White House Warns Against Senate Water Resources Bill
The Obama Administration cautioned the Senate against passing a water resources bill, calling the bill’s project permitting provisions “counterproductive,” and not adequate in protecting “communities, taxpayers, or the environment. The bill constrains science-based decision making, increases litigation risk, and undermines the integrity of several foundational environmental laws,” said the May 6 statement of policy. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill, S.601, the Water Resources Development Act, May 7. Introduced by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Sen. David Vitter, R-La., the bill authorizes funding for various Army Corps of Engineers projects (read it here). The bill also allocates resources for the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, and prioritizes which projects should be funded through such money.
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The administration’s statement of policy, which did not threaten a veto, said new project authorization for the Corps should be limited to those likely to provide high economic and environmental returns or address public safety within the Corps’ main mission areas: flood and storm damage reduction, commercial navigation and aquatic ecosystem restoration. The bill “would weaken Congressional involvement and transparency in the authorization of Corps studies and construction projects while expanding Federal obligations without ensuring taxpayer dollars are targeted to achieve the highest overall return for the Nation,” the administration said. “Further, it limits spending controls even when actual project costs far exceed authorized levels.”