Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024

DIVISION A, WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

Water Resources Development Act of 2024

TITLE I, GENERAL PROVISIONS

Subtitle A, General Matters

(Sec. 1101) This section directs the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to ensure that potential nonfederal interests are aware of the roles, responsibilities, and financial commitments associated with a completed water resources development project prior to initiating any feasibility studies. A nonfederal interest is an entity such as a state or Indian tribe, or a nonprofit entity with the consent of the affected local government, that has full authority and capability to perform the terms of its agreement and to pay damages in the event of failure to perform.

The Corps must also designate a community project advisor at each of its district and division offices to respond to inquiries from potential nonfederal interests related to Corps water resources development authorities.

To the maximum extent practicable, the Corps must make information on its projects and studies within each of its districts publicly available on a website.

(Sec. 1102) The Corps must develop a plan to implement this act and prior water resources development law. Additionally, the Corps must establish a team of current federal employees to implement this act and such laws.

(Sec. 1103) This section raises the cost cap on certain feasibility reports for water resources projects from $3 million to $5 million.

(Sec. 1104) The Corps must provide a real estate plan to the nonfederal interest for an authorized water resources development project. For each project for which an interest in real property is required for any applicable construction, operation and maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, or replacement, the Corps must identify and use the minimum interest in real property necessary to carry out the applicable activity. The nonfederal interest for a project must provide the identified minimum interest in real property for the project.

(Sec. 1105) This section requires the Corps to develop guidance to standardize Corps districts' review of applications by nonfederal entities for permission to modify certain harbor or river structures created by the Corps, such as sea walls or piers.

(Sec. 1106) This section directs the Corps, no later than 30 days after the end of each fiscal year, to ensure that its website for finding permits accurately reflects the current status of permits.

(Sec. 1107) This section modifies and expands the Corps continuing authority program (CAP), which is a group of nine authorities under which the Corps may plan, design, and implement certain types of water resources projects without additional project- specific congressional authorization. This section raises caps on the amount of funding the Corps may contribute for certain CAP projects.

The section also directs the Corps to implement a ten-year pilot program for carrying out up to 25 CAP projects through a delivery method that is not the traditional design-bid-build method, such as public-private partnerships.

(Sec. 1108) The Corps must establish a program to carry out studies and projects to control, retain, and reuse stormwater associated with flood control efforts, in partnership with nonfederal interests.

(Sec. 1109) This section expands requirements for the Corps to provide guidance to nonfederal interests undertaking feasibility studies of proposed water development projects, including to direct to the Corps to provide nonfederal interests guidance on obtaining support from the Corps on completing parts of studies that must be done by federal agencies.

(Sec. 1110) This section prohibits the Corps from providing credit or reimbursement to a nonfederal interest for (1) certain design and construction activities required by the nonfederal interest but not the Corps, or (2) delays incurred by the nonfederal interest resulting in project cost increases.

(Sec. 1111) This section directs the Corps to notify nonfederal interests if their proposal was included in the Corps’ annual Report to Congress on Future Water Resources Development and to notify relevant Members of Congress of proposals that were included in that report or its appendix.

(Sec. 1112) This section allows the Corps to recognize the contributions of volunteers carrying out activities of the Corps through an award or other appropriate means. However, the award may not be a cash award.

(Sec. 1113) The Corps must update its policy guidance for the evaluation and approval of nonrecreational real estate outgrant requests to use lands and waters operated and maintained by the Corps for the installation of broadband infrastructure.

(Sec. 1114) The Corps must continue the Silver Jackets program, which establishes interagency teams that work with nonfederal interests to address certain flood risk management issues.

(Sec. 1115) This section allows the Corps to enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with West Virginia University, Delaware State University, the University of Notre Dame, Mississippi State University, Western Washington University in Bellingham, the University of North Carolina in Wilmington, and California State Polytechnic University in Pomona to conduct research in support of certain water resource-related activities.

(Sec. 1116) This section expands the Temporary Relocation Assistance Pilot Program to include a project for hurricane and storm damage risk reduction in Norfolk, Virginia.

(Sec. 1117) This section increases the depth at which federal ports and harbors may receive the highest federal cost share for the costs of construction, operation, and maintenance.

(Sec. 1118) This section modifies the Inland Waterways Regional Dredge Pilot Program by eliminating the requirement for the Corps to award contracts for projects that combine work for construction, operation, and maintenance, to the maximum extent practicable.

(Sec. 1119) The section modifies requirements for dredged material disposal facility partnerships, including to allow nonfederal entities to utilize certain nonfederal disposal facilities for the disposal of dredged material if given permission from the facility owner and the Corps. In order to grant permission, the Corps must make a determination that the need for dredged material disposal to maintain, deepen, or restore the navigability and functionality of authorized navigation channels in the vicinity of the nonfederal disposal facility for the 20-year period following the date of the request may be met by the available gross capacity of other dredged material disposal facilities.

The Corps must charge fees to recover certain capital, operation, and maintenance costs.

The section also allows the Corps to perform disposition evaluations for nonfederal disposal facilities not utilized for 20 years, if requested by the owners of such facilities.

(Sec. 1120) This section directs the Corps to initiate the development of guidance to standardize processes for developing, updating, and tracking real estate administrative fees it administers.

(Sec. 1121) The Corps must regularly update certain publicly available databases with information about its sites that are used for recreational purposes, including the operational status of, and the recreational opportunities available at, such sites.

(Sec. 1122) This section makes permanent the requirement for independent peer review of project studies of Corps projects that are estimated to cost more than $200 million.

(Sec. 1123) This section allows the Corps to carry out a program that provides recurring national coastal mapping along U.S. coasts to support navigation, flood risk management, environmental restoration, and emergency operations projects.

(Sec. 1124) This section allows the Corps to remove certain abandoned vessels from navigable waters of the United States, even if the vessel does not obstruct navigation.

(Sec. 1125) This section requires the Corps, before beginning construction or modification of a dike notch, chute, or complex for interception or rearing of fish in the Missouri River, to mitigate certain hazards (such as increased flood risk) that would be created from the action.

(Sec. 1126) This section increases the federal cost share for certain navigation projects on the inland waterways (the remainder of costs are paid from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, which is funded by a tax on commercial-barge fuel).

(Sec. 1127) This section allows the Corps to conduct title research for abandoned structures when providing technical assistance to states and nonfederal interests that are developing comprehensive plans for the development, utilization, and conservation of water and related resources.

(Sec. 1128) This section extends through 2026 Congress’s authority to expedite consideration of authorizations of water resources development or conservation projects.

(Sec. 1129) This section directs the Corps to issue guidance regarding maintenance dredging in emerging harbors and to develop a mechanism to accept funds from a nonfederal interest for the purpose of maintenance dredging.

(Sec. 1130) This section makes the Beneficial Use of Dredged Material Pilot Program permanent.

(Sec. 1131) This section directs the Corps to develop, update, and maintain economic, hydraulic, and hydrologic models for use in the planning, design formulation, modification, and operation of water resources development projects and water resources planning.

