▶ 0:21:36The subcommittee on water resources and environment will come to order. I ask unanimous consent that the chairman be authorized to declare a recess at any time during today's hearing. Without objection, so ordered. I also ask unanimous consent that members not on the subcommittee be permitted to sit with the subcommittee at today's hearing and ask questions. Without objection, so ordered. As a reminder, if members wish to insert a document into the record, please also email it to documents timail.house.gov.
▶ 0:22:10I now recognize myself for the purpose of an opening statement for five minutes. Well, today's hearing is the first of a series that this subcommittee will hold before drafting a water resource development act water for 2026. To kick off the water 2026 process, today we have the opportunity to hear from stakeholders from across the nation about the importance of Army Corps civil works programs and maintaining a consistent two-year water schedule.
▶ 0:22:40Order is one of the most important pieces of legislation that we work to draft and pass here at the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and we are proud to do so Every two years since 2014, Congress has passed a bipartisan consensus water bill into law, helping communities across this country. I look forward to working once again with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle continue this important tradition.
▶ 0:23:08Water is a critical vehicle to meet the water resources needs in the communities nationwide. Reliable water navigation systems allow for the safe and efficient shipping of cargo that is fueling our economy. Levies protect homes and businesses from flooding.
▶ 0:23:25Dams and reservoirs like Lake Laneir in Georgia, where I grew up visiting with my family, also provide flood control for communities, electricity, and opportunities for Water 2024 included several important provisions for water needs in the state of Georgia and the country as a whole.
▶ 0:23:44Specifically, water 2024 authorized a feasibility study for Tybee Island ecosystem restoration and storm damage risk reduction and modified the feasibility studies for Savannah Harbor and and New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam, updating these prioritizations to effectively and efficiently meet changing needs. In Georgia, 2025 was the busiest year on record for the Port of Savannah, and the Port of Brunswick became America's number one port for automobiles.
▶ 0:24:14A consistent two-year water process is essential in helping our ports keep up with growing demand and grow our nation's economy. An important part of the water preo uh pro process is the partnership between the federal government and non-federal partners and stakeholders who come together to solve local water resources needs.
▶ 0:24:35It's great to see a panel of witnesses today representing diverse interest and geographic areas but who al are brought together not only by water resources issues but also by the solutions that water can uh waters can provide. I look forward to hearing from each of you today on the importance of water and assisting with flood control, inland water navigation, coastal re uh restoration, beach reourishment, and the ensuring safe movement of goods through maritime transportation.
▶ 0:25:07I now recognize ranking member Wilson for five minutes for an opening
▶ 0:25:14Thank you, Mr. chairman for holding today's hearing through bianial enactment of water resources development acts. This committee is addressing the water related needs of our states and local communities.
▶ 0:25:31Worders are a shining example of how Congress can efficiently and effectively meet the bipartisan needs of our communities when we decide it is better to work together than apart. Again, I look forward to continuing my partnership with you with Chairman Graves and with Ranking Member Larson to get this done. Mr.
▶ 0:25:59Chairman, each of our communities experience unique water resource challenges. We seek to address these challenges through predictable enactment of words, providing the core with the tools necessary to address community needs.
▶ 0:26:17As stressors or local priorities change over time, this committee has stayed vigilant to ensure that the core has the authority and resources necessary to address local needs. The history of corors bears this out.
▶ 0:26:39The core's civil works responsibility was initially focused primarily on navigation, developing the coastal and inland harbors necessary for the efficient movement of goods to our young nation.
▶ 0:26:57That responsibility was later expanded to incorporate largecale flood control in part due to widespread flooding along the Mississippi River that devastated communities and More recently, as more communities realize the economic, environmental, and public health benefits from restoring their environment, Congress expanded the
▶ 0:27:27CORE's responsibility to include watershed and ecosystem restoration, the benefits that can be seen in the Florida Everglades, coastal Louisiana, and in the Great Lakes.
▶ 0:27:43In fact, just last week, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of enactment of the comprehensive Everglades restoration plan through word of 2000.
▶ 0:27:58This decadel long partnership between the core, the state, and other non-federal partners show how largecale environmental restoration projects can have a tangible, dramatic and lasting benefit to our communities, our economies, our human and environmental health, and our quality of life.
▶ 0:28:23Lastly, in word of 2024, the Congress gave the core new direction to work with communities to support local efforts to enhance water supply, water conservation, and drought resiliency needs. Mr.
▶ 0:28:42Chairman, as we develop a new word bill of 2026, we need to build on the successes of the last few word of bills and the enhanced direction for the core to partner with communities of all types, large and small, urban, rural, and tribal, economically welloff, and communities that struggle to make ends meet.
▶ 0:29:11to address their local water resources challenges. It is my hope that word 2026 will continue to ensure that the next of flood control navigation, environmental restoration and water supply and conservation projects uh [clears throat] that studies are authorized and allowed to proceed.
▶ 0:29:40We must continue to promote community resilience to the challenges faced by extreme weather events and changes to climate conditions on the ground. Whether there's too much water, including coastal and inland flooding events or too little water, such as areas facing increased frequencies of drought conditions.
▶ 0:30:07and we must ensure that all communities are given the opportunity to work with the core to resolve their water resources challenges. Finally, Mr. Chairman, we have started to hear concerns from members on both sides of the aisle that recent changes in the communication policies of the core have led to delays and denials of sharing even the most basic information
▶ 0:30:38about core projects in members districts. As the chairman knows, seamless communication between the core and members offices is essential for successful development and implementation of world laws and projects.
▶ 0:30:58I hope that these bureaucratic holdups can be quickly dispensed with they cause challenges in this committee completing its critical work to develop a new word. I look forward to working with you on this proposal and on our continued partnership to develop another successful word of this Congress.
▶ 0:31:28So, let's get to work and I yield back.
▶ 0:31:32I now recognize the ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Larson, for five minutes for an opening statement.
▶ 0:31:38Thank you, Mr. Chair. In the interest of time, we're voting around 10:30. I'm going to be uh uh ask you ask to put my full statement in the record. Um but I do want to reiterate a point that the ranking member made. Uh I too have heard concerns from both sides of the aisle about changes in the communication policies of the core that are actually driven out of the Department of Defense. And uh it seems uh that this is a ridiculous policy. It's a short-sighted policy.
▶ 0:32:08Uh my district this past weekend has been the victim of major flooding where the core is on the ground working side by side with the local emergency operations center folks. My staff is on the ground working side by side uh with the emergency operations uh center folks in order to bird dog problems and those include problems with the core.
▶ 0:32:30Uh, is the core are the core of engineers folks supposed to um run scurrying away like rats when my staff approaches them in a room to ask for help in order to get uh culverts cleared out, in order to get dikes inspected, in order to get levies inspected. We have to go ask the secretary of defense be Hexath for permission to save lives in my district. Uh, this is a practical impact of a ridiculous short-sighted uh policy that is being applied to the core of engineers.
▶ 0:32:58how the how the rest of the DoD wants to handle it is up to them. But we're in flood season where I'm from and uh we can't have delays waiting for the DoD to sign off on uh on my staff talking to the local core of engineer folks about the problems we're facing. Uh I want to be sure to get that across. Other than that, I really do look forward to the testimony we're have to hear today and I'll yield back. Thank
▶ 0:33:24I thank Mr. Larson in it as to your unanimous consent without objection. So
▶ 0:33:29Yeah, I was trying to remember what I was supposed to say there. Um, I'd like to now welcome our witnesses and thank them for being here today. Uh, you probably know, but I'm going to just briefly go over and explain the lighting system. There are three lights in front of you. The green means go. Yellow means you're running out of time. And when it turns red, please conclude your remarks. I ask unanimous consent that uh the witness's full statements be included in the record. Uh without objection, so ordered.
▶ 0:33:57Uh I ask unanimous consent that the record of today's hearing remain open until such time as our witnesses have provided answers to any questions that may be submitted to them in writing. Without objection, so ordered. I also ask unanimous consent that the record remain open for 15 days uh for any additional comments and information submitted by members or witnesses to be included in the record of today's hearing. Without objection, so ordered. You want me to go and do that one?
▶ 0:34:26I also ask unanimous consent to enter into the record uh a letter from the American Coastal Coalition dated December the 15, 2025. A letter from the American Association of Port Authorities dated December 15, 2025 and a letter from the New York City Economic Development Corporation dated December 16th, 2025. Without objection, so ordered. As your written testimony has been made part of the record, the subcommittee asks that you limit your oral remarks to five minutes.
▶ 0:34:57With that, uh, Miss Offner, you are recognized for five minutes for your Chairman Collins, Ranking Member Larson, Ranking Member Wilson, and members of the subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on priorities for water resources development act of 2026. My name is Julie, National Water Waste Conference, and I am president and CEO.
▶ 0:35:24NWC is the only national organization that represents under one umbrella all US Army Corps of Engineers civil works business lines from navigation, flood control, water supply, hydropower, ecosystem restoration and recreation before Congress and the administration. Many of our members work directly with the core across the entire civil works arena.
▶ 0:35:49And many of our members are non-federal sponsors of US Army Corps of Engineers studies and projects. They are states, local, tribal governments as well as specialurpose public districts like ports, flood control, levy districts, water agencies. These sponsors share project costs and often assume long-term operation and maintenance responsibilities after the project is completed.
▶ 0:36:17At its core, WRA exists because there are many water resource challenges that are too complex and too costly for local communities to handle. WRA relies on a partnership of the Congress, core and non-federal sponsors. Congress provides projects, sets policy, and appropriates federal funding.
▶ 0:36:39The core provides technical expertise, conducts studies, develops guidance, and delivers projects, and non-federal sponsors bring local funding, knowledge, and long-term responsibility. WRA works best when all three are aligned. This brings me to the first major theme we are hearing from our members, and that is communication.
▶ 0:37:03The importance of clear, consistent Sponsors continue to experience gaps in engagement during feasibility studies, project delivery, and permitting. In our experience, early communication often prevents issues that later become too costly or difficult to resolve. Second, sponsors are concerned about keeping projects on track and within authorized estimates.
▶ 0:37:29Extended feasibility timelines, evolving design assumptions, and gaps between authorization and appropriation can compound over time. For example, projects that are authorized may not be funded immediately or may be funded incrementally over multiple appropriation cycles during which costs rise even when scope doesn't change. This misalignment creates uncertainty for both the federal and non-federal partners.
▶ 0:37:59Finally, non-federal sponsors emphasize the importance of predictability in core reviews and decisions across all policies and programs. How and when determinations are made, including reviews, eligibility, real estate, and internal reviews, directly impact local planning, financial commitments, and the ability to move forward. Greater certainty equals more durable partnerships and better projects.
▶ 0:38:27NWC is working through a member-driven process to develop specific recommendations for WERA 2026. We do recognize that not every challenge requires legislation. Some issues may be more appropriately addressed through implementation, guidance, or congressional oversight. In closing, I want to emphasize how important it is to our local communities that Word stay on a bianual basis.
▶ 0:38:56Predictability matters. When the project is consistent, communities benefit, partners can plan with confidence and projects are better positioned to move from one word cycle to another. Quite simply, WRA is a partnership that works and it benefits us all. Thank you so much for the opportunity to testify and I'm happy to take any questions.
▶ 0:39:25Thank you. Uh Mr. Camilillo, you are now recognized for five minutes for your
▶ 0:39:30Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Larson, Ranking Member Wilson, members of the subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to be here today to participate in this timehonored tradition of public participation in the legislative process. I am Charles Camilillo, executive vice president of the Midwest Flood Control Association.
▶ 0:39:52Our mission is to be a leading advocate to shape policy and secure investments that protect people and safeguard communities from destructive floods. We are at a pivotal moment on the upper Mississippi River. With the implementation of navigation and ecosystem improvements uh authorized through NESP and UMRR, our region now has two of the three necessary components to implement a holistic approach on the upper Mississippi River.
