Congress officially opened its public process for the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) for 2022. Assistant Secretary of the Army for Public Works Michael Connor and Chief of Engineers Lieutenant General Scott Spellmon with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers appeared before House Transportation & Infrastructure Water Resources Subcommittee and the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee on Wednesday, January 12 to outline Biden Administration priorities for water infrastructure development in the coming year. The hearings represented the first public activity on the biennial legislation.
Assistant Secretary Connor and Lieutenant General Spellmon highlighted the importance of the WRDA process being carried out every two years. The predictability of a bill being passed every two years provides the opportunity to effectively plan new projects and for the implementation of new policies. It also ensures Corps has the authorities, policies, and regulations to ensure the Army’s mission to support engineering solutions to support the nation’s security, economy, and ability to respond to disaster.
House and Senate committee members posed numerous questions on a wide variety of topics, including implementation of water infrastructure projects in their districts, ranging from dam safety and removal projects, flood management, and port and inland waterway projects. Water Resources Subcommittee Chairwoman Grace Napolitano (D-CA) asked the witnesses about the Biden Administration’s priorities for the upcoming WRDA. Assistant Secretary Connor emphasized the Army’s broad focus on key areas such as improving infrastructure resilience, enhancing environmental justice, and addressing ongoing supply chain issues.
Connor also specified the administration’s focus on proposed Corps projects laid out in its 2021 Report to Congress on Future Water Resources Development. These projects include coastal zone management projects in Connecticut, improvements and increased resources for stormwater management systems in Mississippi, and other water infrastructure improvements in California, Florida, and Illinois. Lieutenant General Spellmon expressed support for maintaining the Corps’ ability to continue monitoring the resilience of levees in New Orleans in the face of climate change. He expressed his hope that the 2022 WRDA would assist the Corps’ efforts to safely deliver quality projects on time and under budget.