(Sec. 1132) This section reauthorizes through FY2028 and expands the National Dam Safety Program.

For example, the section expands the program to include a low-head dam, which is a river-wide artificial barrier that generally spans a stream channel, blocking the waterway and creating a backup of water behind the barrier, with a drop off over the wall of not less than 6 inches and no more than 25 feet.

In addition, the section modifies requirements for a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) program that provides grants to states with dam safety programs for the rehabilitation of high hazard potential dams, including by requiring relevant grant recipients to have floodplain management plans for dam removals.

(Sec. 1133) This section allows the Corps to accept and expend funds contributed by an Indian tribe to expedite the evaluation of a permit related to a water resources project.

(Sec. 1134) This section modifies the Harmful Algal Bloom Demonstration Program, including by expanding the scope of the program to address harmful algal blooms that affect water bodies of regional, national, or international importance in the United States or its territories.

The section also adds Lake Elsinore in California and Willamette River in Oregon to the list of the program’s focus areas.

Additionally, the program must prioritize carrying out program activities that (1) reduce nutrient pollution; (2) utilize natural and nature-based approaches; (3) protect, enhance, or restore wetlands or flood plains; (4) develop emerging technologies, such as technologies for remote sensing, monitoring, or early detection of harmful algal blooms; and (5) combine removal of harmful algal blooms with a beneficial use, including conversion of retrieved algae biomass into biofuel, fertilizer, or other products.

(Sec. 1135) This section specifies that authorized corrosion prevention activities include certain corrosion prevention programs.

(Sec. 1136) This section allows the Corps to repair and maintain certain pile dikes sufficiently to meet the authorized purpose of the navigation project. Pile dikes are structures to prevent erosion and maintain navigation channels. The section excludes certain pile dike repairs from being considered major rehabilitations.

(Sec. 1137) This section authorizes an intertribal consortium to be a nonfederal interest for purposes of entering an agreement with the Corps for a water resources project.

(Sec. 1138) This section adds the Connecticut shoreline and the Winooski River tributary watershed in Vermont to a list of areas that are prioritized for certain protection and restoration projects.

(Sec. 1139) This section modifies and expands the list of criteria that the Corps must consider when determining the ability of a nonfederal interest to pay for water resources development projects.

The Corps must also (1) annually report to Congress on such determinations, and (2) make such determinations for specified priority projects.

(Sec. 1140) This section modifies the Corps’s Tribal Partnership Program, including by making the program permanent.

It also establishes a pilot program to carry out certain water-related planning activities or activities relating to the study, design, and construction of water resources development projects that meet the requirements of the Tribal Partnership Program.

(Sec. 1141) This section directs the Corps to establish and implement a pilot program under which Indian tribes may directly carry out the projects under the Tribal Partnership Program.

(Sec. 1142) This section modifies the process under which the Corps makes determinations on whether there is a federal interest in carrying out a water resource project, including by increasing the maximum cost of making such a determination.

(Sec. 1143) This section expands the list of locations that the Corps must prioritize when assessing the water resources needs of river basins and watersheds to include (1) the Walla Walla River Basin in Washington and Oregon; (2) the San Francisco Bay Basin in California; (3) the Connecticut River Watershed in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont; (4) the Lower Rouge River Watershed in Michigan; and (5) the Grand River Watershed in Michigan.

At the request of a nonfederal interest, the Corps may prepare a feasibility report that recommends the construction or modification of a water resources development project to address the water resources need of a river basin or watershed identified in the assessment.

(Sec. 1144) This section expands the Corps’s program to prevent, control, and eradicate noxious aquatic plant growths and aquatic invasive species to authorize the Corps to assist states in monitoring and contingency planning for aquatic invasive species.

It also allows the Corps to enter into partnerships with states and other federal agencies to address invasive species in the Connecticut River Basin.

(Sec. 1145) This section modifies requirements for certain hurricane and storm damage reduction projects for which the Corps generally requires a perpetual easement to allow the Corps to construct such a project with a non-perpetual easement.

(Sec. 1146) This section modifies the requirements for a levee system to be eligible for repair and rehabilitation assistance, including by requiring systemwide improvement plans.

In addition, the section establishes a process for the Corps to review grandfathered encroachments. The Corps may not determine that such an encroachment requires corrective action unless it is necessary to ensure that it does not negatively impact the integrity of flood control works.

(Sec. 1147) This section limits the remote and subsistence harbor projects the Corps may recommend without demonstrating that the project is justified by national economic development benefits to only projects located in Alaska, Hawaii, or the U.S. territories.

(Sec. 1148) This section directs the Corps to include in 10 feasibility studies for communities outside of the contiguous states an alternative benefit-cost ratio that reflects what construction costs would be if the project were carried out in a comparable community in the contiguous states.

(Sec. 1149) This section establishes conditions under which the Corps may use remote operation activities in the next six years at water resources development projects.

(Sec. 1150) This section directs the Corps to (1) report on the status of certain reports required under previous water resources development acts, and (2) annually report on the status of reports required under this act or any future act that authorizes water resources development projects.

It also directs the Corps to issue certain guidance documents required under previous water resources development acts.

(Sec. 1151) This section directs the Corps to report on operation and maintenance backlogs for its projects at alternative seaports.

(Sec. 1152) This section authorizes the Corps, in concurrence with the Department of State, to compensate and make arrangements with Canada for reserving and operating 3,600,000 acre-feet of pre-planned flood storage per operating year at Hugh Keenleyside Dam to minimize the flood risk in the Columbia River Basin. This authority expires on August 31, 2027.

(Sec. 1153) This section requires to be nonprofit any private entities that enter into cooperative agreements with the Corps to provide for operation and management of recreation facilities and natural resources. It also authorizes the Corps to allow private nonprofit entities to collect user fees.

The section also requires the Corps, before entering into a cooperative agreement, to ensure that nonfederal public entities or private nonprofit entities have the authority and capability to (1) carry out the terms of the agreement, and (2) pay any damages in the event of a failure to perform.

In addition, the section authorizes the Corps and other federal agencies to transfer to nonfederal public entities or private nonprofit entities user fees received by the Corps or another federal agency under a visitor reservation service for recreation facilities and natural resources managed by the nonfederal public entities or private nonprofit entities.

(Sec. 1154) This section allows the Corps to retain collected recreational fees so long as it spends at least 80% of the fees collected at a recreational site for the operation and maintenance of that site.

(Sec. 1155) This section expresses the sense of Congress that the Corps should develop and implement a framework for integrating, sharing, and using water data for the purpose of improving water resources management.

(Sec. 1156) This section expresses the sense of Congress that the Corps, in carrying out any feasibility study, should follow (1) the guidance described in the memoranda relating to Comprehensive Documentation of Benefits in Feasibility Studies dated April 3, 2020, and April 13, 2020; and (2) the policies described in the memorandum relating to Policy Directive – Comprehensive Documentation of Benefits in Decision Document dated January 5, 2021.

