As you’ve already heard WRRDA authorizes the Army Corps of Engineers to carry out construction on 34 existing projects totaling $12.3 billion over the next 10 years. Each of these has already been studied by the Corps for feasibility and has been approved. We thought you’d want to know where these projects are happening, so this week we’re publishing a list of those projects, along with the federal dollar amount authorized.

If you don’t happen to have one of these projects in your area, don’t despair! As we discussed in our June 11 blog, WRRDA contains several innovative financing mechanisms, such as Public Private Partnerships (P3s) and the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) as pilot programs; these will generate significant funds for future projects. WIFIA, for example, will provide up to $200 million in low-interest federal loans and guarantees for large water infrastructure projects (including those delivered through P3s) without interfering with already existing project financing through the State Revolving fund. WRRDA requires the Corps to solicit and consider new project requests from non-federal entities (i.e. local communities), putting those that meet certain qualifications into an annual report to Congress. Congress will then decide which projects it will authorize the Corps to study for feasibility and eventually approve. So the law and its funding mechanisms should allow for new water infrastructure projects all over the country!

APPROVED PROJECTS

NAVIGATION – 8 PROJECTS
— Sabine Neches Waterway, Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana, $748 million.
— Jacksonville Harbor, Milepoint, Jacksonville, Florida, $27.9 million.
— Savannah Harbor Expansion, Savannah, Georgia, $492 million.
— Freeport Harbor, Freeport, Texas, $121 million.
— Canaveral Harbor, Cape Canaveral, Florida, $29.2 million.
— Boston Harbor, Boston, Massachusetts, $216.5 million.
— Lake Worth Inlet, Palm Beach County, Florida, $57.6 million.
— Jacksonville Harbor, Jacksonville, Florida, $362 million.

FLOOD-RISK MANAGEMENT – 9 PROJECTS
— Topeka Flood Risk Management Project, Topeka, Kansas, $17.4 million.
— American River Watershed, Common Features Project, Natomas Basin, California, $760.6 million.
— Cedar Rapids Flood Protection Project, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, $73.1 million.
— Fargo, North Dakota, and Moorhead, Minnesota, $846.7 million.
— Ohio River Shoreline, Paducah, Kentucky, $13.2 million.
— Jordan Creek, Springfield, Missouri, $13.6 million.
— Orestimba Creek, San Joaquin River Basin, California, $23.7 million.
— Sutter Basin Flood Control Measures, Sutter Basin, California, $255.3 million.
— Truckee Meadows Flood Risk Management Project, Truckee Meadows, Nevada, $181.7million.

HURRICANE AND STORM DAMAGE RISK REDUCTION – 5 PROJECTS
— West Onslow Beach and New River Inlet, (Topsail Beach) North Carolina, $99.9 million.
— Surf City and North Topsail Beach, North Carolina, $206.9 million.
— San Clemente shoreline, California, $51.2 million.
— Walton County, Florida, $42.6 million.
— Morganza to the Gulf, Louisiana, $6.7 billion.

HURRICANE AND STORM DAMAGE RISK REDUCTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION – 1 PROJECT
— Mississippi Coastal Improvement Program, Hannock, Harrison and Jackson Counties, Mississippi, $693.3 million.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION – 11 PROJECTS
— Mid-Chesapeake Bay Island, Maryland, $1.2 billion.
— Central and Southern Florida Project, Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, Caloosahatchee River (C-43) West Basin Storage Project, Hendry County, Florida, $313.3 million.
— Louisiana Coastal Area, Louisiana, $1 billion.
— Marsh Lake, Minnesota, $6.7 million.
— Central and Southern Florida Project, Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, C-111 Spreader Canal Western Project, Florida, $87.3 million.
—Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetland, Florida, $98.5 million.
— Central and Southern Florida Project, Broward County Water Preserve Area, Florida, $448.1 million.
— Louisiana Coastal Area – Barataria Basin Barrier, Louisiana, $321.8 million.
— Neuse River Basin, North Carolina, $23.8 million.
— Lynhaven River, Virginia, $22.8 million.
— Willamette River Floodplain Restoration, Oregon, $27.4 million.