To provide for conservation and development of water and related resources, to authorize the Secretary of the Army to construct various projects for improvements to rivers and harbors of the United States, and for other purposes.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Title I: Water Resources Projects
Title II: Generally Applicable Provisions
Title III: Project Modifications
Title IV: Studies
Title V: Miscellaneous Provisions
Title VI: Extension of Expenditure Authority Under Harbor
Maintenance Trust Fund
Water Resources Development Act of 1996 - Title I: Water Resources Projects - Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to carry out specified projects for navigation, flood control, flood and storm damage reduction, environmental preservation and restoration, shoreline erosion protection, hydropower, and hurricane damage reduction in California, the District of Columbia and Maryland, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and West Virginia. Specifies total costs, estimated Federal and non-Federal costs, and funding sources and requirements.
Authorizes the Secretary to carry out specified projects for navigation, bluff stabilization, flood damage reduction, water supply, storm damage reduction, and shoreline protection in Alaska, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina, and South Carolina in accordance with a final report of the Chief of Engineers, if such report is completed by December 31, 1996.
(Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary to study and, if feasible, carry out, specified projects regarding: (1) flood control in California, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York, and West Virginia (sets forth the maximum amounts of Federal funds that may be allotted for specified projects in California and Nebraska); (2) bank stabilization in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee; (3) navigation in Alaska, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and New York; (4) shoreline protection in Connecticut, Florida, and New York; (5) snagging and sediment removal in Minnesota; (6) habitat and environmental restoration in California; and (7) channel restoration and environmental improvement in Utah.
(Sec. 108) Directs the Secretary to expedite the Assateague Island restoration feature of the Ocean City, Maryland, and vicinity study and, if certain conditions are met, carry out a project for shoreline restoration.
Title II: Generally Applicable Provisions - Revises: (1) cost sharing provisions of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 regarding dredged material disposal areas (and deletes provisions crediting non-Federal interests with the value of dredged material disposal areas provided); (2) the Water Resources Development Act of 1974 to require any Federal agency, in the survey, planning, or design of a project involving flood protection, to consider and address in adequate detail nonstructural alternatives to prevent or reduce flood damages; and (3) Federal law regarding shore protection, including expressing congressional intent to assist projects that involve the replacement of sand on beaches and modifying the process for determining the cost- benefit ratio of a shore protection project to require that benefits provided to the local and regional economy and ecology be considered.
Directs the Secretary to ensure that dredged material disposal facilities do not result in unfair competition with potential private sector providers of such facilities.
(Sec. 202) Increases from 25 to 35 percent the non-Federal share for nonstructural and other flood control projects. Sets forth criteria and procedures relating to the ability of a non-Federal interest to pay for flood control or agricultural water supply.
Requires: (1) non-Federal interests to prepare flood plain management plans designed to reduce the impacts of future flood events in project areas; and (2) the Secretary to develop guidelines for the preparation of such plans and review policies, procedures, and techniques relating to the evaluation and development of flood control measures.
(Sec. 206) Authorizes the Secretary: (1) to carry out specified aquatic ecosystem restoration and protection projects; (2) in developing and carrying out a project for navigation involving the disposal of dredged material, to select a disposal method that is not the least-cost option under specified circumstances where the incremental costs are minimal and the benefits to the aquatic environment justify its selection; and (3) to undertake surveys, plans, and studies to encourage innovative and environmentally sound engineering solutions to problems of national significance.
(Sec. 211) Sets forth provisions regarding construction of flood control projects by non-Federal interests, including reimbursement and credit of the non-Federal interest under specified circumstances.
(Sec. 215) National Dam Safety Program Act of 1996 - Requires the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency: (1) in consultation with appropriation Federal agencies, State dam safety agencies, and a National Dam Safety Review Board (established by this section) to establish and maintain a coordinated national dam safety program; (2) to develop a dam safety improvements implementation plan; (3) at the request of a State, to provide training for State dam safety staff and inspectors; and (4) to engage in specified research activities. Authorizes the Secretary to maintain and periodically publish information on the inventory of dams. Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 217) Directs the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with non-Federal sponsors of navigation projects for development of long-term management strategies for controlling sediments.
(Sec. 218) Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a program to evaluate and implement opportunities for public-private partnerships in the design, construction, management, or operation of dredged material disposal facilities in connection with construction or maintenance of Federal navigation projects.
Title III: Project Modifications - Provides for modifications to specified flood control, navigation, beach erosion control, hurricane damage prevention, fish and wildlife loss mitigation, shoreline protection, and other projects in Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
(Sec. 378) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1992 to direct the Secretary to enter into an interagency agreement with the Federal entity which provided assistance in the preparation of a study regarding West Virginia trail facilities to provide ongoing technical assistance and oversight for such facilities.