Subtitle B, Grace F. Napolitano Priority for Water Supply, Water Conservation, and Drought Resiliency Act of 2024

Grace F. Napolitano Priority for Water Supply, Water Conservation, and Drought Resiliency Act of 2024

(Sec. 1161) This section states that it is the policy of the Corps to (1) maximize opportunities for water supply, water conservation measures, and drought resiliency efforts at and in the operation of water resources development projects; (2) participate and cooperate with states and local interests in developing water supplies in connection with water resources development projects; and (3) enable the adoption of water conservation measures and drought resiliency measures that are in alignment with the authorized purposes of water resources development projects.

(Sec. 1162) This section directs the Corps, to the maximum extent practicable, to incorporate the use of forecast-informed reservoir operations (FIRO) in updating a water control manual for any reservoir constructed, owned, or operated by the Corps. (FIRO is a reservoir management strategy that bases decisions on whether to retain or release water on data from watershed monitoring and weather and water forecasting.)

The Corps must also assess geographically diverse reservoirs to determine the viability of using FIRO at such reservoirs.

(Sec. 1163) This section directs the Corps to prioritize the update of water control manuals that incorporate the use of FIRO into such manuals.

(Sec. 1164) This section allows the Corps to carry out a drought emergency pilot program in Arizona, California, and Nevada under which the Corps may operate a project with water supply as the primary project purpose during a drought emergency.

(Sec. 1165) This section allows the Corps to receive and expend funds from federal agencies that own certain federal reservoir projects to revise project operational documents pursuant to a proposal to increase a project's available water supply.

TITLE II, STUDIES AND REPORTS

(Sec. 1201) This section allows the Corps to conduct specified feasibility studies, including studies for 162 new projects, 40 project modifications, and 5 projects under the Corps continuing authority program.

(Sec. 1202) This section directs the Corps to expedite the completion of five previously authorized feasibility studies, with specified modifications.

(Sec. 1203) This section requires the Corps to expedite the completion of

- a feasibility study or general reevaluation report for 36 projects;

- a Chief’s Report or Director’s Report for 9 projects;

- 39 projects and activities;

- 5 projects under the CAP program;

- 3 tribal partnership projects;

- 2 watershed assessments;

- the prospectus for the U.S. moorings facility in Portland, Oregon; and

- the disposition study for the Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam in Minnesota.

(Sec. 1204) This section directs the Corps to expedite the review and coordination of four feasibility studies that are carried out by nonfederal sponsors.

(Sec. 1205) This section directs the Corps to submit a report on each of the following topics:

- access for individuals with disabilities to Corps recreational areas;

- instances of high turbidity in a reservoir in the Willamette Valley, Oregon, resulting from a drawdown in the reservoir;

- a nonclassified report on security at Soo Locks in Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan, and the effects of a failure of the Soo Locks;

- efforts to promote, rehabilitate, and enhance the growth of seagrasses in Florida stormwater treatment areas;

- shoreline use permits at the Table Rock Lake project in Missouri and Arkansas;

- the Corps’s policies relating to using property buyouts as part of coastal storm risk management projects;

- fuel efficiency of each vessel within the Corps’s fleet;

- the operational status of Corps’s boat ramps;

- bridges owned, operated, and maintained by the Corps;

- whether Congress has provided the Corps the authority it needs to acquire interests in real estate that are less than fee simple title;

- efforts to prevent and mitigate flood damages associated with ice jams; and

- the Corps’s authorities to construct water resources development projects abroad.

(Sec. 1206) This section directs the Corps to annually report on certain operations and maintenance costs associated with harbors and inland harbors and the distribution of funds from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund.

(Sec. 1207) This section states that the costs of completing a general reevaluation report for the project for navigation, Craig Harbor, Alaska, must be paid for by the federal government.

(Sec. 1208) This section directs the Corps to study whether a project in the Colorado River Basin in Arizona should include water supply as a project purpose upon the request of the nonfederal interest or Arizona. If the Corps determines that water supply should be included, the Corps must recommend modifications to the project’s purpose.

(Sec. 1209) This section directs the Corps to expedite the completion of a study for the reallocation of water supply storage for the Beaver Water District in Beaver Lake, Arkansas.

(Sec. 1210) This section directs the Corps to expedite completion of the Oceanside, California, shoreline study and produce a recommended plan. If the plan is technically feasible and environmentally acceptable, the Corps may proceed directly to preconstruction planning, engineering, and design of the mitigation and beach restoration work.

(Sec. 1211) This section directs the Corps to study the restoration of aquatic ecosystems in the Delaware Inland Bays watershed and allows the Corps to conduct feasibility studies recommended in the study.

(Sec. 1212) This section directs the Corps to carry out a general reevaluation report for the project for the Delaware Bay Coastline, Roosevelt Inlet, and Lewes Beach, Delaware.

(Sec. 1213) This section directs the Corps to develop an encroachment resolution plan related to a portion of the project for flood control, recreation, and fish and wildlife management at J. Strom Thurmond Lake in Georgia and South Carolina. The Corps may not take action to compel removal of an encroachment covered by the plan without approval from Congress.

(Sec. 1214) This section directs the Corps to operate, maintain, and repair all features of the West Bank and Vicinity, New Orleans, Louisiana Hurricane Protection Project along the Algiers Canal Levees, Louisiana, at federal expense.

(Sec. 1215) This section directs the Corps to evaluate and report on constructing a connection between the Upper Barataria Basin Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction project in Louisiana and the Morganza to the Gulf of Mexico project in Louisiana.

(Sec. 1216) This section directs the Corps to carry out a disposition study for the deauthorization and potential removal of the Poor Farm Pond Dam in Worcester, Massachusetts.

(Sec. 1217) This section directs the Corps to (1) study the effects of hot spot erosion on authorized coastal storm risk management projects in New Jersey, and (2) make recommendations for mitigating the effects.

(Sec. 1218) This section authorizes the Corps, in carrying out certain studies of the New Jersey coastline, to include recommendations for ecosystem restoration.

(Sec. 1219) This section directs the Corps to report on any real property associated with the Corps project at Lake Oahe in North Dakota that is not needed to carry out the project and may be transferred to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to support recreation opportunities for the tribe.

(Sec. 1220) This section expresses the sense of Congress that the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania is an important waterway and that the lockage levels of service along the river should be preserved until after the completion of the feasibility study authorized by section 1201 of this act.

(Sec. 1221) This section directs the Corps to (1) expedite the completion of the Buffalo Bayou Tributaries and Resiliency Study, Texas; and (2) submit a report with recommendations for projects by December 31, 2025.

(Sec. 1222) The Corps must identify and report opportunities for potential exchange of land or flowage easements associated with the general plan for flood control for the Lake O’ the Pines project in Texas.

(Sec. 1223) This section directs the Corps, to the maximum extent practicable, to expedite the completion of the required documentation for the Matagorda Ship Channel Improvement Project, Port Lavaca, Texas.