▶ 0:40:22All that remains is the third leg of that stool, systematic flood control. The great flood of 1993 devastated the Midwest. The flood caused anywhere from 15 billion to 20 billion in economic damages.
▶ 0:40:37It is important to note though as we gather here today that the existing flood control infrastructure in place at that time that was authorized and funded by Congress, designed and implemented by the US Army Corps of Engineers and maintained and nurtured by the local levy districts prevented an additional 19 billion in economic damages. This highlights in a very real way the criticality of undergoing the authorization process that we are participating in today.
▶ 0:41:06Flood control advocates uh came close to realizing the dream of achieving the third leg of the stool when Congress authorized a thorough study uh through the upper Mississippi River comprehensive plan authorized by WRA in 1999. But the stakeholders across the region uh could not really agree on a plan and we failed to reach the necessary benefit to cost justification thresholds through the study.
▶ 0:41:31So here we are today 32 years after the devastation caused by the great flood of 1993 and our risk remains unchanged. To this end, the long-term objective of the Midwest Flood Control Association is to build lasting relationships to find a long-term comprehensive solution to the flood problems on the upper Mississippi and Missouri rivers that we can all agree upon. We applaud recent legislation advanced for this committee.
▶ 0:42:00Word of 22 authorized the upper mis flow frequency study while word of 24 authorized the upper Mississippi River uh system flood risk and resiliency study. We see those studies as the potential first steps to achieving the long sought vision for systematic flood protection. We pledge our commitment to being a good partner to find an acceptable long-term solution.
▶ 0:42:26But in the meantime, our immediate near-term objective is to help our levy and drainage districts, there are 74 of them, to preserve and maintain their current level of protection and We have some reservations with the flow frequency study and its potential impact on current uh levels of protection and accreditation. We maintain the position that flow frequency studies should not be done in a vacuum.
▶ 0:42:56We understand and appreciate that the core of engineers needs the flow frequency data to understand what is happening on the river, but we want the core of engineers to also use that data to develop actionable solutions to offset changes to flood profiles.
▶ 0:43:12Releasing new profiles without actionable solutions will impact levy accreditation and cause significant increases in flood insurance rates and significant decreases in property The Midwest Flood Control Association strongly supports the passage of a word of bill in 2026. Our immediate priorities for such a bill are included in our formal written statement submitted for the record. The Midwest Flood Control is very optimistic about the future.
▶ 0:43:41We like what we are hearing from our engagements with the office of the assistant secretary of the army for civil works. We also applaud the leadership at the headquarters US Army Corps of Engineers. They asked stakeholders to challenge them on policy and legislation and to give them realistic proposals with specifics, something the core of engineers can sink their teeth into. We feel the priorities we set forth above do just that.
▶ 0:44:08We also thank the uh division and districts for their willingness to meet and exchange ideas. At the end of the day, they will be the ones who will need to deliver for us. Again, the Midwest Flood Control Association thanks this committee for your dedication to the bipartisan approach and to improving the lives of Americans from across the country and for giving us this opportunity to present our views today.
▶ 0:44:33Thank you, Mr. Jones. You are now recognized for five minutes for your
▶ 0:44:38Yeah. Well, thank you, Chairman Collins, Ranking Member Larson. Good to see you. Uh, ranking member Wilson and member of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the importance of WERA. We appreciate the committee's commitment to enact this important bill into law every two years, a regular cadence that keeps projects moving, provides greater certainty to local communities, and ensures that the US Army Corps of Engineers respond effectively to the nation's evolving needs.
▶ 0:45:06This legislation helps make our communities safer, increases the resilience of our infrastructure, and strengthens our supply chain and trade routes through strategic investments in America's ports and waterways. My name is Brian Jones. I'm president of H&TB's Mid-Atlantic Division. H&TB is an employeeowned infrastructure solutions firm that has provided planning, design, and construction management for large-scale public and private projects across the United States for more than 110 years.
▶ 0:45:35We are a long-standing partner to the core, delivering civil works projects that reduce flood risk, strengthen communities, and support economic resilience. Members of the subcommittee, this work is personal to me. I grew up on a farm in rural South Louisiana near the confluence of three rivers that were essential to my family's livelihood, getting our grain from farm to market every single year.
▶ 0:46:00I also witnessed firsthand the consequences of catastrophic system failures from hurricanes like Katrina and Rita in 2005 to the devastating inland floods of South Louisiana in 2016. These experience and many others have shaped my conviction that reliable water infrastructure supported by WER's predictable authorization cycle is essential to the safety security of our communities as well as our national Those in this room know all too well that there's no such things as fast enough when it comes to
▶ 0:46:30delivering infrastructure improvements. As the core and non-federal sponsors grow growing demands to deliver projects quickly with it with limited resources, Congress can help by ensuring that they have the flexibility to leverage private sector expertise through a broad range of delivery and financing tools that reflect the scale and the complexity of today's civil works program.
▶ 0:46:54Integrated design build contracts, for example, enhance coordination between design and construction on technically complex projects, accelerate delivery, and reduce schedule risk while maintaining cost discipline. Incremental funding approaches also allow large multi-year projects to move forward efficiently within annual appropriations. Public private partnerships and other collaborative delivery models can further the core's capacity, enabling more work to be delivered faster with more effective risk allocation.
▶ 0:47:24Broader and more consistent use of these tools represent a prudent evolution of the civil works program, supporting timely public benefits, limiting long-term cost growth, and maximizing the return on federal and non-federal investment. H&TB is proud to support the CORE's work by delivering on time and on budget for projects nationwide.
▶ 0:47:45With tremendous thanks to this committee and chair chairman Sam Graves for their work in authorizing the project, one example of this work is with the Kansas City District of the CPS to design levy, flood wall, and railroad closures, reducing flood risk to the community, and protecting more than 10 billion dollars in infrastructure.
▶ 0:48:03Another highlight of our work is in New Orleans, which is a vital gateway, as you well know, for US commerce, requiring flood risk reduction systems and navigation projects to support one of the world's busiest ports and waterways. HMDB planned and designed projects such as the West Closure Complex Pump Station, the Seabbrook Gate Complex, and the Morganza to the Gulf Flood Walls, which strengthen storm surge defense while safeguarding key shipping routes.
▶ 0:48:30As we look ahead in closing to word of 26, I ask that the subcommittee one continue to support streamlined permitting reforms that enable efficient core delivery. Two, ensure adequate feasibility phase funding to allow timely and technically sound outcomes for complex projects. Three, to continue and expand authorities that promote concurrent reviews, programmatic approaches, and pilot innovation.
▶ 0:48:57four to allocate resources to advance innovative funding and financing tools including public private partnerships to optimize project delivery. It has been an honor, Mr. Chairman, uh to speak with you today and the committee about WRO's role in shaping our communities and supporting economic growth. And at that proper time, I welcome any questions that you may have. Thank you, sir.
▶ 0:49:20Thank you, Mr. Jones. I uh I now recognize Mr. Garcia to uh introduce our next witness. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank you for the opportunity to wave on to the subcommittee today. I know that votes were just called, but I I'm grateful that we get to have our final witness today. Um, I want to introduce Dr. Noel Hagaba. Noel, thanks for being here. Uh, and first, let me start by personally congratulating you. Um, Dr.
▶ 0:49:42Haggaba is our new CEO at the Port of Long Beach and comes well prepared to do that job and we just want to congratulate you and excited to work with you as we have for for many years. Uh the port and the city are very lucky to have your leadership. We know that you're going to continue to do great work at our port. Had the privilege of working Noel when I was mayor of Long Beach for eight years. And Noel and I actually had a chance to work together in city hall even prior uh to that work. You've been an incredible advocate for ports and for trade.
▶ 0:50:11He's been a driving force in our port for some of the most impactful projects, including a number of terminal projects planned and underway that will grow the ability to move cargo across the country and of course around the world. Uh Noel also directed the port's response to the global supply chain disruptions during the pandemic and he helped establish supply chain information highway, a digital platform to improve efficiency and data sharing across our national freight network. Couldn't be more grateful to have him here today. And with that, Mr. Chairman, thanks again for waving on and I'd like to yield
▶ 0:50:45Uh Dr. Hassga, you are now recognized for five minutes. Thank you, Congressman Garcia, for your very generous introduction and for your long-standing support for a strong American port system. Good morning, Chairman Graves, Chairman Collins, Ranking Member Larson, Ranking Member Wilson, and members of the committee. It is an honor and a privilege to testify before this distinguished subcommittee today. My name is Noel Hassaba.
▶ 0:51:11As Representative Garcia said, I currently serve as chief operating officer, but on on January 1st, I have the great pleasure of assuming the role of chief executive officer at the Port of Long Beach. Together with the men and women of the International Longshore and warehouse union and our marine terminal operators and supply chain partners, the Port of Long Beach moves more than $300 billion in cargo annually through every congressional district, supporting 2.7 million jobs across America.
▶ 0:51:38In the first quarter of 2025, we moved the most containers of any US port. Though we are a California port, we've moved billions of dollars worth of cargo through many of your home states, including Georgia, Missouri, Washington, and Florida. We export soybeans from the Midwest, hay from Arizona, cotton from Texas, almonds from California, and pork and beef from Texas, Colorado, Kansas, and the Midwest.
▶ 0:52:05Additionally, the Port of Long Beach is one of 18 federally designated commercial strategic seapports, which means our infrastructure directly supports national security needs in time of crisis. I'm here today to present priorities not just on behalf of the Port of Long Beach, but in partnership with a broader port community, including the California Association of Port Authorities, who just elected me as their president, as well as the American Association of Port Authorities and the Coalition for America's Gateways and Trade Corridors.
▶ 0:52:35The policies this committee advances through the Water Resources Development Act are essential for our economy and national security. Thank you for working to deliver a bipartisan bill every two years. The first priority I will outline for WAR 2026 is a need for reauthorizing our deep draft navigation project. This project will deepen and expand the federal channels at our port to 80 ft, improving safety and enhancing efficiency for vessel operations, particularly larger and heavier ships.
▶ 0:53:06Long Beach is the only West Coast port capable of birthing very large crude carriers which hold more than 1 million barrels of oil each. We bring in over 200 million barrels of oil annually. And this project will enhance energy security by facilitating safer Thanks to WAR 2022, the project has an authorized chief's report and received full preconstruction engineering design funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law.
▶ 0:53:34Our request for VA 2026 is the approval of a post authorization change report or packer which we have been diligent working on with our partners at the core. Second, I want to thank this committee for its work over the years to ensure harbor maintenance uh trust fund dollars are fully allocated for their intended purpose. The port respectfully requests your continued support to ensure that annual distribution of these funds is not viewed as optional.
▶ 0:54:03As both a donor and energy transfer port, we estimate that the Port of Long Beach alone generated $400 million in HMT revenues in 2024. We are asking for equitable funding for donor and energy ports. Funds in for inwater expanded uses were authorized and awarded 2020, but have been received only once by qualifying donor and energy ports in the FY2024 Army Corps work plan.
▶ 0:54:28This resulted in $49 million for Long Beach, which we are using for dredging, as well as critical seismic and safety improvements at our wars and keys. Ports need reliable HMT expanded use funding to complete safety improvements, and we ask for the committee's help in advancing this priority through WARA.
▶ 0:54:47While today's hearing is on WRA, I also want to thank the committee for your work on the surface transportation reauthorization bill as ports need both strong water and landside networks to support critical supply chains. In closing, the Port of Long Beach appreciates the committee's leadership to ensure America's maritime infrastructure remains strong and globally competitive through WARA. There is no substitute to seeing port operations firsthand.
▶ 0:55:14So, I personally invite each of you to tour the Port of Long Beach, including those of you who have already done so, as there's always something new to see, and I promise the weather will be perfect. Mr. Chairman, ranking member, and members of the committee, thank you again so much for the opportunity to testify, and I would be pleased to answer any questions at the appropriate time.
