U.S. Army Corps of Engineers releases work plan for fiscal 2018 Civil Works appropriations

On March 23, 2018, President Trump signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, Public Law 115-141, of which Division D is the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (the Act) for FY 2018.  The Act provides $6.827 billion in FY 2018 appropriations for the Army Civil Works program, of which $6.402 billion is appropriated in five accounts: Investigations; Construction; Operation and Maintenance; Mississippi River and Tributaries; and Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP).

The Act’s accompanying Statement of Managers report allocates approximately $4.630 billion of the total for these five accounts to specific programs, projects and activities (PPA).  USACE is responsible for allocating the remainder in these accounts, approximately $1.772 billion, to specific PPAs, consistent with the categories, subcategories, and other direction provided in the Statement of Managers.  The allocation of these additional funds is presented in the work plan.

The remaining $425 million in the FY 2018 Civil Works appropriations provides funding for USACE in the Expenses, Regulatory, Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies (FCCE), and Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works accounts.

“The Army’s Civil Works FY 2018 work plan provides funding to start, continue, and complete studies and construction projects that will get dirt moving to better the lives of Americans, their infrastructure, economy and environment,” said The Honorable R. D. James, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.

For the first time, the work plan provides funds for two projects where the local sponsor could use Section 1043 of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 to complete project construction.  This section authorizes USACE to provide its share of a project’s construction cost directly to a non-federal sponsor who is able to assume responsibility for construction of a USACE project.

The Army Civil Works budget funds the planning, design, construction, and operation and maintenance of water resources projects, with a focus on the highest performing work within the three main Civil Works mission areas: commercial navigation, flood and storm damage reduction, and aquatic ecosystem restoration. It also funds programs that contribute to the protection of the nation’s waters and wetlands; the generation of low-cost renewable hydropower; the restoration of certain sites contaminated as a result of the nation’s early atomic weapons development program; and emergency preparedness and training to respond to natural disasters.

The nearly $1.772 billion in additional funding not allocated to specified projects in the five appropriations by the Statement of Managers is subdivided into numerous categories and subcategories within these broad areas:

• Navigation: $956 million
• Flood Risk Management: $541 million
• Other Authorized Project Purposes: $254 million
• FUSRAP: $21 million

Work eligible for consideration for the additional funding generally includes projects, programs and activities funded in the three previous fiscal years, with emphasis on ongoing work on projects, programs and activities that can attain a significant milestone or produce significant outputs in FY 2018.

The work plan identifies which projects, programs, and activities within the Civil Works program will receive the FY 2018 funding, how much each will receive, and includes amounts that the Army allocated earlier this fiscal year under continuing resolutions.  With the total funding for this fiscal year, the work plan funds to completion 39 feasibility studies, four projects in the Preconstruction Engineering and Design phase, and 13 construction projects or elements of projects.

Feasibility Studies Funded for Completion in FY 2018:

• Kotzebue Small Boat Harbor, Arkansas
• Lowell Creek Tunnel Flood Diversion, Arkansas
• Saint George Harbor Improvement, Arkansas
• Unalaska (Dutch) Harbor, Arkansas
• Mobile Harbor, AL (General Reevaluation Report)
• Village Creek, Alamaban
• Three Rivers, Arkanasas
• Little Colorado River (Winslow), Arizona
• Lower Santa Cruz River, Arizona
• Aliso Creek Mainstem, California
• Corte Madera Creek, California (General Reevaluation Report)
• Dry Creek (Warm Springs) Restoration, Califonria
• Pajaro River at Watsonville, California (General Reevaluation Report)
• Port of Long Beach Navigation Improvements, Califonria
• Sacramento River Bank Protections (Phase 3), California (General Reevaluation Report)
• San Francisco Bay to Stockton, California (General Reevaluation Report)
• San Francisquito Creek, California
• Yuba River Fish Passage, California (Englebright and Daguerre Point Dams)
• Adams and Denver Counties, Colorado
• New Haven Harbor Deepening, Connecticut
• Sweetwater Creek, Georiga
• Iao Stream Flood Control, Maui, Hawaii (General Reevaluation Report)
• Du Page River, Illinois
• Inner Harbor Navigation Canal Lock, Lousina (General Reevaluation Report)
• Saginaw River Deepening, Saginaw, Michigan
• Tinian Harbor Modifications, CNMI
• Souris River Basin, North Dakota
• Papillion Creek, Nebraska (General Reevaluation Report)
• Peckman River Basin, New Jersey
• Rahway River Basin, New Jersey (Upper Basin)
• Espanola Valley, Rio Grande and Tributaries, New Mexico
• New York – New Jersey Harbor, New York & New Jersey (General Reevaluation Report)
• Upper Susquehanna Comprehensive Flood Damage Reduction, New York
• Arkansas River Corridor, Oklahoma
• San Juan Harbor Improvement Study, Puerto Rico
• Jefferson County Shore Protection, Texas
• Mitchell Lake, San Antonio, Texas
• Resacas at Brownsville, Texas
• City of Norfolk, Virgina