(Sec. 1224) This section directs the Corps, to the maximum extent practicable, to expedite the review of a request from the City of Waco, Texas, that the Corp repair and restore the embankment adjacent to Waco Lake, Texas.

(Sec. 1225) This section allows the Corps to carry out comprehensive studies for riverine and coastal flooding of coastal areas in Washington.

(Sec. 1226) This section requires the nonfederal share of the costs of certain projects for economically disadvantaged communities in the Kanawha River Basin in West Virginia to be 10% of the total project costs.

(Sec. 1227) This section directs the Corps to evaluate and recommend local and systemic measures to improve flood resiliency and reduce flood risk in the floodplain of the Upper Mississippi River System.

(Sec. 1228) This section directs the Corps to brief Congress on the outcomes of consultations on endangered species regarding the operation of the Missouri River Mainstem Reservoir System, the operation and maintenance of the Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project, the operation of the Kansas River Reservoir System, and the implementation of the Missouri River Recovery Management Plan.

(Sec. 1229) This section allows the Corps to conduct a comprehensive study on water supply and drought resilience for regions overlying the Ogallala Aquifer.

(Sec. 1230) This section directs the Corps to seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to prepare a report containing (1) the results of a study on the Corps’ management and operations of the dams and reservoirs in the Upper Rio Grande Basin, and (2) recommendations for future management and operation strategies to optimize current project purposes and enhance resiliency.

(Sec. 1231) This section directs the Corps, at the request of a nonfederal interest, to complete a feasibility study on comprehensive flood damage reduction in the Upper Susquehanna River Basin, New York.

(Sec. 1232) This section specifies that the Corps is authorized to conduct a feasibility study for the Walla Walla River project on the Nursery Reach of the river in Oregon as well as the Mill Creek Levee and Walla Walla River Basin in Washington.

(Sec. 1233) This section directs the Corps to expedite the review of a request from the relevant federal Power Marketing Administration to recoup certain modification costs for dam safety at Garrison Dam in North Dakota and Oahe Dam in South Dakota.

(Sec. 1234) This section directs the Corps to share data and coordinate with relevant federal, state, and local agencies to obtain an accurate count of Cape Sable seaside sparrows in Florida. The Corps must provide a count during each year and, to the maximum extent practicable, during the 5-year period preceding each such year.

(Sec. 1235) This section directs the Corps to assess and report to Congress on the Corps’s efforts to monitor, control, and eradicate invasive species at water resources development projects.

(Sec. 1236) This section directs the Corps to provide a list to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) of ongoing water resources development projects that are over budget by at least $50 million or behind schedule by at least five years.

(Sec. 1237) This section directs the Corps’s Engineer Research and Development Center to identify and report on potential measures that the Corps may implement to reduce the release of microplastics into the environment.

(Sec. 1238) This section directs the Corps to carry out a post-disaster watershed assessment for (1) areas of Maui, Hawaii, impacted by August 2023 wildfires; and (2) areas near Belen, New Mexico, impacted by April 2022 wildfires.

(Sec. 1239) This section directs the Corps to study and report on appropriate procedures for determining the value of real estate and cost-share contributions for projects under the Tribal Partnership Program.

(Sec. 1240) This section directs the Corps to report on certain levee safety guidelines.

(Sec. 1241) This section directs the Corps to develop and publish a guide on the use of public-private partnerships for water resources development projects.

(Sec. 1242) This section directs the Corps to study and report on its authorities and programs that facilitate the use of alternative delivery methods for water resources development projects. (Alternative delivery methods are those other than the traditional design-bid-build method, including progressive design-build, public-private partnerships, and construction manager at risk.)

(Sec. 1243) This section increases the authorization of appropriations for the Corps’s activities in support of interagency and international efforts to address problems of national significance to the United States.

(Sec. 1244) This section directs the GAO to conduct studies regarding

- the accuracy of project cost estimates developed by the Corps for its completed and ongoing water resources development projects;

- components (e.g., indemnification clauses) of the Corps’s Project Partnership Agreements for such projects;

- a review of the Corps's Section 408 Program, which allows certain entities to modify existing Corps civil works projects (e.g., dams or levees);

- opportunities for the Corps to modernize the civil works program;

- the use of easements in certain water resources development projects;

- Corps efforts to improve the environmental review processes for project studies;

- types of dredged material disposal sites, particularly aquatic confined placement structures in the Lower Columbia River;

- the distribution of funding from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund;

- the Corps’s environmental justice initiatives;

- funding for certain donor ports subject to harbor maintenance fees;

- the Corps’s disaster preparedness and response activities;

- unauthorized homeless encampments on water resources development projects;

- data sharing efforts concerning sea-level rise and flooding;

- nature-based features that are incorporated into authorized water resources development projects;

- the use of ecosystem restoration for flood control or flood risk management projects;

- procedures to address the discovery of tribal historic or cultural resources at water resources development projects;

- the Corps’s role in support of Federal Emergency Management Agency missions; and

- the impact of material contaminated by a hazardous substance on the Corps civil works program.

TITLE III, DEAUTHORIZATIONS AND MODIFICATIONS

(Sec. 1301) This section establishes a process for the Corps to deauthorize certain water resources development projects, or elements of a project, not yet initiated or funded.

(Sec. 1302) This section deauthorizes projects or portions of projects concerning

- a study for the project for ecosystem restoration in East San Pedro Bay, California;

- a portion of the project for flood risk management in the Los Angeles County Drainage Area;

- a portion of the project for navigation in Bridgeport Harbor, Connecticut;

- the 25-foot-deep channel portion of the project for navigation in Thames River, Connecticut;

- a portion of the project for navigation in Jacksonville Harbor, Florida;

- a portion of the project for the Four River Basins, Florida;

- a portion of the project for navigation in Saint Petersburg Harbor, Florida;

- a portion of the project for navigation on the North Branch channel, Chicago River, Illinois;

- the project for flood control at the Cherryfield Dam on Narraguagus River in Maine;

- Dam Site 7 and Dam Site 12 in the Papillion Creek Basin, Nebraska;

- a project for flood risk management in Truckee Meadows, Nevada;

- a portion of the project for navigation on the Newtown Creek federal navigation channel in New York;

- the Talbott’s Nursery portion of the project for flood control in Souris River Basin, North Dakota;

- a portion of the project for navigation on Monroe Bay and Creek, Virginia; and

- a portion of the project for navigation in Seattle Harbor in Washington.

The Corps must report to Congress on the impacts of deauthorizing portions of the project for flood protection on the Lower San Joaquin River and tributaries in California.

(Sec. 1303) This section reauthorizes several Corps programs, including extending through FY2030 the Invasive Species in Alpine Lakes Pilot Program, a levee safety initiative, a nonfederal project implementation pilot program, and the Asian Carp Prevention and Control Pilot Program.

(Sec. 1304) This section authorizes 193 new and modifies 64 existing environmental infrastructure projects of the Corps.

