Water Resources Development Act 2010 Requests
The U.S. Congress reauthorizes the Water Resources Development Act ("WRDA"), the comprehensive water resources law, every two years. This law authorizes studies and projects within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mission areas, including navigation, flood damage reduction, hurricane and storm damage reduction, shoreline protection, and environmental restoration. Congress is in the process of developing a new WRDA bill for the 111th Congress to address new project studies and authorizations that have occurred over the past two years. I have submitted the following project requests to the Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure for consideration during the development of a new water resources bill in 2010:
To authorize construction of the master drainage plan project at Mustang Bayou & Lower Oyster Creek, Missouri City, TX. This project will authorize the construction of a drainage system in accordance with guidance from the "Missouri City Master Drainage Plan Update: Mustang Bayou & Lower Oyster Creek - Missouri City, Texas," report dated January 2008. This project will prevent the possibility of structural flooding in 100-year storm events. The project will also make improvements to Kitty Hollow Lake, a regional detention facility, and widen surrounding channels to contain 100-year storm events within the channel banks and provide freeboards of at least one foot.
To authorize federal maintenance of the Barbours Cut Channel at a depth of 45 feet with minimal construction. The Barbours Cut Channel was dredged to a depth below 50 feet to obtain clay for levees at Spilman Island and to construct new marsh levees at Atkinson Island. The project request will allow the federal government to maintain the channel at a depth of 45 feet with minimal construction since the channel has already been dredged to 50 feet in depth. The added depth (from 40 to 45 feet) in the federal Barbours Cut Channel will allow larger vessels to call on the Barbours Cut Terminal, resulting in transportation efficiencies and savings on the consumer goods transported. Additionally, the ability of larger vessels to call on the Barbours Cut terminal necessitates fewer transits of goods, reducing the air quality impact to the Houston-Galveston non-attainment area.
To repair damages from Hurricane Ike to the Houston-Galveston Ship Channel, branch channels, associated disposal areas and beneficial use sites. The 15-20 ft storm surge associated with Hurricane Ike, which struck the Houston area on September 13, 2008, severely damaged dredge placement and environmental restoration areas in the Houston Ship Channel. While Congress previously passed supplemental appropriations to repair and bring these areas back to their pre-storm condition, the associated cost-sharing requirement has been prohibitive. The authorization of this project under WRDA would effectively overcome this hurdle to complete the necessary repairs as expeditiously as possible.
To allow federal reimbursement of non-federal operations and maintenance of navigation projects. Budgetary constraints have impacted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) ability to maintain the Houston Ship Channel at its authorized depth and width and restore full utilization of this resource in the event of unexpected shoaling. This project’s language would provide the authority to a non-Federal sponsor of a navigation project, with approval of the Secretary, to maintain a channel with its own funds and later receive reimbursement from Federal appropriations.
To modify the navigation/environmental restoration project authorized by Sec. 101(a)(30) of WRDA 1996 to construct disposal areas on Pelican Island. The Galveston Harbor Channel is being deepened from 40 feet to 45 feet, which will result in the production of three million cubic yards of sand and clay that can be used for fill material for local service facilities. By directing this valuable product away from disposal facilities, this project would allow the use of this material to fill underutilized berths and slips and its stockpiling in new disposal areas on property owned by non-federal sponsors. The stockpiled material could later be used to raise the elevation of future service facilities to protect them from storm surge and flooding.
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