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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 thereceiptof appropriations.
Traditional USACEprojects for navigation, flood control,
and ecosystemrestoration are authorized in omnibus
authorization bills often titled Water Resource
Development Acts (WRDAs). Since 1992, Congress also
has authorized and provided for USACEassistance with
planning, design, and construction of municipal drinking
water and wastewater infrastructure projects in specified
communities, counties, and states. This assistance supports
publicly owned and operated facilities, such as distribution
and collection works, stormwater collection andrecycled
water distribution, and surface water protection and
development projects. This USACE as sistance is broadly
labeled environmental infrastructure (E).
El authorities generally are referred to as either in one of
two categories: Section 219 projects or El projects and
programs (individually referencedby 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, stormwater
control) at specific geographic locations (e.g., city, county,
multiple counties). Other WRDAs and some Energy and
Water Development Appropriations acts also haveincluded
El authorities-many of these are for El programs with
broader purposes and geographic s cope.
No Administrationhas ever requested authorization or
appropriations for USACEto performEl assistance. The
Congres sional Research Service (CRS) reviewed enacted
legislation likely to include El assistance authorities and
identified authorized El as sistance in at least 44 states, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and
the Northern MarianaIslands. CRS did not identify
authorities for El assistance in Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa,
Maine, Nebraska, Washington, and other U.S. territories.
USACE Assistance
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 subjectto federal
laws, such as the NationalEnvironmentalPolicy 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 ofproposed activity is eligible under the
El authorization.
The nature ofUSACE's involvementandnonfederal cost
share vary accordingto thespecifics of the authorization.
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Updated January 26, 2021
Althoughmost USACEEl assistance requires cost sharing
at 75% federal and 25% nonfederal, some assistance
authorities are set at 65% federal and 35% nonfederal. The
nonfederalsponsoris the ownerof constructed facilities and
is responsible for 100% of operations andmaintenance.
USACE may performthe authorized design or construction
work, and often canuseappropriatedfunds to reimburse
nonfederal sponsors for work the sponsors perform, subject
to the availability of appropriations.
Authorizing Environrnental
Infrastructure Assistance
Beginning with WRDA 1992(P.L. 102-580), Congress has
authorized USACEto 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
$585 million for a six-state Elprogram(Western Rural
Water).
Section 219 of WRDA 1992 authorized design assistance
for 18 projects, and sixother 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
as s is tance to the Section 219 El authorities. Subsequent
USACE authorization and appropriation acts included
authorizations for new El assistance projects (e.g., W RDA
2007 [P.L. 110-114] added over 200 projects) andraised
the authorized funding ceilings for previously authorized El
assistance.
Authority Modifications
Numerous factors, including adherence to policies
restricting congressionally directed spending (earmarking),
have limited recent authorizations of new El assistance.
However, in WRDA 2016 (Title I of P.L. 114-322) and
WRDA 2018 (Title I ofP.L. 115-270), Congressprovideda
mechanismto modify existing El authorizations (e.g.,
expand the location, amend eligible projects types, and
adjust the authorization of appropriations) through the
Section 7001 proposalprocess. Section7001 of Water
Resources Reformand DevelopmentAct of2014(P.L. 113-
121) requires USACEto annually submit a report to
Congress identifying study andproject authorizations and
modifications proposed by nonfederalinterests that meet
certain criteria. Congress may consider theseproposals as
part of W RDA deliberations. For example, in WRDA 2020
(Division AA ofP.L. 116-260 ), Congress amended 14
environmental infrastructure authorities to increase the
authorizations of appropriations, for a total increase of
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