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1 (August 18, 2005)

handle is hein.crs/crsmthabdgi0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS22129 August 18, 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. The two WRDA 2005 bills - S. 728 and H.R. 2864 - contain provisions to alter the formulation, review, and fish and wildlife mitigation of Corps water resources projects. These provisions are fueling disagreement about the appropriate direction for change at the agency 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. The changes proposed in H.R. 2864 and proposed WRDA bills of the 108'h Congress are viewed by some stakeholders as first steps in this direction. Some of the changes proposed in S. 728 are similar, while others would promote change in an alternative direction. These changes would support 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. 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. Many of the issues shaping consideration of the two WRDA bills in the 109th Congress - H.R. 2864 and S. 728 - are largely similar to the 108'h Congress: authorized spending (e.g., the amount of authorizations in the bill and the bill's potential budgetary impact), authorization of a few controversial projects, and changes to Corps policies and Congressional Research Service +o The Library of Congress

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