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Updated February 27, 2020
Army Corps of Engineers: Environmental Infrastructure
Assistance
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) undertakes
water resources development projects pursuant to
authorizing statutes and the receipt of appropriations.
Traditional USACE projects for navigation, flood control,
and ecosystem restoration are authorized in omnibus
authorization bills often titled Water Resource
Development Acts (WRDAs). Since 1992, Congress also
has authorized and provided for USACE assistance with
planning, design, and construction of municipal drinking
water and wastewater infrastructure projects in designated
communities, counties, and states. This assistance supports
publicly owned and operated facilities, such as distribution
and collection works, stormwater collection and recycled
water distribution, and surface water protection and
development projects. This USACE assistance is broadly
labeled environmental infrastructure (EI).
El authorities generally are referred to as either in one of
two categories: Section 219 projects or El projects and
programs (individually referenced by their authorizing
section). Section 219 of WRDA 1992 (P.L. 102-580), as
amended, includes various El assistance authorizations for
projects (e.g., municipal drinking water, storm-water
control) at specific geographic locations (e.g., city, county,
multiple counties). Other WRDAs and some Energy and
Water Development Appropriations acts also have included
El authorities-many of these are for El programs with
broader purposes and geographic scope.
No Administration has ever requested authorization or
appropriations for USACE to perform El assistance. The
Congressional Research Service (CRS) reviewed enacted
legislation likely to include El assistance authorities and
identified authorized El assistance in at least 44 states, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and
the Northern Mariana Islands. CRS did not identify
authorities for El assistance in Delaware, Hawaii, Maine,
Nebraska, Vermont, Washington, and other U.S. territories.
U S A CE A s si n cae
El assistance projects are not traditional USACE water
resource projects and are not subject to the USACE
planning process (e.g., a USACE feasibility study is not
performed); however, El assistance is subject to federal
laws, such as the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA). USACE evaluates an activity's eligibility for
assistance by identifying whether there is an El
authorization for the geographic area of the project, and
whether the type of proposed activity is eligible under the
El authorization.
The nature of USACE's involvement and nonfederal cost
share vary according to the specifics of the authorization.
Although most USACE El assistance requires cost sharing
at 75% federal and 25% nonfederal, some assistance
authorities are set at 65% federal and 35% nonfederal. The
nonfederal sponsor is the owner of constructed facilities and
is responsible for 100% of operations and maintenance.
USACE may perform the authorized design or construction
work, and often can use appropriated funds to reimburse
nonfederal sponsors for work the sponsors perform, subject
to the availability of appropriations.
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Beginning with WRDA 1992 (P.L. 102-580), Congress has
authorized USACE to contribute El assistance to more than
350 projects and programs, with cumulative authorizations
of appropriations totaling more than $5 billion. The
authorizations of appropriations for these activities vary
widely from $100,000 for a water monitoring station to
$435 million for a five-state program.
Section 219 of WRDA 1992 authorized design assistance
for 18 projects, and six other sections authorized design and
construction assistance for El assistance projects and
programs in select geographic areas (e.g., southern West
Virginia). WRDA 1996 (P.L. 104-303) added construction
assistance to the Section 219 El authorities. Subsequent
USACE authorization and appropriation acts included
authorizations for new El assistance projects (e.g., WRDA
2007 [P.L. 110-114] added over 200 projects) and raised
the authorized funding ceilings for previously authorized El
assistance.
A number of factors, including policies restricting
congressionally directed spending (earmarking), has limited
recent congressional authorization of new El assistance.
However, in WRDA 2016 (Title I of P.L. 114-322) and
WRDA 2018 (Title I of P.L. 115-270), Congress provided a
mechanism to modify existing El authorizations (e.g.,
expand the location, amend eligible projects types, and
adjust the authorization of appropriations) through the
Section 7001 proposal process. Section 7001 of Water
Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-
121) requires USACE to annually submit a report to
Congress identifying study and project authorizations and
modifications proposed by nonfederal interests that meet
certain criteria. Congress may consider these proposals as
part of WRDA deliberations. For more information on the
Section 7001 proposal process, see CRS Insight INI 1118,
Army Corps of Engineers: Section 7001 Annual Report on
Future Studies and Projects.
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