(Sec. 1305) This section authorizes the Corps to increase the federal cost share to up to 90% for certain environmental infrastructure projects that benefit economically disadvantaged communities.

(Sec. 1306) This section requires or authorizes certain conveyances of real property from the Corps. Specifically, the Corps may convey (1) to the City of Los Angeles, California, without consideration, approximately 11.25 acres of land in Sherman Oaks, California; and (2) to the County of San Luis Obispo, California, without consideration, the Salinas Dam and Reservoir. The Corps must convey (1) to Indiana, by quitclaim deed, approximately 11.85 acres of land and road easements associated with Dillard Road located in Patoka Township, Crawford County, Indiana; and (2) to the Port of Skamania County, Washington, upon receipt of fair market value, approximately 1.6 acres of specified land.

(Sec. 1307) This section increases the federal cost share of the Selma Flood Risk Management and Bank Stabilization project in Alabama to 100%.

(Sec. 1308) This section modifies the coastal erosion project in Barrow, Alaska, to specify certain floodplain management plan requirements.

(Sec. 1309) This section extends Corps responsibility for the long-term maintenance and repair of the Lowell Creek tunnel in Seward, Alaska, until November 8, 2032.

(Sec. 1310) This section directs the Corps to investigate flood and related problems along the San Francisco Bay shoreline in Contra Costa County, California.

(Sec. 1311) This section modifies the Santa Ana River Mainstem Project for flood control in California to require the Corps to treat construction of the Santiago Creek Channel as a separable element of the project. Thus, the Santiago Creek Channel may be constructed, operated, and maintained as a self-contained unit. The channel is the portion of the project that consists of Santiago Creek downstream of the I-5 Interstate Highway to the confluence with the Santa Ana River.

The Corps may not construct the Santiago Creek Channel unless such construction minimizes the impacts to existing trees in, or adjacent to, the channel.

In addition, the Corps must report on the status of the implementation of the Santa Ana River Mainstem Project.

(Sec. 1312) This section directs the Corps to terminate a specific water supply contract at the Colebrook River Reservoir in Connecticut, upon the request of the Metropolitan District of Hartford in Connecticut.

(Sec. 1313) This section increases the authorization of appropriations for the Faulkner Island, Connecticut, shoreline protection project.

(Sec. 1314) This section makes the federal cost share for carrying out the comprehensive plan to restore the northern estuaries in Florida 90% of the total project costs.

(Sec. 1315) This section modifies requirements for the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam project in Georgia and South Carolina, including to

- require the lock and dam to maintain a stable pool with a specified daily average elevation,

- require the construction of a fish passage structure that mitigates impacts to fish habitat without removing the dam, and

- place a ceiling on the construction costs to be paid by the Georgia Ports Authority.

(Sec. 1316) This section modifies the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin project for ecosystem restoration in Will County, Illinois. After completion of construction of the project, the federal share of operation and maintenance costs of the project must be 90% for 10 years.

(Sec. 1317) This section directs the Corps to complete a study relating to certain modifications to the Larose to Golden Meadow project in Louisiana.

(Sec. 1318) This section modifies the project in Louisiana for hurricane and storm damage reduction from Morganza to the Gulf of Mexico. Specifically, the section directs the Corps to credit the nonfederal interest for certain work carried out by the nonfederal interest for interim flood protection after March 31, 1989, if certain conditions are met.

(Sec. 1319) This section directs the Corps to review any feasibility study to modify the project for navigation of Port Fourchon Belle Pass Channel in Louisiana undertaken by the nonfederal interest by specified deadlines.

(Sec. 1320) This section directs the Corps to take all possible measures to reduce the footprint of easements on the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam in Minneapolis, Minnesota, including by examining the use of crane barges on the Mississippi River.

(Sec. 1321) This section increases the authorization of appropriations for the Missouri River Levee System Unit L-385 Project in Riverside, Missouri.

(Sec. 1322) This section establishes requirements for the reallocation of water storage space at Stockton Lake, Missouri. Specifically, the Corps must implement the reallocation of storage and enter into a water storage agreement with the Southwest Missouri Joint Municipal Water Utility Commission as described in the final Stockton Lake Water Supply Storage Reallocation Feasibility Study with Integrated Environment Assessment and Director’s Memorandum dated September 23, 2024, subject to specified modifications.

This section also sets forth requirements to offset losses of federal hydropower at the Stockton Lake project.

(Sec. 1323) This section directs the Corps to permit the ongoing presence of certain structures, such as homes with septic systems, at the Table Rock Lake project (located in Missouri and Arkansas) until they are abandoned or fail.

(Sec. 1324) This section modifies cost sharing for the project for flood risk management, Mamaroneck-Sheldrake Rivers in New York. Specifically, it sets the nonfederal share of the costs of features benefiting an economically disadvantaged community at 10% of the total project costs.

(Sec. 1325) This section modifies the authorities of the Corps related to the cutter suction dredge for the Columbia River Channel in Oregon and Washington. Specifically, the section authorizes the Corps to include, as part of the full operating costs of the dredge provided by the nonfederal interest for the project, any costs of replacing the dredge that the Corps and the nonfederal interest agree are necessary.

(Sec. 1326) This section prohibits the Corps from completing its review of the operation and maintenance of the projects for flood control, navigation, and other purposes in Willamette River Basin, Oregon, until the Corps analyzes an alternative that ceases hydropower operations at the projects.

(Sec. 1327) This section directs the Corps, upon the request of the Port of Houston Authority, to (1) review the land owned and easements held by the United States for the federal project for navigation on the Houston Ship Channel in Texas; and (2) convey, release, or exchange certain land provided that the transfer does not interfere with any federal navigation project that has been constructed or is authorized to be constructed.

(Sec. 1328) This section sets the Corps cost share to 90% for a recommended corrective action for the navigation project on the Matagorda Ship Channel in Port Lavaca, Texas.

(Sec. 1329) This section modifies the project for flood control on the San Antonio channel improvement in Texas, to require the Corps to carry out the project substantially in accordance with Alternative 7, as identified in the final General Re-evaluation Report and Environmental Assessment for the project, dated January 2014.

(Sec. 1330) This section lowers the nonfederal interest's cost share to 10% of the total costs of critical restoration projects benefiting an economically disadvantaged community in the Lake Champlain Watershed in Vermont and New York.

(Sec. 1331) This section sets the federal cost share to 100% for the operation and maintenance costs for the project for beach erosion control on Ediz Hook in Port Angeles, Washington. However, the nonfederal interest must be responsible for 50% of the excess cost of the operation and maintenance of such project over the cost which the Corps determines would be incurred if the harbor had a depth of 55 feet.

(Sec. 1332) This section allows the Corps to establish a program to provide environmental assistance to nonfederal interests in Chelan County, Island County, King County, Kittitas County, Pierce County, San Juan County, Snohomish County, Skagit County, and Whatcom County, Washington. The Corps may provide design and construction assistance for water-related environmental infrastructure and resource protection and development projects in those counties. In order to receive assistance, the projects must be publicly owned.

