Engineering Inc. - September/October 2006 - 8

L EG I S L AT I v E ACTION FROM ACEC'S GOvERNMENT AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
long-DElAyED WRDA Bill PASSES SEnATE; ESTATE TAx ComPRomiSE in THE WoRkS
ACEC Scores Big Win as Senate Approves level, but 6 percent below current
funding. The measure also pro- $12-Billion Water Resources Development Act
vides $5.5 billion for the Department of Energy's defense environ- The
Senate in late July cleared ACEC-backed legislation that will mental
cleanup programs, a reduction from the current spending authorize nearly
$12 billion in Corps of Engineers projects through- level of $6.1 billion.
The Senate version of the bill, which has been out the country. approved at
the committee level, provides $5.1 billion for the Army The Water Resources
Development Act WRDA authorizes new Corps of Engineers and $5.4 billion for
defense environmental federal funding for flood control, navigation and
environmental res- cleanup programs. toration projects. High Court Rules
on Wetlands Cases; ACEC The bill's passage represents a major
accomplishment for the Comments on Related EPA Rulemaking Council, as the
legislation was stalled in the Senate for several years. ACEC and its
citizen lobbyists campaigned for passage of WRDA The U.S. Supreme Court
has ruled during Hill visits at the Annual Convention in May. on two major
wetlands-related cases, House and Senate leaders have indicated that they
will work sending both back to the lower court toward a final compromise
bill before Congress recesses in the fall. to further review whether
certain The Senate WRDA bill will go a long way in addressing the $58-
wetlands are subject to federal regu- billion backlog of Corps projects
resulting from the delay in getting lation under the Clean Water Act.
REUTERS/KEvin LamaRqUE/nEwScom the legislation approved. The last WRDA
bill was enacted in 2000, While the outcome is still unclear, and since
WRDA legislation traditionally is passed every two years, the eventual
ruling could have a the current reauthorization is four years overdue.
significant impact on how the fed- Among the high-profile projects that
are included in the Senate eral government regulates wetlands, bill are
funding for navigation and flood control improvements along which is a
major issue for clients of the Upper Mississippi River system and flood
control improvements ACEC members. Justice Antonin Scalia for Gulf Coast
areas damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Depending on how the lower The
Senate-passed bill also includes language offered by Senators courts rule,
the wetlands regula- John McCain R-Ariz. and Russell Feingold D-Wis. that
imposes tory process could be streamlined, additional oversight in the
Corps' project approval process. The pro- allowing quicker and easier
project vision requires projects costing more than $40 million to undergo
a development. At the least, the eventual rulings will help clarify the
review by an independent panel of experts prior to going forward. complex
wetlands regulatory process. ACEC is concerned that additional oversight
requirements on the At issue in Rapanos v. United States and Carabell v.
U.S. Army Corps may unnecessarily delay high-priority projects. The
Council Corps of Engineers is the scope of the Clean Water Act's
jurisdiction will work with House and Senate conferees to ensure that the
final over wetlands and other waters of the U.S. In both cases, the lower
language facilitates rather than delays projects. courts sided with the
Army Corps of Engineers and upheld the Corps' authority to regulate the
project developments at issue, both Congress to Focus on Spending Bills
This Fall of which required the use of wetlands. Key funding bills for
transportation, the environment and other While the decision does not
appear to provide clearer guidance federal construction programs will be a
major priority as Congress over what constitutes a wetland subject to
federal regulation, the returns from its summer recess. During the summer,
Congress began work on the 11 annual ISSuES ON ThE MOvE WhAT'S NExT
appropriations bills that fund government agencies and programs.
Environmental, Final action in the fall The House completed work on the
bills, although progress in the Transportation Funding Senate has been
slower, making it likely that a lame duck congres- sional session will
take place after Election Day in November. Death Tax Reform Senate vote in
September The House-passed F.Y. 2007 Energy and Water Development Asbestos
Litigation Reform Possible Senate Appropriations bill provides roughly $5
billion for the Army Corps consideration in September of Engineers, which
is $251 million above President Bush's requested ENGINEERING INC.
SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2006
Engineering Inc. - September/October 2006

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