▶ 0:55:38Thank you. Uh the chair has been notified there will be a series of votes occurring on the house floor. The subcommittee shall stand in recess subject to call of the chair.
▶ 0:56:12I'm sorry if I if I didn't I Miss Wilson wants me to clarify myself. The chair has been notified there will be a series of votes occurring on the House floor. The subcommittee shall stand in recess subject to call of the chair.
▶ 1:06:59Are you
▶ 1:12:49Thank you.
▶ 1:31:11The subcommittee on water resources and the environment will reconvene the previously recessed hearing. I uh I now uh yield myself five minutes for Um, Miss Hoffner, non-federal sponsors uh are an essential part of the Army Corps of Engineers. I know it's what you were talking about in your your opening statement.
▶ 1:31:33Um, in in your experience, how has the core worked effectively with these non-federal uh sponsors just to carry out our civil works projects?
▶ 1:31:45Thank you for the question, Congressman. Non-federal sponsors are a intricral part of getting projects on the ground. They actually work with the core to identify water resource challenges on the ground.
▶ 1:32:01And once those achen challenges are identified, they do enter into a formal agreement with the core called a project partnership agreement which lays out their cost share as well as their federal requirements and any long-term obligations that they have throughout the process. And I just want to note here that the non-federal sponsors, their funding comes from public entities.
▶ 1:32:29So they do share a
▶ 1:32:34responsibility to the taxpayer as does the federal government when designing these projects.
▶ 1:32:41Thank you.
▶ 1:32:42Are there ways that the uh the core can improve its budgeting process, you know, maybe with um multi-year budgets?
▶ 1:32:51Thank you for the question. So the question is, can the court improve their processes? Correct. Whether it be multi-year or and there are many different ways that you can look at this primarily we're going to say communications that if there's the ability of the it works best among all stages of government if we can communicate and this is even before policies are proposed studies projects and there
▶ 1:33:21needs to be touch points throughout the process to really do a discussion about what is working is not working what is feasible and what we can do moving
▶ 1:33:31Yeah. And I know that was number one on your list when you were doing your opening statement, but but can you expand on that just a tad bit more on the communication
▶ 1:33:39with the [clears throat] communication?
▶ 1:33:40Yeah. Yes, ma'am. Being more clear.
▶ 1:33:44There are a couple things that we did flag in the back on the communication. My earlier answer focused on primarily rules and regulations, but we do flag within the testimony concerns with the Department of War memo on engagement with congressional staff, especially during the WRA process.
▶ 1:34:09Taking a step back, we realize as a non-federal sponsor how important Congress and the core is through this process because the core can provide technical assistance to both our nonfederal members as well as Congress and so it's really important that we have that engagement.
▶ 1:34:29Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Uh Dr. Hass Hassa Gaba I got it, didn't
▶ 1:34:37Hagama or Dr. Noel, uh, in Georgia, we've seen a serious lack of operations, uh, and maintenance dredging work done in our navigability in our ports. Uh, have you seen that at the Port of Long Beach or had similar
▶ 1:34:53Uh, we have, chairman. It's there's an old saying that what what happens in Long Beach eventually at our port eventually cascades across the country and that's how critical our port is to the nation's transportation system. Can can you uh can you give me any pointers on what how we can uh fix some of that?
▶ 1:35:09Well, to take this uh project that we're uh we brought before this committee today uh and the packer that we're requesting uh this uh deepdraft navigation project would would enable us to handle uh larger uh ships that will handle more energy product. uh that uh is not only good for our the nation's economy, but um it prioritizes and strengthens uh national security as
▶ 1:35:37Right. Okay. Thank you. Um I don't really have time to Oh god. ask another question, but I'm going to anyway. Mr. Jones. Um, H&TB is uh recently reu recognized for its work on public private partnerships uh with the core. In your experience, how has these uh P the the P3 approach worked to reduce cost, accelerate schedules or otherwise improve project
▶ 1:36:08Yeah. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, we H&TB, as you noted, does have experience with public partnerships. um we see that across the board that they can significantly um there's opportunities to ex sign significantly expand the cores capacity um compared to the traditional delivery models by utilization of P3s. I think it's worth noting though that you know P3s are not a silver bullet. They're not to be used in every instance.
▶ 1:36:34Um but in working with either the core or the non-federal um sponsor, understand what the project is, what the goals of the project are, and then consider what alternative delivery opportunities there may be.
▶ 1:36:47P3 may in fact be the the best opportunity to um one to accelerate project delivery um get that that that project um online quicker and and leverage private resources that can be brought to bear to um often delayed project schedules.
▶ 1:37:06All right. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Uh and I am definitely out of time so I yield back. Chair now recognizes uh the ranking member Miss Wilson for five
▶ 1:37:19Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Dr. Hugaba, as a chair of the Florida ports caucus, I understand your port's goal of remaining competitive in the global market.
▶ 1:37:35In your testimony, you discussed your request for a post authorization change report in order Can you discuss what Congress should do to keep the PACR process predictable and Ranking member, thank you for your question.
▶ 1:37:59Uh it's a it's a great question because the reason why we're so uh we're championing this packer within the award of 202 uh6 is because a project of this uh of this type is uh supports the nation's priorities for national security as well as supports the national economy.
▶ 1:38:21And when you look at the packer, what we're doing is trying to rightsize uh the funding necessary to deliver this project at a time when costs have escalated for a variety of different reasons. And as this subcommittee is well aware, over time, uh most projects that are under the discretion of Army Corps have also experienced escalation in costs.
▶ 1:38:44And what we're trying to do is re rightize uh uh the funding necessary to deliver this project in order to get this project of national significance up and running to support uh national security as well as the nation's economy.
▶ 1:38:59Okay. Thank you Miss Offner. It has come to my attention that many of my colleagues are having difficulty getting information from the core as they are forced to wait for the Pentagon to clear the sharing of information. Can you discuss how this change in information sharing has the ability to hinder project development and delivery?
▶ 1:39:31Thank you for this question. And to your point about the Department of War memo, we're hearing about challenges both from the congressional and from the non-federal sponsor level. From the congressional, we're definitely hearing some examples of getting the communication that they need to get from the core.
▶ 1:39:54And one of the things we keep on stressing is that word is essentially a three-legged stool or a triangle that if one partner is unable to provide information, it makes it unsteady.
▶ 1:40:09From a nonfederal sponsor angle, we have heard examples of non-federal sponsors asking the core for needs assessments and other information that they've been unable to obtain due to uncertainty surrounding how the core can interface with entities outside the core with this memo.
▶ 1:40:36Okay. Thank you, Mr. Jones. Since becoming a member of Congress, I've been pushing to move water into a regular two-year cycle. This cycle is important because it delivers certainty and routine as we process our nation's needs. Can you discuss how maintaining a consistent cycle helps the industries, local sponsors, and the federal
▶ 1:41:06Yeah, well, thank you for the question, ranking member. Um, as you alluded to, the two-year cycle of WERA is critical. Um, I think you heard from all of us this morning the the criticality of of that two-year cycle. What it does, Congresswoman, is it provides predictability um to uh the core of engineers as well as the non federal partners who are out on the ground trying to to deliver projects.
▶ 1:41:27Um there was some assurityity that with with the two-year cycle that um the folks on the ground know what to expect, know how to plan, understand the funding that is that lies ahead for their projects, where there might be funding gaps that they can look to fill. Um as in um any area of business, particularly in private business, of which I'm fortunate to be a part of. Um understanding the schedule and having predictability is central to everything that we do.
▶ 1:41:54and I don't see it to be any different um in delivering uh public infrastructure projects that are delivered through
▶ 1:42:01Okay. Thank you very much. I ask unanimous consent that statements from the following organizations be made a part of today's hearing record. The American Public Works Association, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Port of Tampa Bay. I yield back
▶ 1:42:30without objection. So ordered. Uh the chair now recognizes uh Mr. Crawford for five minutes.
▶ 1:42:36Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um Mr. Camilo, you probably know this better than anybody in the room or um so but just for the purposes of a refresher, I'm going to ask that you indulge me on this. The Water Resources Development Act 2007 established the National Committee on Levy Safety to make recommendations to Congress on a federal levy safety program. Although the committee submitted its recommendations in 2009, it's remained dormant since.
▶ 1:43:00In 22, the core and FEMA signal plans to reestablish the committee with a scope that appeared to exceed congressional authority and limit independent recommendations, raising concerns among levy owners. While that effort was withdrawn in 23, the core has indicated plans to reestablish the committee. Levy owners report increasing top- down directives and internally developed policies from the core with insufficient stakeholder input, even from levy owners with a proven record of meeting federal levy standards.
▶ 1:43:25In response to this, during word of 24, I submitted a request that would create a levy owners advisory board to restore the collaborative approach to flood protection that many levy owners in my district and the larger Mississippi Valley believe has been ignored by the core. That said, can you speak to the impacts that you've heard from or observed from your levy owner operators on the failed National Committee on Levy Safety?
▶ 1:43:48Thanks for the question, uh, Levy operators, uh, they're on the front They're out there on those leveies every day. Nobody knows more, nobody knows better how to to protect those levies than they do. Um to protect people, protect property, infrastructure. They know it. They know the risks better than anyone because they live behind those levies and they work behind those levies.
▶ 1:44:13Uh anything that gives them more involvement, more oversight is going to be most welcomed by any levy operator uh anywhere uh along the Mississippi River. to a to a levy district, I think they would tell you that uh levy safety program, PL8499, other programs are are really cutting their legs out from underneath them. Um that they're there's they're imposing mandates.
▶ 1:44:39Many of them unfunded um that are just that that's just literally kicking their legs out from underneath there. The the CEOs, the chief engineers of those levy boards are usually uh hired by elected levy board members. and those levy board members have people they need to answer to as
▶ 1:44:56And so they're they're imposing those to give them oversight to give them uh more voice in shaping policy and management, it it would be most welcome. Had the Midwest Flood Control Association been in existence when uh when uh when you received that letter of support, I think a few years ago, it was signed off on by the Mississippi Valley Flood Control Association, the Missouri River Levy and Drainage Districts, and the Association of Louisiana Levy Boards, we would have signed that letter.
▶ 1:45:26Is it sufficient to say that overhauling this defunct committee and creating a levy owners advisory board is necessary in re-engaging local owner operators of federal levy systems to improve flood protection?
▶ 1:45:38Sir, I didn't quite catch the question.
▶ 1:45:40I I said what do you think it's sufficient to say that overhauling this defunct committee and creating a levy owners advisory board is necessary in re-engaging local owner operators of federal levy systems to improve flood
▶ 1:45:54Yes, Congressman. I think that what you would need there is I believe the old committee um when it was dissolved even before it was dissolved did not have for instance no FACA was waved there was no accountability no uh transparency there I think that would be warranted for anything going forward
▶ 1:46:12also you know this very well some of the highest rated levies in the nation and and and my levy districts are continuously improving their levies as you've indicated with in your comments along the Mississippi white and Arkansas rivers you find hundreds of structures sound and professionally managed levies. Despite that, the levy districts within my district are constantly battling FM FEMA and core due to overarching rules and regulations.
▶ 1:46:35As the executive vice president of the Midwest Flood Control Association, which you represent roughly 75 levy districts yourself, can you speak on the challenges presented by FEMA and the core that directly impact your district's ability in the communities they protect?
▶ 1:46:50Yes, Congressman. So on the upper Mississippi, take this flow frequency study for instance. We are we don't have the MRT project up there. Uh it's a it's a lot different uh system. It's all if they're in any program whatsoever. Um take a flow frequency study. If you release those results, they're going to do the core needs that data. If they study that data and they release and it changes the flow frequency, okay, the flood line, the flood profiles without any solutions.
