources to the projects
that need them the most and would ensure that those projects are properly
designed.
The two Senators introduced Corps reform legislation together in the
107th, 108th, and 109th Congresses. Organizations that have already
announced their support for the bill include Taxpayers for Common Sense
Action, National Taxpayers Union, Council for Citizens Against Government
Waste, American Rivers, Association of State Wetland Managers, Defenders
of Wildlife, Earthjustice, Environmental Defense, Friends of the Earth,
National Wildlife Federation, Republicans for Environmental Protection,
Sierra Club, Surfrider Foundation, and the World Wildlife Fund.
Read
Senator Feingold's statement introducing the legislation.
# # #
Fact Sheet from U.S. Senators Russ Feingold
and John McCain
On the Water Resources Planning and Modernization Act of
2007
The Water Resources Planning and Modernization Act of 2007 continues
the efforts of Senators Feingold and McCain to update and strengthen
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and prioritize limited federal resources.
The bill seeks to add transparency to federal decisions, update the
basic planning guidelines used by the Corps, take better care of our
environment and - in the wake of the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina -
ensure outside review of Corps project planning and design and an assessment
of risks posed by future natural disasters.
The Water Resources Planning and Modernization Act...
Guarantees Sound Projects and Responsible Spending – To ensure
that Corps water resources projects are sound, the bill requires independent
review of those projects estimated to cost over $40 million, projects
requested by a governor of an affected state, projects that the head
of a federal agency has determined may have a significant adverse impact,
or projects that the Secretary of the Army has found to be controversial.
The Director of Independent Review can also require independent review
of the technical designs and construction of flood damage reduction
projects to ensure public safety and welfare.
Identifies Vulnerabilities to Natural Disasters – To assess our
vulnerabilities, the Water Resources Council is also charged with identifying
and reporting to Congress on the nation’s vulnerability to flood
and related storm damage, including the risk to human life, and recommendations
on improving the nation’s various flood damage reduction programs.
Values Our Natural Resources – To better protect natural systems,
the bill brings the Corps’ 1986 mitigation standards into line
with their regulatory program by requiring Corps water resources projects
to meet the same mitigation standard that is required of all private
citizens and other entities under the Clean Water Act. Where states
have adopted stronger mitigation standards, the Corps must meet those
standards.
Prioritizes Our Resources – To better inform federal decisions
and provide increased transparency, the bill restores the Water Resources
Council (established in 1965) and charges it with providing Congress
a prioritized list of all authorized water resource projects within
one year of enactment and every two years thereafter. This process would
give Congress the tools to more wisely invest limited taxpayer resources.
Updates the Army Corps' Planning Guidelines – To improve
the process by which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers analyzes water
projects, the bill requires that the Water Resources Council work
in coordination with the National Academy of Sciences to propose periodic
revisions to the Corps’ planning principles and guidelines,
regulations and circulars. The principles and guidelines, which bind
the Army Corps of Engineers, have not been updated since 1983.
|
