U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Releases Work Plan for Fiscal 2019 Civil Works Appropriations

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) delivered to Congress its Fiscal Year 2019 (FY 2019) Work Plan for the Army Civil Works program yesterday.

On September 21, 2018, President Trump signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019, Public Law 115-244, of which Division A is the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (the Act) for FY 2019.  The Act provides $6.999 billion in FY 2019 appropriations for the Army Civil Works program, of which $6.566 billion is appropriated in five accounts: Investigations; Construction; Operation and Maintenance; Mississippi River and Tributaries; and the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP).

The Act's accompanying Statement of Managers report allocates approximately $4.467 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 $2.099 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 $432 million in the FY 2019 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 2019 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.

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 approximately $2.099 billion in additional funding not allocated by the Statement of Managers to specified PPAs in the five appropriations is subdivided into numerous categories and subcategories within these broad areas:

• Navigation: $1.292 billion
• Flood Risk Management: $441 million
• Other Authorized Project Purposes: $335 million
• FUSRAP: $30 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 2019. 

The work plan identifies the projects, programs, and activities within the Civil Works program that will receive the FY 2019 funding and how much each will receive.  With the total funding for this fiscal year, the work plan funds to completion 15 feasibility studies and one Limited Reevaluation Report, five projects in the Preconstruction Engineering and Design phase, and 21 construction projects or elements of projects.

Studies Funded for Completion in FY 2019:

• Alaska Regional Ports (Port of Nome Modification), AK
• Lower Santa Cruz River, AZ
• East San Pedro Bay Ecosystem Restoration, CA
• Port of Long Beach Navigation Improvement, CA
• Fairfield and New Haven Counties (Flooding), CT
• Central Everglades Planning Project PPA South (South Florida Ecosystem Restoration), FL
• Western Everglades Restoration Project (South Florida Ecosystem Restoration), FL
• Grand River Basin, IA & MO
• Chesapeake Bay Comprehensive Plan, MD, PA & VA
• Rio Grande, Sandia Pueblo to Isleta Pueblo, NM
• Hudson River Habitat Restoration, NY
• Coastal Texas Protection and Restoration Study, TX (in conjunction with funds provided in the Bipartisan Budget Control Act of 2018)
• GIWW – Brazos River Floodgates & Colorado River Lock, TX
• Houston Ship Channel, TX
• Matagorda Ship Channel, TX
• Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Bridge Replacement at North Landing, VA

Preconstruction Engineering and Design Funded for Completion in FY 2019:

• Mobile Harbor, AL
• Dry Creek (Warm Springs) Restoration, CA
• San Joaquin River Basin, Lower San Joaquin, CA
• San Juan Harbor Improvement Study, PR
• Galveston Harbor Channel Extension, Houston – Galveston Navigation Channels, TX

Construction Projects Funded for Completion in FY 2019:

• Tucson Drainage Area, AZ
• Hamilton City, CA
• Isabella Lake, CA (Dam Safety) 1/
• Sacramento River Bank Protection Project, CA
• Santa Ana River Mainstem, CA 1/
• Yuba River Basin, CA 1/
• Herbert Hoover Dike, FL (Seepage Control) 1/
• Panama City Harbor, FL
• C-111 South Dade (South Florida Ecosystem Restoration), FL
• Indian River Lagoon South C-44 Reservoir and Storm Treatment Area Bank Stabilization (South Florida Ecosystem Restoration), FL
• East St. Louis (Deficiency Correction), IL
• Illinois Waterway, LaGrange Lock & Dam (Major Rehabilitation), IL
• Olmsted Locks and Dam, Ohio River, IL & KY
• Manhattan, KS
• Delaware River Main Channel, NJ, PA & DE
• East Branch Clarion River Lake, PA (Dam Safety)
• Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries, TX (Dam Safety) 1/
• Lewisville Dam, TX (Dam Safety) 1/
• Lynnhaven River Basin, VA
• Skokomish River, WA
• Bluestone Lake, WV (Dam Safety) 1/

1/ This project has been funded to completion with these funds and funds provided in the Bipartisan Budget Control Act of 2018.

Public Law 115-244 requires USACE to fund six new studies in the Investigations account and five new projects in the Construction account.  The Army selected six 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, one shall be for a navigation study; one shall be for a flood and storm damage reduction study; one shall be for an environmental restoration study; and three shall be for navigation, flood and storm damage reduction, environmental restoration, water supply, or multi-purpose studies.  The six selected studies are:

• Brunswick Harbor, GA (Navigation)
• Kansas River Reservoirs Flood and Sediment Study, KS, CO & NE (Flood Risk Management)
• Three Forks Beargrass Creek, KY (Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration)
• Mississippi River Ship Channel, Port of New Orleans, LA (Navigation)
• New York and New Jersey Harbor Deepening Channel Improvements, NY & NJ (Navigation)
• FE Walter Dam Reevaluation Study, PA (Flood Risk Management)

The Statement of Managers also stipulates that of the five Construction new starts, one shall be for navigation; one shall be for flood and storm damage reduction; one shall be for environmental restoration; and two shall be for navigation, flood and storm damage reduction, environmental restoration, or multi-purpose projects.  The five selected projects are:

• Manhattan, KS (Flood Risk Management)
• Sault Ste. Marie (Replacement Lock), MI (Navigation)
• Cedar Bayou, TX (Navigation)
• Sabine-Neches Waterway, TX (Navigation)
• Skokomish River, WA (Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration)

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 (House Report 115-929) can be found at https://www.congress.gov/congressional-report/115th-congress/house-report/929/1?overview=closed

SOURCE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Related Links

http://www.usace.army.mil