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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