Washington
(February 9, 2016)
- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) yesterday delivered to Congress its
Fiscal Year 2016 (FY 2016) work plan for the Army Civil Works program.
On December 18, 2015, President Obama signed
into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, Public Law 114-113, of
which Division D is the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act (the Act) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016. The Act provides $5.989 billion in FY 2016
appropriations for the Army Civil Works program, of which $5.465 billion is appropriated
in four accounts: Investigations; Construction; Operation and Maintenance; and
Mississippi River and Tributaries. The
Act’s accompanying Statement of Managers report designates nearly $4.153
billion of the total for these four accounts for specified programs, projects
and activities (PPA). USACE is
responsible for allocating the remaining balance of nearly $1.313 billion designated
as additional funding in the four accounts to individual PPAs, consistent with
the categories and criteria provided in the Statement of Managers.
"The Army Civil Works' Fiscal Year
2016 work plan will significantly advance and complete studies and construction
projects that support the Nation's economy, environment and quality of
life," said The Honorable Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of the Army
for Civil Works.
The
Army Civil Works budget funds the planning, design, construction, operation and
maintenance of water resources projects and focuses 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 $1.313 billion in additional
funding not allocated to specified projects in the four appropriations by the
Statement of Managers is subdivided into numerous categories within these broad
areas:
Work
eligible for consideration for the additional funding generally included
projects, programs and activities funded in the three previous fiscal years,
and other ongoing projects, programs and activities that can attain a
significant milestone or produce significant outputs in FY 2016.
The work plan identifies
which projects, programs, and activities within the Civil Works program will
receive the funding provided in FY 2016 to USACE, and how much each of them
will receive, and includes in these amounts that the Army allocated earlier
this fiscal year under a continuing resolution.
With the total funding for this fiscal year, the work plan funds to
completion nine feasibility studies, two projects in the Preconstruction
Engineering and Design phase, and 24 construction projects or elements of
projects.
Feasibility Studies Funded for Completion in FY
2016:
-
Illinois
River Basin River Restoration – Fox River, IL
-
Illinois
River Basin River Restoration – Ten Mile River, IL
-
Passaic
River Above Dundee Dam, NJ (Phase I)
-
Sabine
Pass to Galveston Bay, TX
-
Saginaw
River Deepening, Saginaw, MI
-
St.
John’s County, FL
-
St.
Lucie County Beaches, FL
-
Sulphur
River Basin Reallocation, TX
-
Westchester
County Streams (Byram River), NY
Preconstruction Engineering and Design Funded
for Completion in FY 2016:
-
American
River Watershed, Common Features Project, Natomas Basin, CA
-
Boston
Harbor Deep Draft, MA
Construction
Projects Funded for Completion in FY 2016:
-
Alamogordo,
NM
-
Bethel
Bank Stabilization, AK
-
Cape
Girardeau (Floodwall), MO
-
Charleston
Harbor, SC (Dredged Material Placement Facility)
-
Chicago
Sanitary and Ship Canal Dispersal Barrier, IL
-
Coyote
& Berryessa Creeks, CA
-
Des
Moines and Raccoon Rivers, IA
-
Grays
Harbor (38-foot Deepening), WA
-
GIWW,
Chocolate Bayou, TX (Dredged Material Placement Facility)
-
Greens
Bayou, Houston, TX
-
Indianapolis
White River (North), IN
- Lower
Colorado River Basin (Onion Creek), TX
-
Lower
Snake River Fish and Wildlife Compensation, WA, OR & ID
-
Manatee
Pass Gates, FL
-
Marsh
Lake, MN
-
McCook
Reservoir, IL (Stage I)
-
Missouri
River Levee System (Unit L385), IA, NE, KS & MO (Deficiency
Correction)
-
Oakland
Harbor, CA
-
Port
Lions Harbor (Deepening and Breakwater), AK
-
Pine
Creek Lake, OK (Dam Safety)
-
Rio
Grande Floodway, NM
-
Savannah
Harbor Disposal Areas, GA & SC (Dredged Material Containment Area 13A)
-
Tropicana
and Flamingo Washes, NV (Deficiency Correction)
-
Upper
St. Johns, FL
Public Law 114-113 authorizes USACE to fund up
to 10 previously unfunded studies and up to six previously unfunded
construction projects. The Army selected
10 previously unfunded studies and six previously unfunded construction
projects for funding based on performance and on considerations provided in the
Statement of Managers.
The Statement of Managers stipulates that of
the 10 new studies, three will be navigation studies, three will be flood risk
management studies, three will be environmental restoration studies, and the
tenth can be either a navigation or flood risk management study. The 10 selected studies are:
|
·
Dutch Harbor, Unalaska Channels, AK
·
GIWW,
Brazos River Floodgates and Colorado River Locks, TX
|
|
·
Grand River Basin, IA & MO
·
Lowell Creek Flood Diversion, AK
|
|
·
Matagorda Ship Channel (Widening and
Deepening), TX
|
|
·
Rio Grande Basin, Sandia Pueblo to Isleta
Pueblo, NM
|
|
·
Savannah River Below Augusta Ecosystem
Restoration, GA
·
Souris River, ND
·
Sweetwater Creek, GA
|
|
·
Water Resources Priorities Study
|
The Statement of Managers also stipulates that
of the six Construction new starts, one will be navigation, one will be flood
risk management, one will be environmental restoration, and the remaining three
can be either navigation or flood risk management. Construction new starts in FY 2016 are:
-
American
River Watershed, Common Features Project, Natomas Basin, CA
-
Atlantic
Intracoastal Waterway Bridge Replacement at Deep Creek, Chesapeake, VA
-
Coyote
and Berryessa Creeks, CA (Berryessa Creek) (Funded to completion)
-
Fargo,
ND – Moorhead, MN Metropolitan Area
-
Marsh
Lake, MN (Funded to completion)
-
Port
Lions (Deepening and Breakwater), AK (Funded to completion)
The
work plan listing the amounts provided to various programs, projects and
activities for each of the four appropriations accounts can be found at http://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/Budget.aspx.
The Statement of Managers (Congressional
Record, December 17, 2015, page H10056 et seq.) can be found at https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/2015/12/17/house-section.
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