▶ 1:47:21So there is a potential solution out there that is being studied now. The last time we studied something for the upper Mississippi was 1999. It resulted in a plan that was sent to Congress in 2008, but it didn't recommend a plan. It studied a host of alternatives, but it didn't make any recommendation. Yet the new flood profile was out there. So now we're getting ready to do release another flood profile. We we are we are very happy. We've we've talked with the core. Uh they've convinced us.
▶ 1:47:48We are assured that they're using the right science and to develop this flow frequency study. Unlike the MRT project, if you have a flood uh a flood profile change in the MRT, you're automatically can just raise your levies. I'm simplifying things, but you don't need additional authorization. You can you just have to wait in line for more appropriations. That's not the case on the upper Mississippi. There is a tool and that's called section 408 permissions.
▶ 1:48:13But the way section 408 permissions are being interpreted on the upper Mississippi River right now leaves very little room for levy raises. They'll widen your levies. They'll do it for for for uh relief wells, things of that sort. But going higher, they're putting so much high contingencies on that that it's really unachievable for your local levy districts. Got
▶ 1:48:33I got to cut off there, Mr. Camil. I'm sorry, but I've exceeded my time by a minute, so I will yield.
▶ 1:48:41The chair now recognizes uh Miss Freeman for five minutes.
▶ 1:48:44Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I want to thank the witnesses for coming here and joining us today. Um the projects and studies authorized by word to help in help with waterways, um navigable channels, water quality, etc. And in my district, probably the most important one of these is the LA River. Um, we have been working for years to upgrade that infrastructure to prevent flooding. Uh, which people don't remember was a huge problem in Los Angeles and sometimes still is. And we have a huge rain event coming just uh this week.
▶ 1:49:12Um, we are also um making that river accessible to the public and building parks and bikeways along it. In fact, just last a couple months ago, I brought ranking member Larson and he was really shocked to see the number of people that were using that recreation in a dense park poor area on a weekday afternoon. So, I look forward to continuing to see that uh resource revitalized for my community. Um, and I want to but I first and I want to come back to that, but first I want to turn to a key priority for the ports of Los Angeles.
▶ 1:49:39Uh, having funded the harbor maintenance trust fund with revenues from the harbor maintenance tax, which is the HMT. Um, in fact, donor ports like Long Beach account for 50% of all HMT revenue. Yet, historically, they've received less than 2% of HMT revenue in return. So, they're donor ports and they're not getting that revenue back.
▶ 1:50:01So, in 20 in in 2020, Congress enacted section 102 of WA 2020, which provided 12% of annual HMTF revenue for expanded uses at donor and energy ports. Mr. Hassaba. Um, even though this funding was authorized in 220 2020, as you know, it took four years for the Port of Long Beach to receive a payment of $49 million. Can you elaborate on how the port is using that funding and also whether you know what you will be using that kind of funding for in the future?
▶ 1:50:31Briefly, if you can do it.
▶ 1:50:32Thank you for your question, Congresswoman. You know, it's it's important to distinguish between the donor and energy port funding allocated through WAR 2014, which is continuing to be allocated and the additional funding through that what you referenced section 102 for inwater expanded uses that was authorized in in Ward of 2020. So, what that means for us, the nation's second busiest port, a massive economic engine that generates nearly 3 million jobs and and moves cargo through every congressional district.
▶ 1:51:01What that meant for us is in contrast, section 102 funding, which was not included in the FY25 core work plan, is about $380 million nationwide. For Long Beach, that is a difference of 5.7 million without section 102 versus 49 million that we received the year prior.
▶ 1:51:21So you're talking about nearly a 90% drop in funding that is critical to keep this project that is important for the national security and the national transportation system to be delivered.
▶ 1:51:34Sure. And we all saw during COVID that supply that the ports are so essential in terms of supply chain. Um we saw boats not being able to get in and out and what that meant for consumers, what that meant for prices. So, I look forward to engaging with my colleagues to make sure that the funds are allocated as congressionally directed. Um, I want to go back now to city to the uh LA River and I'm going to direct my questions to Miss Ufner.
▶ 1:51:59Um, in I want to talk about the was brought up before the deeply concerning directive that was issued on October 15th by the Department of Defense. They like to call it the Department of War because I guess they don't believe in defense or peace. But this directive requires the core districts to obtain approval from the office of the assistant secretary of war of legislative affairs before engagement with federal or state um state elected officials or their staff.
▶ 1:52:23Now, we have ongoing communication with the core all the time about issues on the LA River for approval of new bridges that have been funded for flood improvements so that we keep our communities safe. We have had several conversations with the Kors LA uh district over the course of this year to get critical updates ongoing projects like the restoration project. But now they can't talk to us. They literally under this directive can't talk to a member of Congress before getting signoff from the Secretary of War, which makes no sense to me at all.
▶ 1:52:52I want to know from you how you think that this new bureaucracy and bloat is going to impact costs, how it's going to impact the ability to protect people from flooding, to get these funded projects done at a time when tariffs are already driving the cost up increasingly every single week. How what kind of effect is this going to
▶ 1:53:12Thank you for your question, This could potentially have a impact definitely on the word process let alone with everyday conversations with the core.
▶ 1:53:28The challenge is if you have all three federal part all three partners work together on WA making sure communities are safe with water that communication is key at the end of the day because you have to communicate what is working what is not working.
▶ 1:53:47The core has to have the ability to go to Congress and say, "Hey, here are some of the water problems in the ch here are some of the water problems within the communities and here are some of the non-federal sponsors that have come to me." The nonsp federal sponsors need to go to the core and say, "Hey, I'm having this problem.
▶ 1:54:05Could you help us design something where I can take to Congress?" And if that stool, if that leg is taken out of the equation, it may impact the future word cycle.
▶ 1:54:20Thank you. Well, I'm extremely concerned about the impact of this on on life and safety. So, I want to thank you so much for being here and I yield back.
▶ 1:54:27The chair now recognizes uh Mr. Babin for five minutes.
▶ 1:54:31Thank you so much, uh, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, everyone. And I just want to thank all of our illustrious witnesses for being here today. I represent Texas 36th [clears throat] district u which includes numerous US Army Corps of Engineer projects such as the Houston Ship Channel, the Ike Dyke, Sabine Nature's Waterway, Cedar Bayou and Anowak Channel and many many others. Uh, and Miss Ufner, if if I could ask you the first question.
▶ 1:54:59As president and CEO of the National Waterways Conference, uh, you represent nonfederal sponsors across the country who partner with the core and often shoulder a significant local cost for projects. Many Texas communities are frustrated by the long delays, rising costs, inconsistent core requirements even after Congress has already acted.
▶ 1:55:22Uh what specific reform should Congress prioritize in word of 2026 to speed up project delivery, control cost growth, ensure non-federal sponsors, especially in states like Texas, are not bearing unnecessary burdens once a project is
▶ 1:55:44Thank you for your question. There are existing provisions in previous WRA bills that address ability of non-federal sponsors to take on some responsibilities like section 203 for the studies 204 for the construction 1043.
▶ 1:56:07In reality, these on the ground have not been working as intended because of the number of requirements that are being put on non-federal sponsors by the core. many districts is the challenge seems to be that there are maybe multiple cooks in the kitchen.
▶ 1:56:30And so if there's a way to give more authority or [snorts] give non-federal sponsors the ability to take on more responsibility because at the end of the day we want to get these projects to the finish line.
▶ 1:56:44And creating creating a win-win.
▶ 1:56:46Yes, ma'am. One qu real quick if you don't mind. How important is it that word of 26 2026 focus not just on new authorizations but on on ensuring core fully and consistently implements reforms that Congress has already enacted. How important is that?
▶ 1:57:05I apologize. I missed part of that
▶ 1:57:08Okay. How important is that word of 2026 focus not just on new authorizations but on ensuring that the core fully and consistently implements what the Congress has already enacted?
▶ 1:57:23That's a great question. To your point, the ASA's office is currently going through implementation for WERA 2024. There are a number of provisions yet to be implemented. There are some provisions that won't need legislation that simply need guidance or implementation, but there are definitely some that may need congressional oversight that you may want to look at how certain provisions within WERA are working.
▶ 1:57:50Where are the pain points and why those pain points exist?
▶ 1:57:54Thank you. And uh Mr. Jones, uh, you've worked closely with the core on major flood protection, navigation, and port projects, and you've seen firsthand how delays and uncertainty affect local communities and private investment. From an industry and delivery standpoint, what changes to word of policy or army core practices would most improve certainty, accelerate timelines, and reduce the risk of cost escalation for critical infrastructure projects?
▶ 1:58:23Yeah. Well, thank you, Congressman, for that question. Um, as you were alluding to and and and Julie was as well, um, you know, the study requirements, Congressman, are oftentimes too rigid. Um, the the study requirements can pro be protracted over many years and some some cases decades. So, working um, as best we can to reduce that timeline um, and to reduce the study period and ultimately get these projects into implementation is critical.
▶ 1:58:50again um working with the core of engineers to understand which um agency is best suited to lead the project. In all instances, perhaps it's not uh the core of engineers. Perhaps it is an a non-federal sponsor and giving those and ensuring that those agencies and non-federal participants have the tools and the resources and the latitude by which to ultimately achieve the project goal.
▶ 1:59:14quite simply not to overthink the project um and to overstudy the project but to understand what is the intent of the project. What are we trying to do to best serve our communities and ultimately find the the quickest solution?
▶ 1:59:27Sometimes it may involve the private sector um either through private funding through a innovative financing mechanism or just um alternative delivery applications and um again just simply congressman thinking outside the box and and ultimately trying to achieve what the what the project is ultimately trying to achieve.
▶ 1:59:45Thank you Mr. Jones. I have a couple more questions but I'll have to submit those and thank thank you other witnesses as well.
▶ 1:59:52Yield back.
▶ 1:59:53Thank you. The chair now recognizes Miss Scton for five minutes. Thank you, Chair Collins, Ranking Member Wilson, uh, and welcome to our guests, our witnesses today. Thank you for your thoughtful preparation, uh, and helping us get a better handle on what we hope will be a very productive, uh, WERA, uh, reauthorization process. Uh, I come from Michigan's third uh, congressional district, proud to represent uh, the good people of West Michigan in Congress, where water is a way of life. This is so critical.
▶ 2:00:22I'm eager for our committee's work on what will hopefully be a seventh consecutive bipartisan water resources development act to ensure Congress is helping communities navigate local water resource challenges, boost regional economies, create jobs, and protect our natural environment. This process is inherently a collaborative effort between Congress, the core, and local stakeholders.
▶ 2:00:47I think we all can agree be that it works best when we are in communication with one another instead of having a single top-down approach uh from Washington that does not take uh local stakeholders in uh in into consideration. However, a new Trump administration process requires approval from so-called uh Department of War uh the Department of Defense before local core districts share regional priorities for upcoming WERA.
▶ 2:01:14While I'm hopeful this routine exchange of information will eventually be uh green lit by the Department of War, I'm concerned that this policy will get in the way of a robust and thoughtful WERA 2026. Uh Dr. Hiaba, can you speak to how critical it is that there's congressional coordination between uh Congress and the core district offices and local stakeholders like yourself? Um how critical that is for a thoughtful word of process. Thank you for your question, Congresswoman.
▶ 2:01:45There's an old saying, teamwork makes the dream work. And when it comes to the important work before this subcommittee, it really takes next level coordination, collaboration to get things done. Case in point, the project that we're advocating here for on behalf of the Port of Long Beach. This is something that we've been talking to the Army Corps for years now. Uh having their partnership, having their engagement, involvement throughout every phase of the project has brought this project to it is now.
▶ 2:02:10And what we're advocating for today is in order to 2026 to authorize the packer which will help us to deliver this as quickly as possible.
▶ 2:02:21Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Jones. It seems like you may want to say something, invite your comment as well.
▶ 2:02:26Um well, I was just going to piggyback um off of what he said again the old sayings um you know, all politics is local. Yep.
