SEATTLE -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) delivered to Congress its Fiscal Year 2021 Work Plan for the Army Civil Works program on January 19, 2021.
The work plan includes more than $97 million additional funding for Seattle District projects, including:
- Grays Harbor - $2,750,000
- Lake Washington Ship Canal - $18,784,000
- Seattle Harbor (Harbor Donor and Energy Transfer Port Payment) - $2,782,000
- Tacoma Harbor (Harbor Donor and Energy Transfer Port Payment) - $2,744,000
- Puget Sound Nearshore Marine Habitat Restoration - $2,563,000
- Albeni Falls Dam Fish Passage - $68,100,000
On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, Public Law 116-260, of which Division D is the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2021. Of the appropriations provided for the Army Civil Works program, $7.3 billion is appropriated in five accounts: Investigations; Construction; Operation and Maintenance; Mississippi River and Tributaries; and the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP).
The Act’s accompanying Statement of Managers report allocates approximately $5.1 billion of the total for these five accounts to specific programs, projects and activities (PPA). USACE is responsible for allocating the remainder in these accounts, approximately $2.3 billion, to specific PPAs, consistent with the categories, subcategories, and other direction provided in the Statement of Managers. The allocation of these additional funds is presented in the Work Plan.
The Army Civil Works program includes funds for the planning, design, construction, and operation and maintenance of water resources projects, with a focus on the highest performing work within the three main Civil Works mission areas: commercial navigation, flood and storm damage reduction, and aquatic ecosystem restoration. It also funds programs that contribute to the protection of the nation’s waters and wetlands; the generation of low-cost renewable hydropower; the restoration of certain sites contaminated as a result of the nation’s early atomic weapons development program; and emergency preparedness and training to respond to natural disasters.
Ongoing work eligible for consideration for the additional funding generally includes projects, programs and activities that can attain a significant milestone, complete a discrete element of work, or produce significant outputs in FY 2021.
The Work Plan identifies the projects, programs, and activities within the Civil Works program that will receive the FY 2021 funding and how much each will receive. Funded for completion in FY 2021 are: 10 feasibility studies; 17 engineering and design projects – including the Puget Sound Nearshore Marine Habitat Restoration; and 17 construction projects.
The Statement of Managers stipulates that of the seven Construction and Mississippi River and Tributaries new starts, three shall be for navigation projects, one of which shall be for an inland waterways lock and dam modernization project, and one of which shall be for a small or medium-sized harbor; one shall be for an environmental restoration project; one shall be for an environmental restoration project or a multi-purpose project; one shall be for a flood and storm damage reduction project; and one shall be for a flood and storm damage reduction project or multi-purpose project.
Among the seven selected construction projects, Seattle District’s Albeni Falls Dam Fish Passage project is included.
The Work Plan listing the amounts provided to various programs, projects and activities for each of the five appropriations accounts can be found at: https://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Budget/.
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