Title IV: Studies - Requires the Secretary to: (1) review Corps of Engineers capabilities regarding rural sanitation projects for rural and Native villages in Alaska; (2) credit the non-Federal share of the cost of a feasibility study on the McDowell Mountain project, Arizona, with work done by the city of Scottsdale; (3) prepare a comprehensive river basin management plan for the Santa Ynez River basin in California; (4) complete a limited reevaluation of the authorized St. Louis Harbor Project in the vicinity of the Chain of Rocks Canal, Illinois; (5) provide assistance to Springfield, Illinois, in developing an environmental impact statement for a water supply reservoir; (6) conduct studies with respect to specified water projects in Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia; and (7) conduct a study of alternative financing mechanisms for ensuring adequate funding for the infrastructure needs of small and medium ports.
(Sec. 407) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1990 to direct the Secretary to provide technical, design, and planning assistance to non-Federal interests in developing potential infrastructure projects, and increase the authorization of appropriations for a study of infrastructure needs, in southern California.
(Sec. 427) Authorizes studies of projects in South Carolina and the Pacific region.
Title V: Miscellaneous Provisions - Deauthorizes specified projects or portions of projects in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.
(Sec. 502) Reauthorizes specified projects in Arkansas, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and New Jersey.
(Sec. 503) Continues the authorization of certain projects in Michigan.
(Sec. 504) Provides for Federal land conveyances in California, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Washington.
(Sec. 505) Designates specified visitors centers, lakes, bridges, and locks and dams in California, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oregon, and Tennessee.
(Sec. 506) Authorizes or directs the Secretary to provide assistance for: (1) specified watershed management, restoration, and development projects in Arizona, California, Georgia, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia; (2) Great Lakes remedial action plans; (3) testing procedures in the Great Lakes Dredged Material Testing and Evaluation Manual; (4) specified mining activity degradation abatement projects in California, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky; (5) safety improvements at the Prado Dam, California; (6) demonstrating the water quality functions found in wetlands; (7) Cocheco River, New Hampshire, encroachment issues; (8) the New York City Watershed; (9) a regional water authority in northeastern Ohio; (10) the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Water Works; (11) the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, Rhode Island and Massachusetts; (12) non-Federal levees in Pierce County, Washington; (13) repair and rehabilitation or upgrade of dams in Ohio and Virginia; (14) wastewater treatment remediation of pollution and contaminated riverbed sediments and related activities in Jackson County, Alabama; and (15) a flood control project for Cedar Hammock (Wares Creek), Florida.
(Sec. 507) Directs the Secretary to carry out: (1) programs for the removal of silt and aquatic growth in specified lakes in New York and Illinois; (2) maintenance of specified navigation channels in California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Texas, and Washington; (3) beach nourishment for 50 years at specified projects in Florida and Georgia; (4) programs to control aquatic plants in Michigan and Pennsylvania; (5) specified flood control and rainfall drainage system improvements in Louisiana; (6) specified projects for the beneficial use of dredged material and specified erosion control measures in Maryland; (7) alternative methods for decontamination and disposal of contaminated dredged material at a project in Minnesota; (8) a specified bluff stabilization project in Mississippi; (9) Hudson River, New York, habitat restoration projects; (10) a study of flood control in Grand-Neosho Basin and tributaries near Pensacola Dam in Oklahoma; (11) a project to improve the hopper dredge McFarland; (12) specified projects for flood management and environmental enhancement in Tennessee; and (13) a specified water project for the Lower Mud River, West Virginia.
(Sec. 511) Directs the Secretary to develop or establish: (1) a Great Lakes tributary sediment transport model; (2) a Chesapeake Bay restoration and protection pilot program; (3) an extension of the Earthquake Preparedness Center of Expertise for the central United States near the New Madrid fault; (4) a watershed management plan for Deep River Basin, Indiana; (5) a program for providing environmental assistance to non-Federal interests in Kentucky; (6) a pilot program for providing environmental assistance to non-Federal interests in Pennsylvania; and (7) a strategy for using nonstructural measures to reduce flooding, improve water quality, and create wildlife habitat in Redwood River Basin, Minnesota.
(Sec. 512) Requires the Secretary to assess or evaluate: (1) Great Lakes confined disposal facilities; (2) the feasibility of an alternative to the $25 annual pass for use of water resource project recreation facilities; and (3) procedures for the approval of materials used in beach restoration and nourishment.
(Sec. 514) Extends the geographic jurisdiction of the Mississippi River Commission.
(Sec. 516) Directs the Secretary to: (1) promote Federal and non-Federal cooperation in providing public recreation at water resources projects; (2) work with Mississippi in managing leases in the Sardis Lake area; (3) expedite completion of the study for the Ohio River Greenway, Indiana; (4) initiate a program to increase the use of private industry hopper dredges for the construction and maintenance of Federal navigation channels, place the Federal hopper dredge Wheeler in a ready reserve status, and develop and implement procedures to ensure that private industry hopper dredge capacity is available to meet both routine and time-sensitive dredging needs; and (5) conduct a study, and develop a strategy, for using wetland restoration, soil and water conservation practices, and nonstructural measures to reduce flood damages, improve water quality, and create wildlife habitat in specified portions of the Upper Susquehanna River basin, Pennsylvania and New York.
