House Committee Passes Water Resources Bill with Missouri River Mitigation Provision

Press Release

Today, the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure passed the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013 (H.R. 3080), also known as WRRDA. The legislation authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to carry out its missions to develop, maintain, and support the needs of our nation's port and waterways infrastructure, as well as support flood protection efforts. Congressman Sam Graves (MO-06) successfully included language in the bill ensuring the Corps has a clear, results-based strategy for mitigation on the Missouri River. He was joined in this effort by Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03).

"I am pleased that we were able to unanimously pass this bill in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee today," said Congressman Graves. "Last month, I held a Small Business Committee hearing in St. Joseph on management of the Missouri River, and one of the key concerns I heard was with the way the Corps currently acquires land. The Corps should not needlessly buy up land without having an express purpose for doing so. This is a longstanding problem that Congressman Luetkemeyer and I have worked together to solve for several years. I am pleased that this year's water resources bill contains language to help fix this problem by making the Corps more accountable for its actions and decisions."

The language included in the House WRRDA requires the Corps to submit detailed information regarding its strategy for managing mitigation to Congress through the president's annual budget. Specifically, the Corps must describe proposed federal actions and assess progress for each fiscal year. It also requires the Corps to identify conservation acreage in the Missouri River Basin that could be incorporated into the mitigation project.

The full House of Representatives is expected to consider WRRDA in October. Additional information about the House's WRRDA bill may be found here. The Senate passed its version of the legislation earlier this year.

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