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WRDA update
Progress continues to be made by Senate Republican and
Democratic leadership on Capitol Hill in an effort to bring the Water
Resources & Development Act (WRDA) to a vote. Though the bill has been
stalled in the Senate for over a year, both parties have finished �hotlining�
the bill again, a procedure which allows the party leadership to determine if
there are any holds on the bill, whether any members would like to offer
amendments, etc. A bill may be hotlined several times in order to
successfully reach an agreement on how it will be handled on the Senate
floor, and it appears that these efforts may be nearing completion for the
WRDA bill.
The last WRDA bill was passed in 2000. Typically, it is biennial legislation,
and it is now approaching four years overdue. PNWA strongly supports the
passage of a WRDA this year, and has joined with other navigation and
economic development groups nationwide to encourage the Senate leadership to
schedule this bill for floor time and a vote. PNWA was successful in securing
the signatures of all six Northwest Senators on a WRDA support letter signed
by 80 Senators, which was delivered to Senate Majority Leader Frist in early
February. For a copy of the letter, visit www.pnwa.net.
PNWA urges Congress to bring the new Senate WRDA bill to the floor for a
vote. WRDA needs to pass this year. For a full copy of all PNWA supported
language in both the House and Senate WRDA bills, visit www.pnwa.net.
Senate
Appropriations Committee finishes work on Energy & Water bill
The Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee marked
up their FY2007 appropriations bill (H.R.5427) on Tuesday, June 27th, and the
full Senate Appropriations Committee reported the bill on Thursday, June
29th. The Senate bill sets overall Corps funding at $5.139 billion for the
Army Corps of Engineers, a $406.4 million increase over the President�s
budget, but still a decrease of $189.7 million from FY2006 enacted levels.
PNWA is pleased to report that the Committee rejected the Administration
proposal to move Endangered Species Act compliance activities, like the
Columbia River Fish Mitigation project (CRFM) to the operations &
maintenance (O&M) account. CRFM is now back in the Construction General
account, where it has traditionally been reflected, and is funded at $83M.
PNWA is also pleased to note that the Committee also rejected the
regionalized/watershed approach to displaying O&M funding that appeared
in the President�s budget and the House bill, due to a lack of transparency
that would result in the budgetary process. The PNWA Board of Directors
recently voted to oppose the regionalized/watershed approach to O&M, and
supports the traditional approach the Senate has used to display O&M
funding by project.
The Committee recommendation also includes revised reprogramming guidance to
allow the Corps more flexibility in the civil works program. The Committee
directs that decision-making for reprogramming and contracting decisions
should be made at the lowest possible levels within the organization. They
have also included particular thresholds for reprogramming, and actions that
exceed those thresholds will require advance approval from the House and
Senate Appropriations Committees.
The Committee report made reference to changes in the operation of the
federal minimum dredge fleet, and directed the Corps to operate the fleet in
support of all Army Corps of Engineers missions and no restrictions shall be
placed on the use or maintenance of any dredge in the federal fleet. This language
is similar to what was included in the FY2006 Senate bill, but was
unfortunately removed during conference with the House bill last year. PNWA
will work to preserve this language, when the Senate bill is conferenced with
the House bill later this fall.
Nearly all of PNWA's supported projects were funded at our desired levels. In
particular, the following projects received funding boosts in the Senate
bill, as compared to the levels seen in the President's budget and House
appropriations bill: Elliott Bay Seawall, Humboldt Bay Long Term Sediment
Management Plan, Columbia River jetty repair, Old Mouth of the Cowlitz
(Longview Fibre), Tillamook Bay and Bar (Port of Garibaldi), Yaquina River
(Port of Toledo), Swinomish Channel (Port of Skagit County), Columbia River
at Baker Bay (Port of Ilwaco), and Columbia River between Chinook and Sand
Island (Port of Chinook). In addition, there is funding for the Odessa
Subarea Special Study ($600K) as well as the Walla Walla Watershed Study
($650K).
For a full listing of the updated numbers and all of PNWA's supported energy
& water appropriations projects, please see materials at www.pnwa.net.
PNWA is very pleased with most of the project funding amounts included in the
Senate bill, and we would like to recognize our Northwest Senate delegation
members on the Appropriations Committee for all their hard work: U.S. Senator
Patty Murray (D-WA), U.S. Senator Larry Craig, (R-ID), and U.S. Senator
Conrad Burns (R-MT). We urge PNWA members to thank these members and their
staff when the opportunity arises.
FY2006
federal Port Security Grant Program opens for applications
The Department of Homeland Security has finally announced
application guidelines for the FY2006 Port Security Grant Program, for which
$168,025,000 in funding is available. DHS has expanded the number of eligible
port areas from 68 to 101. Unfortunately, only eight Northwest port areas are
included in this list: Anacortes, Kalama, Longview, Portland, Seattle, Tacoma, Valdez, and Vancouver.
Applications are due by Friday, August 4, 2006, and awards will be announced
no later than September 20, 2006. Strong emphasis will be placed on projects
focusing on prevention and detection against improvised explosive devices
(IED). Of great concern are IEDs delivered via small craft, underwater and in
vehicles or ferries. In addition, projects which demonstrate enhanced
Maritime Domain Awareness (e.g., access controls/standardized credentialing,
command and control, communications and enhanced intelligence sharing and
analysis) will also receive preference in this round of grants. For more
information, visit www.pnwa.net.
to view agency fact sheets and frequently asked questions.
Walla Walla District Change of Command
Lt. Col. Randy Glaeser handed over the reins of the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers Walla Walla District to Lt. Col. Anthony J. Hoffman on
Friday, June 30th at the Marcus Whitman Hotel in Walla Walla. PNWA staff was
on hand to welcome Lt. Col. Hoffman to his new post, and was joined by
members from the Ports of Pasco, Kennewick, Umatilla, and Clarkston.
Lt. Col. Glaeser came to the district two years ago, and is now retiring
after 20 years of military service. Under his command, the District installed
a second removable spillway weir, and also completed dredging of the Lower Snake River after settlement of a court case that had prevented dredging for several
years. He will become the Walla Walla County public works director on August
21st.
PNWA thanks Lt. Col. Glaeser for his time and tremendous efforts to uphold
the navigation and hydropower functions of the Lower Snake River, and we look
forward to developing a strong and productive relationship with Lt. Col.
Hoffman.
Corps to
take comment on Columbia River jetty rehabilitation
The Portland District will take comment on the proposed
rehabilitation of portions of the North and South Jetties and Jetty A at the
Mouth of the Columbia River. The Corps completed interim repairs on the North
Jetty last year and is working on interim repairs on the South Jetty this
year. The rehabilitation will provide long term protection for the navigation
channel at Mouth of the Columbia and in the lower Columbia River channel.
Initial construction of the jetties began in the late 1800s. Over the
decades, all three jetties have experienced damage and a reduction in length.
PNWA supports the full rehabilitation of these jetties to ensure the safety
of navigation and maintain the Columbia River as a leading national gateway
for international trade. An informational meeting will be held from 7:00 to
9:00 pm, July 31 at the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria. Comments
can be sent to Steve Helm and must be
received by August 4.
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