OPENING STATEMENT BY SENATOR FRANK R. LAUTENBERG
FOR EPW HEARING ON WRDA
THURSDAY MARCH 11, 1999

Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this important hearing today. I am pleased to be a cosponsor of the Water Resources Development Act of 1999, one of the most important public works measures before the Senate.

I applaud you, Mr. Chairman, for bringing this matter so quickly to the Committee for consideration.

This legislation includes authorizations for numerous water resources projects critical to my state. Three shoreline protection projects - which will protect property, wildlife habitat, and contribute to New Jersey's coastal economy -- are authorized to proceed to construction in this bill.

Mr. Chairman, I am also pleased that this Committee has addressed a serious policy disagreement with the Administration over funding for shore protection projects.

For the past five years, the Administration has requested no funding for new shore protection studies and has underfunded the construction work of ongoing projects.

Last year, the Administration proposed modifying the cost-share for shore protection projects to require the states and localities to finance the majority -- 65 percent, of the costs of periodic renourishment.

This activity is the most expensive portion of the project, projects generally receive since these renourishments approximately once every 3 to 5 years over their 50-year lifetime.

I disagreed with this approach because I believed that it was unfair to those communities that had planned long and hard on the expectation of these projects, a true partnership with the federal government.

During the consideration of this bill in Committee last year, I offered an amendment to allow us to phase in a more reasonable cost-sharing formula for shore protection projects.

Those projects which have a feasibility study completed by the end of 1998 (and now, 1999 in our new bill) or which are authorized to proceed to construction in this bill, will continue to be covered by the 65/35 cost-share formula through the life of the projects, just as all flood control projects are cost-shared.

Those projects authorized subsequently will continue to receive the 65/35 cost-share formula for the initial construction. However, states will be required to provide 50 percent for periodic renourishment.

While I was disappointed that we could not maintain the current cost share for all projects, I believe that the committee's proposal is fairer to the communities and states that have planned for these projects.

We have authorized many shore protection projects that have only moved forward because of the efforts of Congress. I sincerely hope that our action today moves the Administration forward to begin planning and budgeting for these projects.

The bill also provides necessary authorization adjustments for projects critical to the movement of cargo through the Port of New York and New Jersey as proposed by Senator Moynihan and me.

The port, which annually handles 1.4 million containers and 30 billion gallons of petroleum products, is the gateway to a thriving economy for New Jersey, New York, and the entire country. By the Year 2010, experts predict that 90 percent of all liner freight will be shipped in containers.

The bill's amendments are important to addressing the increasing cost of dredged material disposal in light of the moratorium on ocean disposal. Mr. Chairman, the State of New Jersey, local governments and regional authorities have been carefully planning and budgeting for the critical projects that this bill authorizes. Any further delays could have an adverse impact on the economies of regions that are affected by these projects. I hope that we can move quickly to report this bill out of Committee.

I'm also looking forward to discussing the Corps' proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2000 with Dr. Westphal. I believe that this budget has a lot for New Jersey's ports and I'm pleased that both the Kill van Kull project in the north, and the Delaware River project in the south, are adequately funded. Thank you.