(Sec. 1333) This section expands the Corps program to carry out projects for storm damage prevention and reduction, coastal erosion, and ice and glacial damage in Alaska to include riverine erosion.

(Sec. 1334) This section modifies a Corps program that provides environmental assistance to nonfederal interests in the Chattahoochee River Basin in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, including to extend a deadline for project plans.

(Sec. 1335) This section increases the authorization of appropriations for the Chesapeake Bay Oyster Recovery Program.

(Sec. 1336) This section provides for the collective planning and implementation of coastal storm risk management and hurricane and storm risk reduction projects in Delaware, including by designating specified projects as the Delaware Coastal System Program.

(Sec. 1337) This section sets the nonfederal cost share to 10% of the costs of the Delaware Inland Bays and Delaware Bay Coast’s Coastal Storm Risk Management study or project construction based on the study.

(Sec. 1338) This section expands the Corps’s water resources development study of the Pacific Region to include Hawaii and coastal storm risk management.

(Sec. 1339) This section reauthorizes through FY2029 critical restoration projects in the Illinois River Basin.

(Sec. 1340) This section establishes a program to provide environmental assistance to nonfederal interests in Kentucky and West Virginia.

(Sec. 1341) This section establishes criteria for land acquired to satisfy the total number of acres required for mitigating fish and wildlife losses through the Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska.

(Sec. 1342) This section authorizes the Corps to repair or restore certain emergency shore restoration projects or public beaches damaged by a Nor'easter. The program expires after 10 years.

(Sec. 1343) This section modifies requirements for the study of flood and storm damage reduction for the New York and New Jersey Harbor and Tributaries project. The Corps, upon the request of the nonfederal interest for the project, must expand the scope of the study to include an investigation of, and recommendations relating to, projects and activities to maximize the net public benefits from the reduction of certain comprehensive flood risks.

(Sec. 1344) The Corps must establish a program to provide environmental assistance to nonfederal interests in southeastern North Carolina.

(Sec. 1345) This section allows the Corps to establish a pilot program that reimburses nonfederal interests for the design and construction costs of treatment works for abandoned mine drainage in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

(Sec. 1346) This section expands the study for the Western Lake Erie Basin in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan to include studying the development of measures to improve hurricane and storm damage risk reduction.

(Sec. 1347) This section modifies the Corps’s program to provide environmental assistance to nonfederal interests in Ohio and North Dakota, including to set the nonfederal share of the costs of a project that benefits an economically disadvantaged community to be 10% of the total project costs.

(Sec. 1348) This section allows the Corps to establish a program to provide environmental assistance to nonfederal interests in Oregon. Under the program, the Corps may provide design and construction assistance for publicly owned water-related environmental infrastructure and resource protection and development projects.

(Sec. 1349) This section allows the Corps to establish a program to provide environmental assistance to nonfederal interests Pennsylvania. Under the program, the Corps may provide design and construction assistance for publicly owned water-related environmental infrastructure and resource protection and development projects.

(Sec. 1350) This section specifies that the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority and Fairfax County Water Authority are customers of the Washington Aqueduct.

(Sec. 1351) This section sets the federal cost share for the feasibility study of the water supply project in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, District of Columbia, to be 90% of the total project costs.

(Sec. 1352) This section modifies the Corps’s program to provide environmental assistance to nonfederal interests in northern West Virginia, including to set the federal share of the costs of a project that benefits an economically disadvantaged community to be 90% of the total project costs.

(Sec. 1353) This section modifies the Corps’s program to provide environmental assistance to nonfederal interests in southern West Virginia, including to set the federal share of the costs of a project that benefits an economically disadvantaged community to be 90% of the total project costs.

(Sec. 1354) This section increases the authorization of appropriations for the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program.

(Sec. 1355) This section directs the federal government to pay for all of the predesign planning costs for Acequias rehabilitation and restoration.

(Sec. 1356) This section reauthorizes through FY2029 and expands projects for underserved community harbors. The section authorizes the Corps to conduct ecosystem restoration activities for such harbors. The Corps may also carry out the projects in certain (1) harbors where passenger or freight service is provided to island communities dependent on that service; or (2) marinas or berthing areas that are located adjacent to, or are accessible by, a federal navigation project.

(Sec. 1357) This section continues a Corps program to carry out appropriate planning, design, and construction measures for wildfire prevention and restoration in the Middle Rio Grande Bosque in New Mexico.

(Sec. 1358) This section expands repayment terms for certain flood control projects to provide for the refund of excess credits.

(Sec. 1359) This section requires the Corps to notify specified congressional committees if it receives a request from a nonfederal interest to renegotiate the terms and conditions of an eligible deferred payment regarding certain flood control projects.

(Sec. 1360) This section modifies water supply contracts for Copan Lake in Oklahoma and Milford Lake and Perry Lake in Kansas regarding costs for water supply storage space.

(Sec. 1361) This section decreases from 50% to 35% the nonfederal share of the cost of constructing, operating, and maintaining watercraft inspection and decontamination stations.

(Sec. 1362) This section establishes requirements for the status of any replacement vessel for the federal hopper dredge McFarland.

(Sec. 1363) This section expands the Corps’s program that removes silt, aquatic growth, and other materials from lakes to include (1) East Lake Tohopekaliga in Florida; (2) Dillon Lake in Ohio; (3) Hillcrest Pond in Pennsylvania; and (4) Falcon Lake and Lake Casa Blanca in Texas.

(Sec. 1364) This section expands the list of navigation channels that the Corps must evaluate to determine if the Corps should become responsible for their maintenance. Specifically, the Corps must make such a determination for (1) West Dundalk Branch Channel and Dundalk-Seagirt Connecting Channel in Baltimore Harbor Anchorages and Channels, Maryland; (2) Crown Bay Marina Channel in the U.S. Virgin Islands; (3) Pidgeon Industrial Area Harbor in Memphis, Tennessee; (4) McGriff Pass Channel in Florida; and (5) Oak Harbor Channel and Breakwater in Washington.

(Sec. 1365) This section directs the Corps to continue to maintain, at federal expense, the pile dike system constructed by the Corps for navigation along the Lower Columbia River and Willamette River in the Pacific Northwest.

(Sec. 1366) This section directs the Corps to (1) coordinate with the relevant stakeholders and communities in Alabama and Mississippi to address the dredging needs of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in those states, and (2) ensure continued navigation at the locks and dams owned and operated by the Corps located along the waterway.

(Sec. 1367) This section reauthorizes through FY2030 and modifies requirements for projects carried out by the Corps to rehabilitate certain high hazard dams.

(Sec. 1368) This section extends the program for soil moisture and snowpack monitoring in the Upper Missouri River Basin through FY2029.

(Sec. 1369) This section extends through 2027 the waiver of a nonfederal interest’s payment of its share of damages relating to claims from the construction of water resources development projects.

