House Approves Graves-led Water Resources Bill

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Washington, D.C. - Today, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) by a 399 to 18 vote, sending it to the Senate for final approval before it lands on the President's desk. This legislation will improve the nation's ports and harbors, inland waterway navigation, flood and storm protection, and other aspects of the nation's water resources infrastructure.

"This WRDA delivers critical water resource infrastructure improvements for communities across America - from ports to levees to navigation channels, and more. The bill also makes reforms at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to streamline processes, reduce cumbersome red tape, and get projects done faster. This legislation also keeps Congress on the schedule of regularly passing WRDA improvements and reforms every two years," said Chairman Sam Graves (MO-06).

"I'm pleased to include multiple provisions critical to North Missouri, including ensuring that flood control and navigation are the top priorities on the Missouri River, while charting a new path forward for systemic flood control on the Mississippi."

North Missouri priorities included in WRDA 2024 include:

• Expanding protections for levee districts and navigators on the Missouri River to ensure fish and wildlife experiments don't interfere with flood control and navigation
• Authorizing an Upper Mississippi River Flood Risk and Resiliency Study to improve flood protection for communities along the Upper Mississippi River
• Reforming the Army Corps of Engineers' policy for permitting broadband projects on Corps' property, making it easier to deploy broadband to communities where the Corps owns land, like Smithville, MO.
• Directing the Corps to work more closely with levee districts and others to find beneficial uses for dredged material, so sand is used for strengthening levees, building roadbeds, and other productive uses, rather than being dumped back in the river
• Improving the permitting process at the Corps to help projects get done ahead of schedule and under budget.

The legislation also has the support of over 200 stakeholders. Click here for statements of support.

WRDA Summary

WRDA authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to undertake locally-driven infrastructure and water resources projects that also deliver regional and national benefits to strengthen the nation's global competitiveness and supply chain, grow the economy, move goods throughout the country, protect communities from flooding, and more.

Congress has passed WRDA legislation on a bipartisan and biennial basis since 2014. WRDA 2024 maintains the regular consideration of this important infrastructure legislation, and it provides Congress the opportunity for input into the projects undertaken by the Corps.

WRDA authorizes over 200 new feasibility studies for locally proposed projects and 22 projects that have been thoroughly reviewed by the Corps and have culminated in a final report to Congress with approval by the Chief of Engineers or the Director of Civil Works.

WRDA also makes commonsense Corps reforms that empower the non-federal project sponsors, increase project transparency, and improve project delivery. Provisions in WRDA will strengthen existing alternative delivery processes and create similar alternative delivery methods within the continuing authorities program (CAP) for smaller projects. In addition, the legislation creates a new initiative to assist non-federal interests in accessing resources at the Corps to get new projects studied and constructed.

Click here for more information on WRDA.

Additional Improvements in WRDA

The measure includes provisions to increase the efficient use of federally-owned office space, including setting occupancy standards, ensuring federal workers return to the office, strengthening congressional oversight and public accountability of federal real estate projects, selling certain unused federal properties, and saving money for the taxpayers.

The legislation includes provisions to address concerns raised over the past several years by state departments of transportation by redistributing unobligated balances under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program to the states through the existing Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) program.

Finally, the agreement reauthorizes and modernizes the Economic Development Administration and other regional commissions whose mission is to spur economic development in distressed communities across the country.

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