▶ 2:02:35Right. As we all know in this room, uh, local knowledge of projects, um, boots on the ground, as was talked about with levy authorities, um, I had I had the opportunity to grow up with individuals who were farmers and served on levy boards. They knew the levy systems and the flood control systems better than anyone.
▶ 2:02:52Absolutely. I would just encourage again um as we've talked about this morning increased communication um that's driven from on the boots on the ground um all the way up to um state uh oversight as well as federal oversight.
▶ 2:03:05Absolutely. I know our office is uh going above and beyond being proactive uh doing a lot of outreach to our local stakeholders on this issue. We invite feedback uh throughout this process. We we got to get this right. Um there's there's a lot at stake. I am so proud, as I mentioned, to represent uh so much of the the Great Lakes water basin, miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, as well as a small workhorse harbor in Grand Haven.
▶ 2:03:32This harbor supports over 450 jobs and generates 88 million annually in regional economic impact. Earlier this year, Grand Haven's inner harbor was threatened by a potential delay in dredging, something that we know is is threatening a lot of our waterways.
▶ 2:03:46A delayed dredging cycle could have increased shipping costs by upwards of 30% at a time of already crippling inflation and disrupted supply chains could have resulted in an estimated 3 to 5 million in additional costs that would have been passed down to hardworking families in West Michigan and across the country.
▶ 2:04:06While I was able to work alongside the core as well as state and local leaders again those local local politics teamwork making the dream work um to ensure the pro uh the project proceeded on schedule. This story emphasizes how critical the core's work truly is and and the the good deal of work that members of Congress have to do to to ensure that these projects continue to move forward. That's why it's so concerning to me that the Trump administration has proposed over 2 billion in funding cuts to the core.
▶ 2:04:36The president's budget also requests a 15% reduction to core construction and a staggering 58% slash to operations and maintenance activities. We simply can't afford not to keep these dredging cycles on uh on schedule. Uh, Miss Unford, can you touch on the importance of reliable, robust funding to ensure that po ports like mine uh back home in Grand Haven and those throughout the nation can remain operational uh and best support local economies to keep our supply chains moving.
▶ 2:05:06We do support robust funding for these purposes. Thank you.
▶ 2:05:11Thank you. Agree that it is essential to make sure that we keep the the funding levels uh where they are. Fantastic. I'm seeing a nod. Uh, I'll take that as an affirmative. Yes. Uh, one thing that I am incredibly passionate about is permitting reform. Uh, oh, I apologize. I got so I got so excited, Mr. Collins.
▶ 2:05:32Good. I
▶ 2:05:33I'll I'll yield back. I'll submit my question for the record.
▶ 2:05:36There you go.
▶ 2:05:36Me talking about chair now recognizes Mr. Boston for five minutes.
▶ 2:05:40Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, Mr. Camello, um, I'm going to say these things, but I don't don't have to tell you this. I think you know my district just as well as I do since you live there. Uh my district in southern Illinois has three separate navo waterways within it. Uh everything that's on the Mississippi almost to St. Louis. Uh everything on the Ohio as long as it touches the state of Illinois and then the Casasia.
▶ 2:06:04Um with that being said, our levy systems are vitally important uh for protecting farmlands, homes and communities. We all know how to stack sandbags. We all know how to fill sandbags. We know how what the importance of our levy systems are and the concerns we have.
▶ 2:06:19And while I appreciate the work of the core and and what it does help ensure the waterways are safe and functioning, uh I have heard a lot of concerns from constituents about the potential impact that the flow frequency study could have on flood insurance and levy uh certification for levy districts on the river. Do you share those concerns? and can you provide an example of impacts that could be affected uh if the profile
▶ 2:06:48Uh yes, thanks Congressman for the question. So you there's two different areas I I would touch on. First is agriculture. You know, a lot of our levy districts in your region especially are agricultural and you're looking at around, you know, on average about 15,000 acres per levy district. There's some that are 10, some that are 25, but around 15. uh and talking with the with the levy operators there. They're if if they were to lose their 50-year flood uh accreditation or or their their flood status on the 50 years.
▶ 2:07:18If it if that drops below there, they're looking at anywhere from 1 to2 uh,000 per acre. So that's 15 to $30 million per acre at a time when the the egg industry is kind of suffering the way it is. Um on on the flip side of that, the urban areas, uh the Metro East, uh south southwestern Illinois flood prevention district, I think a sliver of that is in your district.
▶ 2:07:42That that protects that that levy district protects 150,000 people in 25 thou in 25 different communities, parts of Interstate 55, parts of Interstate 64, parts of Interstate 70, all those refineries over there in Hartford and and Rock Santa. Uh it protects about $18 billion dollar 60,000 jobs and $18 billion dollar in in property values.
▶ 2:08:06If they were to lose their 500year accreditation that status um we're looking at a 20 30% drop in property values. That's $3.6 to 5.4 billion in a drop in property values.
▶ 2:08:20Well, additionally, uh can you kind of speak to the importance? We know I I know what the problems are, but uh flood as far as flood protection levy districts as it relates to navigation like what we've had the problem with whenever the Lynn small levy blew at the in in the they still call it the holiday flood, but it was no holiday for me. So
▶ 2:08:42yes, sir, I I'm familiar with that that issue as well. Look, navigation improvements and flood control, it's a symbiotic relationship. You can't have one without the other. Um they the navigation the improvements for navigation, the improvements for flood control, they work together in tandem like the wheels of a bicycle making sure everything operates. So you have revetments and dikes. Those protect the levies from from scour. You have the leveies.
▶ 2:09:12Without the levies you that that river would run bluff to bluff. And so the the two work together to lock that channel into place to make it usable at high water and low water.
▶ 2:09:24Yeah. So the other question I've got here is um and concerns deal with the fact that um a lot of our we talked about the a areas when the levy systems were put up and and the le levy districts were created. Property tax in the state of Illinois was what was used uh to try to keep and maintain the levies.
▶ 2:09:46Unfortunately, that works in a community like a municipality that can have the property tax level they need to to repair those. Do you have any suggestions on what we would do in the future with my a levies because they're barely able to keep them up because of
▶ 2:10:04You're talking about individual agricultural levies?
▶ 2:10:07No, no. I'm talking about the levies that need to be improved in our levy districts that are usually have a land that pay the taxes.
▶ 2:10:15Yeah. If we don't have if if they're not if if we are un if they lose those property values and they are unable to to uh their their property taxes go down. That's less money that they're going to have to maintain and operate those levies themselves because they have a lot of if there's a repair there's a cost share that comes into it if there's a flood. But for the most part, they're they're maintaining this operating this 365 on their own tech on their own dollars. They will have less that makes that levy less safe if they don't have the money to maintain and operate it properly.
▶ 2:10:45I appreciate that. My time about expired and I'll yield back.
▶ 2:10:48The chair now recognizes uh Miss Poe for five minutes.
▶ 2:10:52Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh first, let me just thank each and every one of our witnesses for your testimony. Um, let me also uh thank Chairman Collins and Ranking Member Wilson for holding this very important hearing today. My home state of New Jersey depends on waterways, ports, and flood protection to stay economically competitive.
▶ 2:11:16From the Pay River to the Meadowlands, our communities are grappling with aging infrastructure, rising uh flood risk, and clogged navigation channels that threaten safety and economic growth. This is to say nothing of a critical uh decayed decades old flood mitigation projects that remain in limbo. Maintaining safe navigation in these waterways is no easy feat.
▶ 2:11:47It requires a functioning federal government to collaborate with state and local government to ensure that community community needs are addressed. Last year, we saw the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey partner with the US Army Corps of Engineer to make substantial improvements for the port's birth uh maintenance dredgy, the birth uh rehabilitation and birth's If we are to build
▶ 2:12:17on this success, then a fresh bipartisan uh worth uh must uh continue to equip communities with the tools to to deliver the long-term solutions for modern resilient ports, waterways, and flooding infrastructure. So my I have two questions and I hope to be able to get to them very quickly. Uh first question, Mr. Hassi Ga Gada Gaba, I'm sorry.
▶ 2:12:45As CEO as COO of one of the largest busiest um busiest port in the nation, you have firsthand experience managing large-scale navigation infrastructure.
▶ 2:12:58As a representative of New Jersey, home to the New York, New Jersey Port Authority, I am particularly interested in how federal cost sharing requirement affects port planning under the uh where the uh 18 1986 non-federal uh sponsors of navigation channels improvement must repay an additional 10% of the total project costs uh at the end of the uh construction to cover the US Army's uh
▶ 2:13:28uh administrative expenses. Uh my question to you is how does the requirement to repay affect your ability to plan, finance, and budget for harbor deepening projects?
▶ 2:13:41Congresswoman, thank you very much for your question and your interest in ports. I like to say that before the pandemic, ports were invisible and all of a sudden they were thrust into the spotlight and all of a sudden they're they're famous, right? Um, and and I think it's fair to say that investments in ports like ours and the one that you represent, New York, New Jersey, are investments in in the nation's economy, in the nation's transportation system. And when it comes to these investments, we can't do it alone.
▶ 2:14:09We rely on deep partnerships with federal agencies. And WARDA has become instrumental in our ability to deliver these projects that not only deepen and widen channels, but enable us to move more cargo. And the more cargo we move through our port, the more cargo we can ship to every single congressional district, and the better we can serve the American people.
▶ 2:14:32Absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you for that. You know, in your testimony, you point you point out the unequal distribution of donors and energy transfer allocations at the Port of Long Beach. This is a concern that I share with our port authority, which didn't receive this funding in 2023 and in 2025. So, how would a 12% harbor maintenance trust funding allocation for donor and energy transfer report built your capacity?
▶ 2:15:01And what kind of financial return on the investment do you foresee for the HMTs?
▶ 2:15:08Thank you for that question, Congresswoman. So for the Port of Long Beach, we generated about $400 million in HMT revenues a year. We estimate we get about 2 to 3% back.
▶ 2:15:18So that gives you a sense of the inequity in terms of how much we generate versus what we get. And when you look at the projects that we're collaborating with the Army Corps on, for example, th those funds are necessary to deliver these projects that are critical to the nation's security and to the American economy.
▶ 2:15:38Thank you. Thank you so very much. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
▶ 2:15:43Gentle lady yields. The gentleman uh the Representative Berles is recognized for five minutes.
▶ 2:15:48Suffer. Um, in your testimony, you highlighted the key challenge that that non-federal sponsors frequently encounter when it comes to attempting to deliver water resource projects in a timely way. Um, apparently the internal governance structure of the Army Corps of Engineers.
▶ 2:16:05Um, can you shed some light on how the internal governance of the core has contributed to these It's probably very similar to Congress when you have committees, subcommittees oh, this is a new one. Subcommittees the districts.
▶ 2:16:36The committees with divisions and of course Congress with headquarters. So it's about consulting with all levels to make sure that things are aligned and there are entities who may have different views about what should be required and sometimes that's where a lot of the challenges come with non-federal sponsors this back and forth about what is feasible within their project partnership
▶ 2:17:07agreement and what is not. So that's what's causing some of the delays. So would you say that they're operating in a way that is kind of top down they actually take direction from from the top or the local agencies or or somewhere along the line the the the direction and the message getting lost by the time it actually gets to the local office.
▶ 2:17:29It may depend on the issue, but there are definitely there are chains of command that go up and back down about there are more efforts from the federal level headquarters to delegate more to the districts. Sometimes the question there's been a number of staff turnover also at USACE where there's a lot more uncertainty there and the checks and balances within the agency.
▶ 2:18:00Um how have these how has these internal delays impacted um you know the costs and um and the and actually the people that need these these resources. Whether it be permitting studies project, we have found that there have been numerous delays where something might have been estimated to take several months but may take several years to even get approval.
▶ 2:18:28Earlier in the testimony, I talked about section 203 204. Those authorities ideally should be a quick turnaround and it could take several years to get.
