The Water Resources Development Act Survives a Presidential Veto

On November 8, 2007, H.R. 1495, the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), survived a presidential veto to become public law. The House of Representatives voted 361-54 to overturn the veto on November 6 and the Senate followed their lead, voting 79-14, making WRDA the first piece of legislation to overcome a veto during the Bush Administration.

The final bill authorizes more than  $23 billion in funding for Army Corps of Engineers navigation, flood control, and environmental restoration projects across the country. The administration cited its preference for a watered-down version that would have authorized around $9 billion less as a reason for the veto. Legislators of both parties disagreed, maintaining that adequate funding for WRDA projects is necessary for the maintenance of our infrastructure and especially essential for cleanup and restoration of the Gulf Coast.

Among other things, the legislation authorizes funding to carry out comprehensive coastal and wetland repairs and to strengthen hurricane and flood protection in areas afflicted by Hurricane Katrina. The bill authorizes $105 million for environmental restoration of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, $242 million for the restoration of the Barataria Basin Barrier Shoreline, and authorizes the Army Corps of Engineers to develop a levee system in New Orleans’ Jefferson Parish that will withstand 100 years of regular use. The bill also sanctions an unprecedented $1.9 million for a total restoration of the Louisiana coastline, which could provide landscape architects new opportunities to assist in the Gulf Coast recovery and ensure that wetland areas are protected from encroachment by future development.

WRDA also includes a version of the National Levee Safety Act of 2007, which establishes a comprehensive levee-driven flood control and hurricane protection system in all U.S. coastal areas. The legislation authorizes $20 million for each fiscal year from 2008 through 2013 to develop technologically and environmentally sound programs related to hazard mitigation through levees, and to define and encourage the use of proper engineering policies and procedures for levee site investigation, design, and emergency preparedness.

The measure also authorizes funding for various projects across all 50 states. Some projects include restoration in the upper Missouri and Illinois Waterway System and cleanup of Combined Sewer Overflow in St. Louis County. The bill also includes authorization for funding for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan which addresses flood control, ecosystem restoration, and water quality protection in Florida’s Indian River Lagoon. The Rio Grande Environmental Management Program in Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico, which will provide planning, construction, and evaluation of fish and wildlife habitat rehabilitation programs in the Rio Grande Basin, is also included in the bill.

Finally, to address some concerns and criticisms of the Army Corps of Engineers’ inefficiency in carrying out certain projects, Congress included a provision mandating independent peer review of Corps projects and programs and a provision mandating independent project safety review. Moreover, the bill requires that the Secretary of the Army ensure that all ecological restoration projects are monitored to ensure their success.