About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 (April 27, 2005)

handle is hein.crs/crsmthabdgh0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS22129 April 27, 2005 CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web Corps of Engineers Reform in WRDA 2005 Nicole T. Carter Analyst in Environmental Policy Resources, Science, and Industry Division Summary Enactment of Water Resources Development Acts (WRDAs) in recent Congresses has been complicated by proposed changes to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) policies and practices. S. 728, WRDA 2005, contains provisions to alter the formulation, review, and implementation of Corps water resources projects. These provisions are fueling disagreement about the appropriate direction for change and are shaping the WRDA debate in the 109'h Congress. One view is that Corps projects could be improved by increasing environmental considerations in project planning, implementing external review, and enacting more stringent requirements for fish and wildlife mitigation. Another view supports refinements to Corps planning, review, and mitigation that are aimed at limiting the length and increasing the predictability of the project development process, while not increasing costs. The changes to Corps practices proposed in S. 728 draw upon multiple views; most changes proposed in WRDA bills in the 108th Congress and other legislation draw more heavily upon the former view. This report will be updated as legislative events warrant. Controversial proposals to change Corps policies and practices have complicated or stalled the passage of some Water Resources Development Acts (WRDAs) in recent Congresses. WRDA is the typical legislative vehicle for Congress to authorize water resources activities and policy changes for the civil works program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Under its civil works program, the Army Corps of Engineers plans, constructs, and operates water resources facilities primarily for flood damage reduction, navigation, and environmental purposes. (For more information on the agency, see CRS Report RS20866, The Civil Works Program of the Army Corps of Engineers: A Primer, by Nicole T. Carter and Betsy A. Cody.) WRDA often receives biennial congressional consideration, but no WRDA has been enacted since 2000. S. 728, WRDA 2005, started the legislative consideration of WRDA in the 109th Congress. The primary issues that appear to be shaping consideration in the 109th Congress are the same as in the 108th Congress: authorized spending (e.g., the amount of authorizations in the bill and the bill's potential budgetary impact), changes to Corps policies and practices, and authorization of a few controversial projects. The S. 728 provisions that would change Corps planning, review, and fish and wildlife mitigation are Congressional Research Service +o The Library of Congress

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most