▶ 2:18:41That's unfortunate,
▶ 2:18:41but the whole process is very complex.
▶ 2:18:44Thank you, Mr. Jones. In your testimony, you emphasize that expanding private sector partnerships is essential to addressing our nation's growing water resource challenges. Can you expand on how these private sector partnerships could play an important role?
▶ 2:19:00Yep. You know, thank you, Congressman, for the question. Um, yeah, as I said in my testimony and earlier, um, P3s do have a role to play here. Um, oftent times the ability to bring private capital to bear on a project um, oftentimes excel has the potential to accelerate those projects. Um, public private partnerships are not a silver bullet for delivery. We know that. Um but there are many water resources projects where it has proven to be successful.
▶ 2:19:26Um the core in fact um has piloted the the implementation and the execution of of public private partnerships in water resources already and with great success. Um I would encourage uh the subcommittee um as you're looking at the next word of legislation to um further encourage the utilization of P3s in this space.
▶ 2:19:49Thank you. Um and Mr. Aiaba in your testimony you emphasized that WERA plays a critical role in strengthening our economy. That is its impact is clear to me from my home state of Missouri. Just in the year 2024 alone, we exported approximately $41 million in soybeans alone. Um contributing to I think a total of three billion dollars in exports.
▶ 2:20:17Even though Missouri is a landlocked state, um we have we have tremendous rivers. Can you can you elaborate on how important word is in maintaining our strong US supply chain and and the economies even for states like Missouri?
▶ 2:20:33Thank you for that question, Congressman. Critically important. By deepening and widening our channels, we can handle more of your soybeans, export those to global markets, and that strengthens jobs and Missou's economy. It straightens the nation's economy.
▶ 2:20:48Thank you. Appreciate your testimony. I yield back.
▶ 2:20:54Gentlemen yields. Chair recognizes Miss Norton for five minutes.
▶ 2:20:59Thank you. Uh Dr. Hazubah, your testimony highlighted how the Water Resources Development Act plays a critical role in strengthening national security. I agree with you. The PTOAC River is the only source of drinking water for the nation's capital.
▶ 2:21:21The Army Corps of Engineers produces the drinking water for the nation's capital, which is only one which has only one day of backup water supply. If the river becomes unusable for drinking water, which could happen at any time, whether through man-made or mutual events, national security, the operations of the federal government,
▶ 2:21:52uh DC residents and the national capital region's economy would be at risk. What are the risks to national security with a nation's capital having only one source of drinking water and only one day of backup of backup water supply?
▶ 2:22:18Congresswoman, thank you very much for your question. The Port of Long Beach is one of 18 federally designated commercial strategic seapports. This is one of the fundamental reasons why what happens in our port affects the nation's uh security. But I can also tell you that is instrumental in helping ports like ours, especially donor ports, energy transfer ports, um deepen and widen channels to accommodate more more cargo. And those cargo flows feed into the nation's economy.
▶ 2:22:47And this is why it's critically important that we continue to invest in ports like ours uh in order to uh continue strengthening the na the nation security.
▶ 2:22:58Thank you. Uh Miss uh Almore, uh in your testimony, you discussed the benefits of flood risk reduction and stream restoration projects and the importance of maintaining steady progress for these projects once With the increase in extreme weather events, including heavy rains due to climate change, how important is it that Congress
▶ 2:23:28provide full funding uh
▶ 2:23:39Thank you for the question. And to me this is almost a two-fold answer that first off authorization to address these issues are really really important and each community as you know from being in DC has their own unique challenges and appropriations is very important when we talk about water projects at least from our non-federal sponsors standpoint we're often seeing a disconnect between
▶ 2:24:09authorization and appropriations because the amount of funds that are available. The water needs within our communities are significant and the need to fund them is also exists.
▶ 2:24:22Uh Mr. Oler, what steps can Congress take to prioritize the construction of these projects for within the local communities? correct congresswoman on what Congress should do to
▶ 2:24:49probably the Congress really needs should consider looking at provisions that they have passed in previous word bills to assess what is working to address the needs within in local communities and if something is not working, really dig into the reasons why to determine how we can move forward
▶ 2:25:19because at the end of the day, all of our communities just want to be safe and have a reliable supply of drinking water.
▶ 2:25:30Thank you. I yield back.
▶ 2:25:33Thank you. The gentle lady yields. This chair recognizes Representative Mast for 5 minutes.
▶ 2:25:40Thank you, chairman. I appreciate that I want to thank you all for your testimony today. A little bit of it I caught in person, a little bit of I caught on the screen, but I appreciate all the testimony. I have uh some questions for you, Miss Huffner, and the rest of the panel in part, but we'll see. Uh would you say that every community has their own individual needs? You recognize that? I think we all can, right? You've seen one community. You've seen one community.
▶ 2:26:10Or just simply put, would you say all communities have the same needs?
▶ 2:26:17Frank and obvious question.
▶ 2:26:20Simple answer. We've always said if you've seen one port, one levy district, you've seen one port or levy district,
▶ 2:26:27right? They're all unique. Mhm.
▶ 2:26:29They have unique representatives, unique stakeholders, unique ecological inputs. They're they're all unique. So, I deal a lot with Lake Okachchobee in the state of Florida. Uh managed by the Army Corps of Engineers based on an operations schedule called LOS, Lake Okachchobee, Okachobee system operating manual. schedule.
▶ 2:26:50It dictates charges based on lake level, weather forecasting, safety, time of year, what the levels of the lake are at right at that time, a host of different things. Uh, and in certain circumstances, the Army Corps of Engineers will open gates, send water through the St. Lucy River and the Kousa Hatchee Canal. These are two separate sides of this lake into estuaries which are described as beneficial by the Army Corps of Engineers.
▶ 2:27:20So when you look at that, except transfers to the St. Lucy estuary, they're not beneficial. They're not essential. They actually don't do anything good for our community. We want zero. And you go to the other side of state and they want some of those discharges. It's a good thing for them. It goes to the point of you've seen one, you've seen one. Um, so my constituents, they don't want to get harmed by by this. Uh, currently folks on the west, they're begging for water transfers because they don't have enough water. Like I said, my community is saying, "Don't give us any water.
▶ 2:27:51None of it is beneficial to us." So, do you think the core should listen to local people and include their feedback to determine what is beneficial, impactful, or harmful when it comes to water quality and environmental protections? Communication is really key and if the core is partnering with local that's when the listening and the coordinating becomes really important and we can take the top up
▶ 2:28:21or the top down approach to this. And it's always been NWC's perspective that the local communities understand their local needs the best. And that's what communications need to occur.
▶ 2:28:36Yeah, fair enough. Um, doctor, how you doing today?
▶ 2:28:42Very well, Congressman. Thank you.
▶ 2:28:44Good. Glad to hear it. Uh, are there divers operating in the Port of Long Beach at any given time, inspecting things such as vessel halls and uh divers operating there, inspecting hulls, moorings, things like that?
▶ 2:28:57The short answer is yes, Congressman, there are divers. Yes. Seems obvious, right? If these inspections couldn't be undertaken because the divers couldn't see their hand in front of their face due to water quality, I know a lot of different water bodies, different water qualities, uh would the port have to shut down?
▶ 2:29:14Well, any anything that gets in the way of commerce or anything that gets in the way of life, human safety would be a cause for concern and we would evaluate in coordination with the US Coast Guard.
▶ 2:29:25There you go. I think you pointed to it well, right? Anything that's a cause for safety is something that we need to be looking at. I deal with it in my community. Again, we have we're supposed to have Bahama blue water in our area. We get nasty discharges out of this lake uh that end up making it look like uh guacamole. And I mean that literally. Sometimes it's so thick that birds can walk on top of it. Fish get suspended in it um because of what they discharge unnecessarily into my community. I thank you all again for your testimony today. I wish you all the best. Thank you.
▶ 2:29:56Thank you. The gentleman yields back. Chair recogniz recognizes the gentle lady from the great state of Ohio, Miss Sykes, for five minutes.
▶ 2:30:03Thank you very much and looking forward to discussing some of the local projects that we have in my community in Ohio's 13th Congressional District. And thank you one for your patience and your time today to all of our witnesses. Uh so as I said I'm from Ohio's 13th district in northeast Ohio and we have areas like Peninsula, Boston Township, Boston Heights and uh the residential areas neighboring the Kaga Valley National Park.
▶ 2:30:28These areas are expanding which is fantastic because uh it's the best place on earth of course. Um but this level of expansion does require uh smaller communities to modernize their water systems to provide accessible and affordable water and sewer services to their residents. And it helps to incentivize businesses to move into and invest in the communities. But we know how hard it is for municipality, especially small ones to acquire their own water treatment facilities.
▶ 2:30:59Uh, and I often tell a story about a local mayor when I was first elected and I asked him, "What can I do to help?" And he looked at me and he said, "I don't know." Because no one's ever asked me that question. In a couple of months, he figured it out and has been asking me thankfully for a lot of support, which had mostly been around water and sewer projects. And so in 2024, I was able to secure two uh word authorizations, one for Summit County and one for Stark County.
▶ 2:31:30And despite these efforts, my appropriation requests for these were not included in this year's appropriations. And I understand my grievance regarding appropriations is not adequate for this particular panel or committee. But it is still worth stating that when an a community who expects these resources to come, who quite literally said, "No one has ever asked me how I can help you. We provide the help, but then they're not funded." Uh it's pretty devastating and uh unfortunate.
▶ 2:31:59And so my question for you, Miss Efner, is, you know, I know you're mostly non-federal uh sponsors of core engineer projects, but can you talk a little bit about how critical the funding part is? I mean, it's great that we authorize the language, but the funding I see Mr. Jones, you're nodding, too, so uh please jump in after Miss
▶ 2:32:19Yes, the funding is important. I do want to take a step back here because this is one of the things that we we really hear commonly with our non-federal sponsors or potential non-federal sponsors. We got money in word when are we going to get it?
▶ 2:32:34And I really think it's a partially an educational process taking a step back on behalf of all of us saying okay we got money in WRA now we have to go to appropriations and really frame all over again why this project's so important to the community. Mr. Jones, thank you.
▶ 2:32:56Thank you, Congresswoman. Um, you saw me nodding there. Um, look, that obviously the difference in authorization and appropriation is critical, right? And, you know, most Americans don't realize that, uh, construction, new start, um, you know, appropriations is another significant hurdle that can take years, sometimes decades after a project is authorized.
▶ 2:33:19And so there's a s a false sense of hope that once an authorization is cleared and there's opportunities to talk about that with the public, the public expects that that project is going to construction oftent times months after that authorization. And that's oftentimes not the case, right? As you've alluded to, um you know, these um authorizations sometimes result in inhibiting projects from being funded from other sources. And I think that's an opportunity um for this committee um to consider um in order to 2026.
▶ 2:33:50Um in other cases, authorizations actually prohibit funds from other sources being directed towards that project um particularly around mitigation u funding sources coming from FEMA or CDB CDBG disaster recovery department of agriculture and so forth. um you know and and finally there should be an incentive I believe to commit other sources of funds whether federal or non-federal to these projects in order to ultimately achieve the schedule that's desired and expected by the
▶ 2:34:20Fantastic. Thank you so much. Thank you both for answering that question uh because it it just goes to show how complicated this is and and I've heard several of my colleagues complain about the bureaucracy of this process which is really harming and rising raising the cost of of many. Uh I'll very quickly turn um everyone's attention and Mr. Camila I have a question for you. Uh the city of Massland which is in my district they have repeatedly and I have repeatedly discussed in the subcommittee uh desperate funding needs for a sllegate replacement.
▶ 2:34:48Again I know this is not an appropriations committee but still in that bureaucracy we have been having a hard time getting answers uh for them to be assisted and quite literally I'm not willing to stand by and wait for a disaster. So Mr. Camilo, you have a lot of experience with these types of infrastructure, this type of infrastructure. What are your insights um as to what my community could experience in the event that this is not taken care of?