(Sec. 1370) This section directs the Corps to provide technical assistance and cost estimation assistance upon request to the relevant federal entity in order to address impacts to navigation along the Tennessee River at the Wilson Lock and Dam in Alabama.

(Sec. 1371) This section expresses the sense of Congress that the Corps should coordinate with relevant stakeholders in Alabama to address the dredging and dredging material placement needs associated with the navigation project in the Theodore Ship Channel located in Mobile Harbor, Alabama.

(Sec. 1372) This section expresses the sense of Congress that shallow draft dredging in the Chesapeake Bay is critical for tourism, recreation, and the fishing industry and that additional dredging is needed. It also urges the Corps to address the dredging needs at small harbors and channels in the Chesapeake Bay.

(Sec. 1373) This section expresses the sense of Congress that the Corps should make certain data and decisions related to operations of civil works projects within the Missouri River Basin publicly available.

TITLE IV, WATER RESOURCES INFRASTRUCTURE

(Sec. 1401) This section authorizes 21 projects for water resources development and conservation, including projects related to navigation, hurricane and storm damage risk reduction, flood risk management, and ecosystem restoration.

(Sec. 1402) This section authorizes the Corps to provide financial assistance to Florida for the design and construction of the North Feeder Stormwater Treatment Area in the Western Everglades Restoration Plan.

(Sec. 1403) This section authorizes the Corps to carry out the Lake Okeechobee Storage Reservoir (Component A) of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan Project.

(Sec. 1404) This section authorizes the Corps to design and construct three facilities using amounts available in a specified revolving fund. The facilities are located in Galveston and Corpus Christi in Texas and in the Longview Lake Project near Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

DIVISION B, OTHER MATTERS

TITLE I, FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE HIGHWAY FUNDING ACT OF 2024

Fiscally Responsible Highway Funding Act of 2024

(Sec. 2103) This section provides for the redistribution of contract authority from the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program to states. Specifically, the Department of Transportation (DOT) must redistribute $1,800,000,000 of unobligated balances under the TIFIA program to states. By way of background, the TIFIA program provides credit to finance surface transportation projects of national and regional significance.

The contract authority must remain available until the end of FY2028 and is in addition to any other federal-aid highway funds given to states.

The contract authority is subject to the obligation limitation for federal-aid highway and highway safety construction programs.

(Sec. 2104) This section directs DOT to redistribute a portion of FY2025 TIFIA contract authority to states on April 1, 2025. DOT must first determine the amount of contract authority made available for credit assistance under the TIFIA program for FY2025 that is estimated to remain unobligated, and then distribute 75% of that amount to states.

The contract authority must remain available until the end of FY2028 and is in addition to any other federal-aid highway funds given to states.

The contract authority is subject to the obligation limitation for federal-aid highway and highway safety construction programs.

(Sec. 2105) This section directs DOT to redistribute a portion of FY2026 TIFIA contract authority to states on April 1, 2026. After determining the amount of contract authority made available for credit assistance under the TIFIA program for FY2026 that is estimated to remain unobligated, DOT must distribute 75% of that amount to states.

The contract authority must remain available until the end of FY2029 and is in addition to any other federal-aid highway funds given to states.

The contract authority is subject to the obligation limitation for federal-aid highway and highway safety construction programs.

TITLE II, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2024

Economic Development Reauthorization Act of 2024

Subtitle A, Public Works and Economic Development

(Sec. 2211) This section modifies definitions under the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965, which established within the Department of Commerce the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to assist public works and economic development projects in economically distressed rural and urban areas.

The section also expands the list of entities eligible to receive assistance from the EDA to include economic development organizations and public-private partnerships for public infrastructure.

(Sec. 2212) This section modifies reporting and meeting requirements for the EDA. Specifically, the section directs the EDA to meet with specified regional commissions within a year of enactment and at least once every two years thereafter.

Commerce must prepare and make publicly available a report detailing (1) planned actions by the EDA and the Regional Commissions to enhance coordination or reduce duplication of efforts and a timeline for implementing those actions; and (2) any best practices and strategies developed.

(Sec. 2213) This section expands an EDA program that provides grants to states for public works and economic development, including to expand the program to include grants for the improvement of waste management and recycling systems.

(Sec. 2214) This section revises an EDA program that provides grants for economic development planning and administrative expenses to specify the types of administrative expenses that may be paid with a grant.

(Sec. 2215) This section modifies cost sharing requirements for EDA’s grants for public works and economic development, including to allow funds contributed by a regional commission for a project to be considered as part of the nonfederal share of the project costs.

(Sec. 2216) This section modifies requirements for regulations governing the allocation of EDA’s grants for public works and economic development. For example, the section directs the EDA to consider the labor force participation rate among other factors when evaluating relative needs of areas applying for grants.

(Sec. 2217) This section expands the EDA’s grants for training, research, and technical assistance that would be useful in alleviating or preventing conditions of excessive unemployment or underemployment. For example, the section allows those grants to be used for project predevelopment. The section also authorizes the EDA to make such grants to institutions of higher education to serve as university centers.

(Sec. 2218) This section requires a project to be consistent with any of the following investment priorities to be eligible for public works and economic development assistance: critical infrastructure, workforce, innovation and entrepreneurship, economic recovery resiliency, and manufacturing.

(Sec. 2219) This section modifies EDA’s grants for alleviating economic deterioration in communities, including by specifying that communities injured by the loss of jobs in certain industries, such as tourism, agriculture, or steel, are eligible.

The section also allows the EDA to make grants to (1) assist areas adversely impacted by a contraction event in the coal economy, (2) assist with economic development in nuclear host communities; and (3) fund community advisory boards in nuclear host communities.

(Sec. 2220) This section replaces the Brightfields Demonstration Program, under which brownfield sites are redeveloped through the incorporation of solar energy technologies, with a permanent program to redevelop brownfield sites through the incorporation of renewable energy.

(Sec. 2221) This section authorizes the EDA to make grants to support the development and expansion of certain workforce training programs.

It also authorizes through FY2029 a pilot program to provide grants to states for workforce training.

(Sec. 2222) This section directs Commerce to notify specified congressional committees of a project that is selected to receive a grant from EDA of $100,000 or more no less than three business days before notifying the recipient of their selection for that award. The section also outlines what information must be contained in the notification.

(Sec. 2223) This section allows the EDA to make grants for certain broadband projects. Grants may be provided to public-private partnerships or certain consortiums.

(Sec. 2224) This section allows the EDA to make grants under the Critical Supply Chain Site Development grant program to carry out site development or expansion projects to make a site ready for manufacturing projects.

(Sec. 2225) This section expands eligibility for EDA grants by adding to the list of attributes that qualify an area for assistance. For example, under this section, an area qualifies if it has a median household income of 80% or less of the national average.

(Sec. 2226) This section requires the comprehensive economic development strategy that must be included in an application for an EDA grant to include plans to mitigate and adapt to the economic impacts of extreme weather.

