The Water Resources Development Act of 2007, which authorizes and provides for specified water resources development and conservation projects, passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on April 19 and passed in the Senate on May 16, 2007. The bill may proceed to a conference committee of senators and representatives to work out differences in the versions of the bill each chamber approved, and then awaits the signature of the President before becoming law.

The bill authorizes the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to carry out specified projects for navigation, environmental restoration, ecosystem restoration, hurricane and storm damage reduction, and flood damage reduction. In addition to a number of other provisions, the bill calls for:

• a schedule for consolidating federal, state, and local agency and Indian tribe environmental assessments, project reviews and issuance of all project permits;
• a coordinated project review process;
• public access to water resource and related water quality data;
• the Secretary of the Army to recommend a framework for a long-term program of wetlands protection, conservation and restoration in coastal Louisiana;
• pre-construction assistance to state and local governments for remediation, environmental restoration or reuse of specified areas;
• plans for regional management of sediment obtained in conjunction with projects; and
• peer review of project studies by an independent panel of experts.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that implementing the Water Resources Development Act would cost about $6.7 billion over the 2008-2012 period and an additional $6.5 billion over the 10 years after 2012. Read the full text of the bill »