▶ 2:35:17The appropriations process is always a challenge because of prioritization, you know, and and there's only so much uh funding to go around. We we recommend a lot of times for our local levy districts to to see what's available through the states, you know, for for fixing gates. you that the local state FEMA uh can can is sometimes of assist of assistance to those um there's other programs within the state that we have them reach out and try until this uh the federal process comes through.
▶ 2:35:46Thank you for extending me a little extra time. I yield back.
▶ 2:35:51The general lady yields. The chair recognizes Representative Westerman for five minutes. Thank you, chairman, and thank you to the all the witnesses for being here today. Um, I have great respect for this process, having served as a ranking member on this subcommittee and working through a word a bill a few years ago. So, this is exciting because it's usually something we can come together and and agree on.
▶ 2:36:18Misser, as you uh mentioned in your testimony, Congress is best able to deliver effective, timely, and locally driven word of reauthorizations when federal and non-federal partners collaborate and engage in conversations uh hopefully like the one that we're having here today. As you may be aware, in 2024, the US Army Corps of Engineers recreation sites welcomed approximately 260 million visitors nationwide, including millions across Arkansas.
▶ 2:36:47I I chair the natural resources committee. I think those numbers dwarf the number of visitors to our national parks. Even uh core managed lakes and parks such as those surrounding lakes to Gray and Greon are cornerstones of our tourism economy and our outdoor heritage. These sites are not only vital to local economies, they also provide safe, affordable access to public lands for fishing, boating, and camping. However, many of these areas are facing aging infrastructure and significant deferred maintenance.
▶ 2:37:18Additionally, fees collected on site are not always reinvested in the locations where they are generated. And as we look forward uh or toward the 2026 word bill, what opportunities do you see to prioritize the maintenance and modernization of recreation facilities in naturally rich states like Arkansas and across the
▶ 2:37:41Thank you, Congressman, for your support and your question. Aging infrastructure is a huge issue across the board, not only for recreation, but for ports, flood control, water districts. And it's just an ongoing issue that is a very complex situation because in some cases you have federal regulations that also may impact the aging infrastructure as well as how to obtain funding for it.
▶ 2:38:11So, it's about identifying those two parts, permits sometimes and funding issues. And to Mr. Camila's point that there's a priority of deciding what's going to be funded, you know. So, it's about identifying the challenges that are out there and directly going after them.
▶ 2:38:36So, you you mentioned permits, and I can't let that pass without talking about the need for permitting reform. Could permitting reform help stretch our u our recreation infrastructure dollars
▶ 2:38:54The question was, does permitting reform help stretch the
▶ 2:38:57could permitting reform help stretch our recreation infrastructure dollars further on core facilities? Or maybe another way to answer that, does it take a long time to get a permit and add cost to the project?
▶ 2:39:10Well, and that you must have heard my thought pattern behind this. If it does take a long time to get a permit and there are multitude of requirements, when you're talking about non-federal sponsors, they have a limited amount of money to deal with because they're also funded by the communities that they serve. So the longer the permit process goes, the more requirements, the more that they may have to hire consultants to do this.
▶ 2:39:38So anything that helps them streamline to get to a project off the ground is
▶ 2:39:46Yeah, I'm just thinking back when I first came to Congress, Lakeah is one of my favorite places to to recreate. It's where I grew up. And uh there was a local organization that volunteered to do maintenance to pick up trash. And all they wanted to do was make things better. And they were told they had to cease and desist. They couldn't do that because the regulations wouldn't allow them uh to help make the place better.
▶ 2:40:16We did get a little bit of relief on that, but it's still a a problem. Um, that's something I think we need to address here in Congress. I could spend the whole time talking about recreation and permitting, but also I have a lot of major waterways in my district, including the Arkansas, uh, the Red River and the Waw River. Um, many of the levy districts along these rivers face challenges in maintaining their levies in accordance with the core system of guidelines.
▶ 2:40:47So, we have uh these leveies run through very rural areas and we have limited resources to um to be able to keep the leveies up in the condition that they need to be in which creates a a safety and then we'll have a big flood and the levy washes out and everybody's standing around trying to figure out who's going to fix the levy. Uh the local levy district probably is responsible for it, but the local levy district has no funding.
▶ 2:41:16uh to fix it. So, I'll just ask the whole panel, do you see any opportunity for collaboration between federal and non-federal partners to address the a the safety issues being faced by our our rural levy districts in in these communities? Mr. Camilo, you would you like to go
▶ 2:41:41Again, those folks are down there walking every day on those levies. they know what's what's needed. And you're right, there's there's what when I talk to our levy districts, the challenge is a lot of the unfunded mandates. It's it, you know, if they belong to the PL8499 program, for instance, it's making it almost unaffordable.
▶ 2:42:00Uh and and I think our fear in our area is that more and more levy districts are going to be over over you know withdrawing from that program if the unfunded the cost is all of a sudden is outweighing the benefit of being into those systems. Um so there there just needs to be some relief on the unfunded mandates.
▶ 2:42:19And with an engineering background I've always believed it to be true that good maintenance pays for itself over time. If you can keep these levies up and they don't fail, then the the cost is much less than after these levies fail and and destroy property uh outside the levy. Plus, then you've got the cost of of rebuilding the levy. Mr. Jones, did you have more to add?
▶ 2:42:43Uh, thank you, Congressman. Um, prior to you walking in, I commented that I grew up in a rural area um on the banks of uh the Mississippi River and the A Chaffalia River, so I understand these rural levy systems very well. Um, you know, I believe there's opportunities again for programs dedicated specifically to these rural communities that do face um these significant maintenance and capital project costs.
▶ 2:43:08Another opportunity is to consider based on the risk um not to over and I say this with all due respect to the engineering community of which I work not to overdesign projects that ultimately raise the cost of them um beyond the point of achievement um for again for the sake of overdesign for risk that may never actually occur. And so I think there's opportunities um in that regard too to understand what the real risk is and and design to that uh
▶ 2:43:37And Mr. Chairman, you've been overly overly generous. I didn't realize the time was uh was going the wrong way there. I yield back.
▶ 2:43:45No problem at all. Gentleman yields. Well, uh the chair will recognize itself for five minutes of questioning. First of all, I want to thank the witnesses for being here, not just for your time and expertise, but for the uh sacrifices you all made to be here with us, and that doesn't go unnoticed, and it's very appreciated. [clears throat] Many communities in my district still lack adequate drinking water infrastructure.
▶ 2:44:07And with the Ohio River running right along my district, looking forward to reauthorizing word of this Congress uh for move removing regulatory barriers to investing in water infrastructure, there's a lot of work to be done which could benefit southern Ohio. Mr. Jones, I'll turn to you first. We've seen that public private partnerships have historically led to both faster project delivery and lower costs for taxpayers.
▶ 2:44:30The Army Corps has seen those same benefits with projects during a pilot program that specializes in public private partnerships through just four projects. The pilot program saved over $500 million and more than 23 years of time. So Mr. Jones, if this program were to be reauthorized in the upcoming word, how could Congress improve these public private partnerships to further save taxpayer dollars and deliver these projects in a more timely fashion? Yeah, thank you for the question, Congressman.
▶ 2:44:59Um, as you alluded to, um, talked about the use of P3s um, in the water resources space. Um, critically important tool in the toolbox. I would encourage just to use it as much as possible as, uh, this subcommittee in Congress looks to move to the next reauthorization of WERA. I would encourage you to expand that um, authority. Um, there's been pilot projects and and projects that you alluded to that have been very successfully executed. Again, this is not a silver bullet.
▶ 2:45:25It's not made for every project, but for those projects that do have the ability to generate revenue in order to um and and use that that revenue to accelerate construction, we should be looking uh for that opportunity. We see this across uh the economy, whether it's in transportation or in private commercial construction and now with the um development of uh AI and data centers and alike and water resources shouldn't be any different. There's opportunities to leverage the private sector and private capital to accelerate construction.
▶ 2:45:55again, saving time and ultimately saving money. It seems like a no-brainer to do so.
▶ 2:46:01Thank you. In 2016, the Army Corps conducted a risk assessment of the Portsouth New Boston levy system in which the evaluation identified the levy to be at high risk. Behind the levy, there are 11,000 of my constituents and 26 or 26 critical structures that serve the needs of the community. While I'm grateful that funding was obtained in 2022, high-risisk high-risisk infrastructure should not be forgotten in areas prone to flooding, especially along the Ohio River.
▶ 2:46:27I was dismayed to hear in your testimony, Miss Upner, that this uh instance is not uncommon at the re that the rehabilitation and inspection program is not being used properly to provide repairs for flood damage levies, but rather more prospective planning and compliance framework. Miss Upner, in the upcoming word of reauthorization, how can Congress reform this program that so that levies can be repaired before a major flooding event occurs?
▶ 2:46:55Thank you for your thank you for your question. You know, at the bottom line, I think communication that re really needs to occur to find out what the specific problem is with the levies. And I will tell you, all of our non-federal sponsors are telling us different challenges within the districts that they may have.
▶ 2:47:17There is a huge concern with the permitting and the unfunded mandates and the new requirements and there seems to be sometimes shifting of responsibilities that haven't been there before. And so it's just making it clear that the responsibilities under the statutory language are correct.
▶ 2:47:42Okay. Thank you. So in a situation like this one where it's deemed to be at very high risk in 2016 and it's not funded till 2022, you put that up to more of a permitting delay problem than a communication problem. I'm sorry I missed part of the question.
▶ 2:48:03Oh, that's okay. Um, this in the situation we're talking about, um, it was a a project that was recognized as high risk six years before it was funded. So, would you say that's more of a failure of the of the permitting process than of a l a lapse in communication?
▶ 2:48:22Well, if it's a funded issue, it it's tied to the whole appropriations. Correct. So there's a delay between the authorization and appropriations and that is an ongoing issue and that's by the nature of the beast of how WERA works in one committee and appropriations in another.
▶ 2:48:43And to your point if it's a high hazard it communicating it to the appropriations committee and then assessing what the priorities are.
▶ 2:48:56Okay. Thank you. I'm I've used up my time. I'm going to behave since I let everybody else have extra. Um Mr. Figures here. Uh the the chair recognizes Mr. or Representative Figures for five minutes.
▶ 2:49:08Thank you. I um I represent Well, thank you to all the witnesses for for being here. Uh you're getting to the end of the line here. So, uh congratulations. I uh I represent uh the second congressional district of Alabama, which includes the port of Mobile, which is now the deepest port uh in the Gulf, thanks to uh the recent completion a couple months ago of of a significant dredging process.
▶ 2:49:35Um that got our uh port down to a depth of I believe about 48 ft now. Um and so I come here with with that perspective. Uh so I approach water resources policy, you know, with a focus on how congressional decisions translate into real impacts for ports, the workers there, uh communities that depend on reliable maritime infrastructure. And ports like Mobile and obviously ports that you guys work with and and represent, they rely on long-term planning.
▶ 2:50:02uh they make multi-year capital investments based on the expectation that when Congress sets policy and provides direction through uh the water resources development acts that direction will be carried out as intended and that the dollars will flow there from to support uh those directives. Uh Congress was explicit in word in 2020 about fully utilizing the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and expanding eligible uses of those dollars including uh for donor and energy uh transfer ports.
▶ 2:50:29Um yet this administration's budget and work plans as has been discussed throughout the hearing um have underfunded dredging and zeroed out those expanded uses. And I represent a port that is you know I'd make the case that we are the uh most recent uh beneficiary um biggest beneficiary uh of significant dredging investments. And so it is critical um that we hold the administration accountable for this and try to change this going forward with word.