Preconstruction Engineering and Design Funded for Completion in FY 2018:

• Manhattan, Kansas
• Calcasieu Lock, Lousiana
• Sabine Neches Waterway, Texas
• Skokomish River Basin, Washington

Construction Projects Funded for Completion in FY 2018:

• Kaweah River, California
• San Lorenzo River, California
• Stockton Metropolitan Flood Control Reimbursement, California
• Sutter Basin, California
• Central and Southern Florida, Floria (Upper St Johns Levee)
• McCook and Thornton Reservoirs, Illinois
• Indianapolis, White River (North), Indiana
• St Marys River, Soo Locks (Major Rehabilitation), Michigan
• Swope Park Industrial Area, Kansas City, Missouri
• Molly Ann’s Brook at Haledon, Prospect Park and Paterson, New Jersey
• Mohawk Dam, Ohio (Dam Safety)
• Zoar Levee at Dover Dam, Ohio (Dam Safety)
• Greens Bayou, Texas

Public Law 115-141 requires USACE to fund six new studies in the Investigations account, one new study in the Mississippi River and Tributaries account, and five new starts in the Construction account.  The Army selected seven previously unfunded studies and five previously unfunded construction projects based on performance and on considerations provided in the Statement of Managers.

The Statement of Managers stipulates that of the six new studies funded in the Investigations account, two shall be navigation studies, one shall be a flood risk management study, one shall be an environmental restoration study, and two can be either a navigation or flood risk management study.  The six selected studies are:

• San Francisco Waterfront Storm Damage Reduction, California (Flood Risk Management)
• Miami Harbor Improvements, Florida (Navigation)
• Corpus Christi Ship Channel, Texas (La Quinta Expansion) (Navigation)
• Mitchell Lake, San Antonio, Texas (Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration)
• Mill Creek, Walla Walla, Washington (Flood Risk Management)
• Tacoma Harbor, Washington (Navigation)

The Statement of Managers requires an additional new study funded in the Mississippi River and Tributaries account to evaluate the need for improvements for flood control, ecosystem restoration, water quality and related purposes associated with storm water runoff and management.  The selected study is North Desoto County, Mississippi. 

The Statement of Managers also stipulates that of the five Construction new starts, one shall be navigation, one shall be flood risk management, one shall be for beach nourishment, one shall be environmental restoration, and the remaining one shall be either navigation or flood risk management.  The five selected projects are:

• Sutter Basin, California (Flood Risk Management)
• Sarasota, Lido Key, Florida (Beach Nourishment)
• Illinois Waterway, Illinois (LaGrange Lock & Dam Major Rehabilitation) (Navigation)
• St Marys River, Soo Locks (Major Rehabilitation), Michigan (Navigation)
• Lynnhaven River Basin, Virginia (Environmental)

The work plan listing the amounts provided to various programs, projects and activities for each of the five appropriations accounts can be found at: http://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/Budget.aspx.

The Statement of Managers (Congressional Record, March 22, 2018, page H2435 et seq.) can be found at https://www.congress.gov/crec/2018/03/22/CREC-2018-03-22-bk2.pdf.