Environmental and taxpayer groups commended Rep. Jim Oberstar today for his commitment to offer amendments to the 2002 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) to reform the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. On Wednesday, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee failed to include long-overdue policy changes in its markup of the biennial bill, setting the stage for a fight on the floor of the House of Representatives.
"These amendments are critical to helping the Corps use its expertise to meet the needs of people in ways that are economically and environmentally responsible," said Mark Van Putten, president of the National Wildlife Federation. "With the reforms called for here, the Corps of Engineers can become a force for the restoration of our wildlife, wetlands and waterways and the responsible use of our tax dollars."
On Friday, Rep. Oberstar (D-MN), senior Democrat on the committee, announced his intention to offer amendments intended to address a pattern of environmental damage and waste of tax dollars by the scandal-plagued agency. Specifically, these amendments would require the Army Corps to submit its proposals for costly water projects for review by independent experts, require full mitigation for project impacts on the environment, and require the Corps to use modern methods to measure project benefits and costs.
"By allowing the Corps to evaluate their own projects, Congress has allowed an outdated and self-serving conflict of interest that was outlawed years ago in the federal government bidding process," said Paul Hansen, executive director of the Izaak Walton League. "Independent analyses will yield a better outcome for taxpayers, the environment, and the Corps. Congress and the public will finally know which projects really make sense."
The groups noted that the upcoming floor vote would provide rank and file House members their first opportunity to take a stand on the issue. The vote will be closely watched ? the League of Conservation Voters, National Taxpayers Union, Taxpayers for Common Sense Action, and the Council for Citizens against Government Waste have indicated they will consider including these votes in their annual ?scorecards? of representatives? records.
"The House is going to have to take a stand on stopping these scandals before members get new Army Corps projects authorized in their districts," added Rebecca Wodder, president of American Rivers. "It's time for elected officials to put the public trust before their parochial interests."
The centerpiece of the reform package ? independent review of projects proposed by the Army Corps ? was endorsed by the National Academy of Sciences in a report released on July 25. The Science Academy urged that Army Corps proposals "should be subjected to independent review by objective, expert panels.? The Science Academy went on to urge that independent reviewers "should not be selected by the Corps and should not be employed by the Corps," and the process, "should be overseen by an organization independent of the Corps."
CEOs and other senior leaders of the environmental community were unanimous in their support for reforms.
"Billions of federal taxpayer dollars have been spent on questionable projects that destroy America's wetlands and degrade our rivers and coastal areas," said Bob Perciasepe, Audubon's senior vice president for public policy. "It's time to put the brakes on projects that needlessly destroy wildlife habitat and will cost billions more to fix."
"From the Chesapeake Bay to Puget Sound and for most major rivers in between, the Corps of Engineers controls the health of our rivers and bays. These amendments would help make that control more environmentally responsible," said Fred Krupp, executive director of Environmental Defense.
"It would be unconscionable for the House of Representatives to authorize new water resources projects without fixing the serious and well-documented problems at the Corps of Engineers. Congress' responsibility to protect the health of nation?s waterways and wisely invest taxpayers' money would be breached if Corps reforms are not part of the WRDA bill," said Joan Mulhern, senior legislative counsel for Earthjustice. "The efforts of Congressman Oberstar and other members working to enact reforms should be supported by every representative."
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