▶ 2:50:59Uh Dr. Hagaba, from a port operator's perspective, can you um explain how deviating from clear congressional intent on um the harbor maintenance trust fund affects a port's ability to plan, invest, and remain competitive? And and in particular, if you could put yourself in the shoes of uh the mobile port. I know you you work in Long Beach, but a port now that has significantly enhanced its capacity uh to be able to import and export goods into this country.
▶ 2:51:29They are doing that obviously for the first time and so there's a lot of planning, strategic planning that goes into that, a lot of expectations that go into that. Um can you explain what sort of uncertainty you would feel uh knowing the need for the dredging? Uh, I'm not sure how familiar you are with the geography of of Mobile Bay in the Gulf of Mexico, but there's a lot of sediment um at the end of [laughter] uh in Mobile Bay that travels down literally from throughout this country.
▶ 2:51:54So, can you explain how um this environment um would affect you approaching that job?
▶ 2:52:02Certainly, and thank you for your question, Congressman. And as a matter of fact, I've been in Mobile
▶ 2:52:07and was very impressed. It was during the summer, so it's hard to forget my visit, but have been very impressed with the development of the growth that I've seen from afar in your port. And you're exactly right. These this is how critical your work as a subcommittee is in funding these projects.
▶ 2:52:24Anytime you enable ports like Mobile or Long Beach or ports across the nation to deepen, to widen their channels, improve navigational safety, increase capacity, you're you're basically investing in the national economy, you're fortifying national security. For us in at the Port of Long Beach, projects take many years to design, develop, finance, deliver.
▶ 2:52:50And it's critically important that we have a predictable and certain funding stream in order to be able to deliver projects on time. And earlier in earlier commentary, it was talked about the necessity to streamline the permitting process because as we all know, time is money. And as projects get delayed, costs only go up. And so it becomes critically important to deliver these projects as quickly as possible.
▶ 2:53:15And that's the reason why we at the Port of Long Beach support full authorization of HMT revenues. This is why we support and and are asking for equitable funding for donor and energy ports.
▶ 2:53:29Well, thank you. Uh Miss uh um locks and dams. I represent uh in my district the uh black warrior Tom Bigby River um waterway uh which needs significant repairs, replacements um and maintenance in the lock and dam system. Can you talk a little bit about that? I don't know. I apologize if I missed it when I stepped out u but I don't know if we've talked in depth about the need for that type of funding and that type of support um as we're going forward.
▶ 2:53:59one of our members, Tom Bigby. There is such incredible need for funding across the board in the water realm. And I know we keep on stressing it, whether it be locks and dams, ports, etc., but the locks and dams especially are extremely important to the inland to really move goods to market.
▶ 2:54:27And when you look at the Midwest, especially along Mississippi or Pennsylvania or all the other areas, and the amount of goods that go to and from really support our national economy equal funding for that to make sure that we remain strong and that we can address these aging infrastructure, to make sure that the economy me and the
▶ 2:54:57communities are safe.
▶ 2:54:59Thank you. I yield back, Mr. Chair.
▶ 2:55:02Thank you. The gentleman yields. The chair recognizes Representative Kylie for five minutes.
▶ 2:55:07Uh thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh Miss Uffner, I wanted to um ask you about uh an issue we've been dealing with in my district because I suspect that maybe uh it's not the only uh area where this has has occurred and that perhaps there might be an opportunity to um uh to fix the larger issue.
▶ 2:55:24So, the town of Roseville uh in my district had a project authorized uh under word of 2022 under section 219 uh environmental infrastructure uh Congress then appropriated $75,000 and uh the uh the relevant appropriations bill for fiscal year 2023 uh for the project. Uh but since then uh the town has had a hard time working with the Army Corps on getting the project off the ground.
▶ 2:55:48uh and I'm concerned and grown increasingly concerned that the core doesn't have clear uniform procedures to support local communities uh to support them in allowing them to proceed with project implementation. So I think it would probably be helpful uh if the core had uh could issue clearer guidance uh the district offices across the nation uh would follow.
▶ 2:56:06So, I wanted to ask you if you've heard of other authorized projects having trouble implementing uh section 219 uh environmental infrastructure projects, and do you think the core uh could issue clearer guidance to uh to district offices uh across the country?
▶ 2:56:21Congressman, if it's okay, I'd love to get back to you on that answer.
▶ 2:56:26That'd be great. Thank you. I don't know if any other witnesses have thoughts. Thank you very much. I yield back. Gentleman yields. The chair recognizes Mr. Garcia for five minutes.
▶ 2:56:39Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank again to all of our witnesses and thanks for uh allowing me to wave on today. I wanted to just ask ask um Dr. Haggaba. I just wanted to use the opportunity to ask you about the Port of Long Beach uh deep draft navigation project. It's a project that obviously I've been I'm familiar with during when I was mayor. We worked a lot with with the port uh and the whole team on on advancing it.
▶ 2:57:00And we know that the word of process is obviously complex, but I know that also bipartisan members of this committee have been involved in this effort and are strongly supportive of these types of projects. I'm grateful to hear the news that just last week the administration had removed the pause they had of course put on the project. Uh certainly we look forward to working with anyone that wants to make the port authorization change report that you referenced in your opening remarks as it refers to word for 2026.
▶ 2:57:26For those that aren't familiar with this project, could you just share a little bit more detail why it's important not just for the port, but really for trade across the
▶ 2:57:34Yeah, certainly. And thanks again for your question, Congressman, and thank you again for your very generous introduction and long-standing support of not just the Port of Long Beach, but ports across the nation. This uh deep draft navigation project is important because it enables a port like ours, who happens to be the second busiest, and moves cargo across every single congressional district.
▶ 2:57:55It enables us to handle larger ships that car carries more cargo and it allows us to uh enable even more imports and exports and our partnership with the army corps is such uh enabled them to invest monies in this project to keep it moving forward. I will say this congressman we were very surprised when we learned of the pause um because this project is a project of national significance but we're very grateful that the pause has been lifted.
▶ 2:58:24We're working uh closely with Army Corps to get the project back on track. And again, the the reason investments in ports like these and projects like these are so important is because you think about the the positive economic impact that ports like ours have on the national economy. You're talking about 2.7 million jobs, cargo to every congressional districts in the country.
▶ 2:58:45Great. Thank you. And I think we all saw of course during the the pandemic just some of the ch the supply chain disruptions that were happening. How infrastructure at seapports are so important how investments are critical to move cargo and to actually keep the economy strong. We're talking as as you know we're millions of jobs across the country are dependent uh on oftentimes on ports in California just alone. And so I think that's that's really important. Um I know there's a tight timeline to have a post authorization change report completed ahead of word of reauthorization.
▶ 2:59:13Do you know if the Army Corps of Engineers has indicated when they expect that report to be completed?
▶ 2:59:18Well, we don't have a a certain uh time frame, uh, Congressman, but I can tell you that uh, Brigadier uh, General uh, Lloyd was at our port just a couple of weeks ago and we fully engaged discussions with the Army Corps. We're very optimistic that we can meet the deadline to get this in order to 2026.
▶ 2:59:36Great. And I just want to add just for the record also, it's really important that the Army Corps is clear and works not just with our port partners, but with members of Congress. I think often times it's it's it's difficult to to get information to our ports and certainly to us in in the Congress on how critical it is that the Army Corps projects move forward and that we get regular updates. So I just want to make sure that we're we're aware of that.
▶ 2:59:57Just finally before I close briefly on the allocation of Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund dollars, can you just share one or two examples Noel about how important those dollars are to a port like Long Beach and so many others?
▶ 3:00:09Absolutely. The reason this is so important is you take the donor ports as an example. Donor ports uh generate about half of all HMT revenues, but we only get about 2% in return. Yet, these donor ports happen to be the ports that have the greatest impact to the local and national economy.
▶ 3:00:28This is why projects like these, reauthorizing WARA with section 102, for example, with expanded inwater use is so important to enable us to be a bigger economic engine for the American people.
▶ 3:00:40Great. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield
▶ 3:00:43Thank you. The gentleman yields. The chair recognizes Mr. Designier for five
▶ 3:00:48Uh, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to the witnesses. Uh, I represent a district in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay area. uh represented the the San Francisco um Delta Bay Area Delta uh for a long time. It provides a large amount of clean water to the state of California including Los Angeles and of the A industry.
▶ 3:01:10So my question for Missur, how can areas like that with almost 8 million people and also being a great resource to the agricultural industry that produces a third of all the fruits and vegetables in the United States as we go through this investment in infrastructure and areas like that? How do we make sure that the regional plans and the Bay Area has a lot of government? We've got nine counties and I don't know how many cities and special districts. How do we coordinate that?
▶ 3:01:38use this to make sure that we're doing the best investment for a place like that, the largest estuary west of the that has huge impacts not only on people who drink water, but the national economy visav the egg industry in
▶ 3:01:57That's a challenging when you're looking because you're asking about a regional focus. How do you bring everyone to the table? And you're regardless of whether you're talking your area or other areas, you have a combination of both large and small governments as well as special districts.
▶ 3:02:14and they have different capacity needs and getting them talking about it and the available funding that because when you're talking about the federal share versus the non-federal non-federal sponsors usually have a limited amount of money that they can bring to the table which is based on whether it be taxes or community.
▶ 3:02:40So it's about educating and bringing them together, you know, whether it be in a town hall and that's getting more into details, but it's about how to bring different size levels of government to the table to talk about these challenges and what they have available.
▶ 3:03:01Yeah. And in the context of sea level rise, which the Bay Area like most areas uh such as ours, there's a bigger challenge. So, we've invested a lot in our levies to keep the infrastructure up. Trying to have that regional approach and that we can learn from other areas that are similar to that. Um Mark Twain famously said in California, whisy's for drinking and water's for fighting.
▶ 3:03:24So trying to get this this opportunity from an engineering perspective in an area like that that is so crucial to get this right. And to your point, having come from local government, um Prop 13 was a good thing for some people. Um I will include myself from a personal standpoint, but the maintenance of effort and the local match is always a problem.
▶ 3:03:44And it's not a good financial model because clearly the benefit to the economy on the west coast in this instance uh and to a place with what's the California's uh GDP would be the fourth largest in the world right now. And water is so important. Um, Mr.
▶ 3:04:01Jones, what can we learn um from uh the core in this moment in sort of following on on that in regions like this, how we can coordinate better uh with local and regional and state agencies on the pure engineering and the delivery of projects. I think this is something we can agree on on a bipartisan level we have in this committee is project delivery is important particularly in this kind of
▶ 3:04:27Sure. Um thank you congressman for the question. Um you spoke of some 80 jurisdictions in in your area. That is an immense challenge. Um one of the things that we know though is that water knows no political boundaries and so water is moving about amongst those 80 different um political jurisdictions. Um so it's going to take immense communication and coordination.
▶ 3:04:47Um from the engineering perspective though understanding and and trying to remove as best we can the the political factors in the discussion and allowing the the data and the science and the engineering solutions to ultimately lead the conversation. Right? Obviously there will be political influence um and discussion. There will be community input and discussion. Every stakeholder will have their say um and um and priority.
▶ 3:05:13Um, but you know, I um prior to you coming in, I I talked about my background being from southern Louisiana um in in the
▶ 3:05:21very similar um in in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the inland floodings in the state and bringing those folks to to the table to to one educate them on how water flow actually occurs, where the water needs to be and the various uses.
▶ 3:05:37Um and um you know simply put I would just offer that there's no thing such thing as overcommunication in this regard and trying to have every stakeholder um what their needs are but but as importantly understand what the needs of their fellow stakeholders are and ultimately try to achieve some regional priorities and then work towards those
▶ 3:05:58Thank you so much. Thank you Mr.
▶ 3:06:03Thank you. The gentleman yields. Are there any further questions from any members of the subcommittee who have not been recognized? Seeing none, that concludes our hearing for today. I would like to thank each of the witnesses for your testimony. The subcommittee stands adjourned.