Support Authorization of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA)

ACTION NEEDED:

Urge federal lawmakers to pass a Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) bill during the 118th Congress and to continue the two-year WRDA authorization cycle. 

BACKGROUND:

WRDA bills authorize water resources studies and projects and set policies for navigation, flood control, hydropower, recreation, water supply and emergency management for the U.S Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps). This legislation advances county interests related to ports, inland waterways, levees, dams, wetlands, watersheds and coastal restoration.

Congress has passed WRDA on a two-year authorization cycle since 2014. The authorizing committees for the Army Corps – the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works – are currently in the process of drafting a new WRDA bill, as the last WRDA legislation was enacted in 2022. As owners, users and regulators of water resources and infrastructure, counties are directly impacted by the policies and funding authorized in the legislation. We often partner with the Army Crops to strengthen local infrastructure.

NACo has played a key role in including county priorities in previous WRDA bills. During the 2018 WRDA cycle, NACo testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on the county role in strengthening America’s water infrastructure. The final 2018 WRDA bill included several provisions supported by counties, such as requiring the Army Corps to consult with impacted stakeholders, including local government, on future pending WRDA projects, annual district budgets, deauthorized projects and guidance documents. NACo leadership was also active during the 2020 and 2022 WRDA cycles, sending multiple

KEY TALKING POINTS:

• WRDA is critical in assisting county governments to protect, maintain and further develop our water infrastructure systems including ports, waterways and clean and safe drinking water. Passing WRDA on a biennial basis provides critical stability and certainty to local governments required to meet water infrastructure needs while also supporting the safety, environment and economic development of our communities.
• Counties support preserving and maintaining the partnership between federal, state and local governments for funding, implementing and maintaining essential and environmentally sound navigation, harbor, beach management and flow control projects across the nation.
• Local governments need a strong WRDA to address critical water infrastructure needs in our communities.
• Through WRDA, the Army Corps supports certain projects and studies, allowing some communities with limited funds to move forward with vital projects that would otherwise be unaffordable.