(Sec. 517) Authorizes appropriations for: (1) construction assistance for specified environmental infrastructure projects in Mississippi, New Hampshire, and Virginia; (2) a New England Division headquarters facility; (3) a Lake Superior educational facility; and (4) construction of a visitors center at Seven Points Recreation Area, Pennsylvania.
(Sec. 518) Increases appropriations authorized for: (1) projects of alternative or beneficially modified habitats for fish and wildlife; (2) a quarantine facility in Broward County, Florida; and (3) the New York bight and harbor study.
(Sec. 522) Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide design and construction assistance to non-Federal interests for specified projects in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia; (2) continue to maintain a division office of the Corps of Engineers in Chicago, Illinois; (3) enter into cooperation agreements with non-Federal interests to develop and carry out reclamation and protection projects to abate and mitigate surface water quality degradation caused by abandoned mines in the watershed of the lower Mokelume River in Calaveras County, California; (4) continue participation in the Stockton, California Metropolitan Area Flood Control study to include evaluation of the feasibility of water storage at Farmington Dam to implement a conjunctive use plan; and (5) provide technical assistance to Orange County, California, in developing specified Prado Dam safety and access improvements and technical, planning, and design assistance to State, local, and other Federal entities for the restoration of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal near Cumberland, Maryland.
(Sec. 532) Sets forth provisions regarding the non-Federal share for water conservation projects at the Los Angeles County Drainage Area and at Seven Oaks Dam, California.
(Sec. 548) Directs the Secretary to: (1) work cooperatively with the State of Mississippi and the city of Sardis, Mississippi, in managing existing and proposed leases of land consistent with the Sardis Lake Recreation and Tourism Master Plan; (2) review the study conducted by such city regarding the impact of the Plan on flood control storage in Sardis Lake; and (3) increase the length of the navigation season on the Missouri River.
(Sec. 551) Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) enter an agreement with the University of New Hampshire to provide technical assistance for a water treatment technology center addressing the needs of small communities; (2) construct and operate a dredged material containment facility for the Port of New York-New Jersey; (3) make capital improvements in the New York State Canal System; (4) enter an agreement with Marshall University, West Virginia, to provide technical assistance to the Center for Environmental, Geotechnical, and Applied Sciences; and (5) provide financial assistance for a National Center for Nonfabrication and Molecular Self-Assembly in Illinois.
(Sec. 563) Directs the Secretary to: (1) modify the allocation of costs for the water reallocation project at Curwensville Lake, Pennsylvania, to the extent necessary to provide environmental restoration benefits in meeting in-stream flow needs in the Susquehanna River basin; (2) carry out flood control projects at Wills Creek, Hyndman, Pennsylvania, and at Neabsco Creek, Virginia; (3) reimburse the San Antonio River Authority a specified sum; and (4) design and construct a breakwater at the North Channel on Tangier Island, Virginia.
(Sec. 579) Provides for the transfer of ownership, operation, maintenance, and management of the Washington Aqueduct and for interim borrowing authority to finance capital improvements at the Aqueduct.
(Sec. 580) Directs the Secretary to: (1) design and implement a flood damage reduction program for the Greenbrier River Basin, West Virginia; and (2) design and construct flood control measures at specified other locations in West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
(Sec. Urges the President to negotiate with Canada to eliminate tolls along, and maximize commerce through, the St. Lawrence Seaway.
(Sec. 587) Directs the Secretary to: (1) review the Prado Dam feature of the flood control project, Santa Ana River Mainstem, California, and take other specified actions; and (2) conduct a study of the environmental, flood control, and navigational impacts associated with constructing a lock structure in the Houma Navigation Canal as an independent feature of the overall flood damage prevention study currently being conducted under the Morganza, Louisiana, to the Gulf of Mexico feasibility study.
Title VI: Extension of Expenditure Authority Under Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend expenditure authority under the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund.
Became Public Law No: 104-303.
See H.R.3592.
Hearings Held by the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Prior to Introduction and Referral.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Transportation. H. Rept. 104-695.
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Transportation. H. Rept. 104-695.
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 362.
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Mr. Shuster moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H8693-8735)
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate.
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Laid on the table. See S. 640 for further action.
CORRECTION OF ENGROSSMENT - Mr. Borski asked unanimous consent that the Clerk be directed to correct the engrossment of H.R. 3592 to the extent that section 585 of the bill references Evanston, Illinois instead of Evansville, Illinois. Agreed to without objection.