One-year extension for Section 214 passes the Senate, awaits President's signature
PNWA is pleased to report that the bill to extend Section 214 for one year passed the Senate on December 10th. Section 214 is currently authorized through December 31, 2009. This extension (H.R.4165) would take Section 214 authority to December 31, 2010.
PNWA's membership and the entities that have staff placed with the Corps of Engineers through Section 214 are very grateful to Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and her staff their work to allow this bill to move through the Senate without delay. The final step is a signature from President Obama to make this extension law.
Section 214 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-541) allows the Secretary of the Army to accept and expend funds contributed by non-Federal public entities and to expedite the processing of permits. Section 214 has allowed local governments (cities, counties, ports, etc.) to move forward with vital infrastructure and ecosystem restoration projects. By funding additional staff to work on specific, time-intensive permits, existing U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regulatory staffers are able to process significant permit backlogs more quickly. Funding for additional Corps staff has resulted in a reduction of permit wait times not only for the funding entity, but for any individual or organization that makes an application with that District of the Corps. Section 214 is currently used by over 43 public agencies in 20 Corps districts around the nation.
PNWA is also working to make Section 214 permanent in the next WRDA bill. PNWA has submitted WRDA request forms and non-federal sponsor support letters to every member of the Pacific Northwest House delegation, urging each Member to include Section 214 permanence in their WRDA submissions to the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. When consideration of a WRDA bill begins in earnest in Congress, PNWA will be advocating for this authority to finally be made permanent.
|
House passes jobs bill - includes funding for Corps of Engineers
Yesterday, the U.S. House passed a "jobs bill" that will provide funding for infrastructure around the nation. The bill (H.R.2847) passed with a 217-212 vote. It is not expected to pass the Senate until the new year. The bill contains an extension for the highways and transit program to the end of September 2010. This provides more time for Congress to determine an appropriate way to fund the program, which has been suffering from solvency issues.
In addition to over $27B for highway work, the bill also included $715M for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of the infrastructure package. The criteria set out for project selection is similar to the criteria outlined in ARRA earlier this year, with new emphasis added on selecting projects in states with high levels of unemployment. The Corps would be directed to use not less than $30M for "water-related environmental infrastructure assistance". Up to another $30M would be available for Mississippi River & Tributaries projects. The bill waived the requirement for inland construction and major rehab projects to be cost-shared with the chronically insolvent Inland Waterways Trust Fund.
PNWA supports this proposed funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and encourages Congress to continue its focus on funding repairs of infrastructure in the Pacific Northwest and throughout the nation.
|
CEQ releases draft standards for water resource project analysis
The Obama Administration's Council on Environmental Quality has released a new draft Policies and Standards (P&Ss) to guide the analysis of water resources projects. This new draft was produced in response to a directive by Congress to revise the Principles and Guidelines (P&Gs) that have been used to analyze water resource projects since 1983. The draft is part one of a two-part process. In the second part, CEQ will prepare Guidelines for implementation.
PNWA's initial review has identified some improvements and some areas of concern. A significant improvement in this draft is one that PNWA recommended in our earlier comments. The draft states that planners should attempt to monetize currently non-monetized effects. PNWA has argued that the benefits of barging ESA-listed salmon and steelhead should be quantified and added to the economic benefits when setting funding priorities for Columbia and Snake River locks.
PNWA has some very strong concerns with the draft. One is a significant shift in emphasis. Some of the language in the draft could be interpreted as giving economic benefits a lower priority than environmental benefits, even though the stated goal is to balance both needs.
We are also concerned about the increased frequency of public review and the requirement to continually incorporate new information into the analysis. The current P&Gs provide for considerable public participation and establish a baseline for the analysis. Our concern is that the cost of feasibility studies will likely increase dramatically as economic and environmental analyses are revisited every time the price of grain changes or a new journal article is published.
This is the third attempt at revision of the P&Gs. The first two were drafted by the Corps of Engineers, then OMB. PNWA's comments on the previous draft are available at http://www.pnwa.net/new/Articles/20090717_PNWA%20Comments.pdf. PNWA will conduct a thorough review of CEQ's draft and provide more detailed comments prior to the March comment deadline.
The formal title of the document is Proposed National Objectives, Principles and Standards for Water and Related Resources Implementation Studies. The draft is available at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/091203-ceq-revised-principles-guidelines-water-resources.pdf. Comments may be submitted online at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives/PandG/submit. Comments through this mechanism are limited to 5,000 characters. The National Academy of Sciences is also reviewing the draft. Their review is due November 10, 2010.
Staff contact: Glenn Vanselow |
