House WRRDA Bill to Cost $3.5 Billion Through 2018
The Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) of 2013, scheduled for a vote this week in the House, would cost roughly $3.5 billion from 2014-2018, the Congressional Budget Office said on Oct. 21. H.R. 3080 is the House version of WRRDA legislation that passed the Senate in May (see 13101809). The government would also spend $4.7 billion from 2019-2023 for authorized projects tied to the prospective law. There are no pay-as-you-go considerations because the bill does not generate revenue or direct spending, said CBO.
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The infrastructure component of the legislation would require the vast majority of funds, according to CBO assessment. The bill would authorize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to construct 23 new projects designed to improve the nation’s navigation system, strengthen flood-risk management and restore the environment, costing $3.1 billion from 2014-2018. The following six projects are the largest, requiring $2.1 billion over the same period:
- Mid-Chesapeake Bay Island Ecosystem Restoration Project to restore wetlands in Maryland
- Louisiana Coastal Area Ecosystem Restoration, including six separable elements to restore shoreline and swamp ecosystems and reduce marsh degradation
- American River Watershed Common Features project to reduce risk from floods in the Natomas Basin near Sacramento, California
- Mississippi Coastal Improvement Program to reduce risks from hurricanes, storms, and floods
- Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan area in Minnesota and North Dakota to reduce risks from floods
- Sabine Neches Waterway in southwest Texas and southeast Louisiana to improve navigation
The House bill will prioritize navigation projects funded with Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) appropriations, said CBO, noting that the bill will not increase the amounts authorized to be appropriated from the HMTF. The Senate WRRDA bill, S. 601, is estimated to cost $5.7 billion from 2014-2018, said the CBO. The significant differences are as follows, according to CBO:
- H.R. 3080 would authorize four new projects that would not be authorized by S. 601.
- Both H.R. 3080 and S. 601 would authorize the appropriation of more than $1 billion for the Olmsted navigation project in Illinois and Kentucky. The cost estimate for S. 601 that CBO prepared in April 2013 included the cost of this authorization. However, on October 17, 2013, an increase in the authorized cost for the Olmsted project was enacted by Public Law 113-46. As a result, CBO did not include any additional authorization cost for the Olmsted project in the cost estimate for H.R. 3080.
- S. 601 would authorize the Corps to establish grant programs to assist local and state governments with levee safety; CBO estimates that program would cost $230 million over the 2014-2018 period. H.R. 3080 would authorize the Corps to provide technical and planning assistance but does not include grants to provide financial assistance to state and local governments. CBO estimates that this provision would cost $50 million over the 2014-2018 period
- S. 601 includes a loan guarantee program for state and local governments and· certain nongovernmental entities to complete water infrastructure projects that is not included in H.R. 3080. CBO estimates that loan guarantee program would cost $40 million over the 2014-2018 period
Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee Senator Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., expressed interest in developing quick consensus in an Oct. 16 statement (here). “We want to get to conference on this critical job creating legislation as soon as possible so that we can reconcile the House and Senate versions and get it to the President's desk," said Boxer.