(Sec. 2227) This section establishes an Office of Tribal Economic Development within the EDA to coordinate tribal economic development activities and develop a strategic plan for tribal economic development.

(Sec. 2228) This section directs the EDA to establish an Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience within the EDA. The EDA must also establish a disaster team for the deployment of individuals to carry out responsibilities of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience after a major disaster or emergency has been declared.

(Sec. 2229) This section allows EDA’s regional offices to designate a staff member to act as a technical assistance liaison for any state served by the regional office. Such liaison must assist under-resourced communities and eligible recipients of EDA assistance that submit unsuccessful grant applications.

(Sec. 2230) This section adds to the list of items that must be included in Commerce’s annual report on EDA’s activities, including information about project delays.

(Sec. 2231) This section expresses a sense of Congress that the EDA should continue to promote access to its programs through the use of economic development representatives in under- resourced communities, particularly coal communities.

(Sec. 2232) This section directs Commerce to report to specified congressional committees on its efforts to facilitate efficient, timely, and predictable environmental reviews of projects funded by the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965.

(Sec. 2233) This section directs the GAO to evaluate economic development programs administered by the EDA and the federal regional commissions. The GAO must also report on the evaluation to specified congressional committees.

(Sec. 2234) The GAO must submit to specified congressional committees a report that evaluates the EDA’s economic development regulations and policies that may hinder the ability of communities to apply for and administer EDA grants.

(Sec. 2235) This section directs the GAO to submit to specified congressional committees a report that evaluates the impacts of funding provided by the EDA to distressed communities located in rural areas.

(Sec. 2236) This section authorizes EDA programs through FY2029.

Subtitle B, Regional Economic and Infrastructure Development

(Sec. 2241) This section reauthorizes the regional commissions through FY2029.

(Sec. 2242) This section modifies administrative requirements for regional commissions.

(Sec. 2243) This section allows regional commissions to transfer funds to and accept transfers of funds from other federal agencies if the funds are used consistently with the purposes for which the funds were specifically authorized and appropriated.

(Sec. 2244) This section makes amounts made available to regional commissions available to pay the nonfederal share for any project carried out under another federal grant program (1) for which a regional commission is not the sole or primary funding source, and (2) that is consistent with the authorities of the applicable commission.

(Sec. 2245) This section expands the area covered by the Northern Border Regional Commission to include Lincoln County, Maine; Merrimack County, New Hampshire; and Schoharie and Wyoming Counties, New York.

(Sec. 2246) This section expands the area covered by the Southwest Border Regional Commission to include Bernalillo, Cibola, Curry, De Baca, Guadalupe, Lea, Roosevelt, Torrance, and Valencia Counties, New Mexico, and Guadalupe County, Texas.

(Sec. 2247) This section specifies the area covered by the Great Lakes Authority consists of the counties that include part of the watershed of the Great Lakes and the Great Lakes System.

(Sec. 2248) This section provides statutory authority for EDA’s State Capacity Building Grant Program, which awards grants to states to support economic development in counties within the jurisdictions of the regional commissions.

This section also allows regional commissions to make grants for certain demonstration health and child care projects to serve distressed areas.

(Sec. 2249) This section establishes the Mid-Atlantic Regional Commission to serve each county of Delaware, each county in Maryland that is not already served by the Appalachian Regional Commission, and each county in Pennsylvania that is not already served by the Appalachian Regional Commission.

(Sec. 2250) This section establishes the Southern New England Regional Commission that serves (1) each county in Rhode Island and Massachusetts; and (2) the counties of Hartford, Middlesex, New Haven, New London, Tolland, and Windham in Connecticut.

(Sec. 2251) This section reauthorizes through FY2029 the Denali Commission, which supports economic development in Alaska. The section also authorizes the commission to use its funding to pay the nonfederal share for programs undertaken to carry out the purposes of the commission.

(Sec. 2252) This section establishes a revolving fund, the Denali Housing Fund, to (1) encourage and facilitate the construction or rehabilitation of housing to meet the needs of low-income households and moderate-income households, and (2) provide housing for public employees.

(Sec. 2253) This section reauthorizes through FY2029 the Delta Regional Authority, which supports economic development in the lower Mississippi River region and Alabama Black Belt region. The section also expands eligibility for the authority's economic and community development grants to include Indian tribes. The section specifies that Sabine, Vernon, and Terrebonne Parishes in Louisiana are eligible for support from the authority.

(Sec. 2254) This section reauthorizes through FY2029 the Northern Great Plains Regional Authority.

TITLE III, PUBLIC BUILDINGS REFORMS

(Sec. 2301) This section extends through 2026 and modifies the Public Buildings Reform Board (PBRB) established by the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016 (FASTA).

(Sec. 2302) This section directs the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to establish standard methodologies and identify technologies available for measuring occupancy in public buildings and federally leased space.

Agencies must work with the GSA to identify, deploy, and use those technologies to measure occupancy of their spaces. Agencies must also annually report on the occupancy and the actual utilization rates of spaces they occupy and certain other related data.

Each year the OMB must ensure that building utilization in each public building and federally leased space is not less than 60% on average. If the building utilization is below that threshold, then the GSA must notify the relevant agency and specified congressional committees. The GSA must also take steps to reduce the agency’s space, such as consolidating the tenant agency with another agency or selling or disposing of excess capacity space, under certain circumstances. However, the GSA may provide exceptions to building utilization requirements if an agency demonstrates that non-standard office space is required to meet its mission.

Within a year of this act’s enactment, the OMB must submit to specified congressional committees a plan to consolidate department and agency headquarters buildings in the National Capital Region that will result in building utilizations of 60% or greater. Within a year of the plan’s submission, the GSA and OMB must begin implementing the plan.

This section establishes related reporting requirements, including a requirement for agencies to submit to their office of inspector general (OIG) a report of any of its spaces that have a utilization rate below 20% during the reporting period that are not vacant office buildings. Upon receipt of such a report, the OIG must conduct an investigation to determine whether there is any evidence of fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement associated with the low utilization rate.

(Sec. 2303) This section directs the GAO to review and report on the impact of crime on in-person work rates in federal buildings and commuting modes of transportation to federal buildings and the effect of low office utilization rates on safety around federal buildings.

(Sec. 2304) This section requires GSA to notify specified congressional committees if a federal building construction project’s scope or size increases or decreases by more than 5% and prohibits changes of more than 10% unless an amended prospectus is approved. The section also requires GSA to provide additional information when proposing projects for congressional approval.

It also directs GSA to collect and report on data from certain federal agencies on safety incidents at federal public buildings.

The section requires GAO to report on the use of special use spaces (e.g., conference centers or fitness centers) in federal buildings to determine levels of utilization, opportunities for sharing, and other efficiencies.

GSA must share with tenant federal agencies pursuing new or replacement office space information on other agencies in the area for purposes of determining opportunities for space sharing.

GSA must notify Congress of any project milestones that are accomplished for congressionally approved projects.

(Sec. 2305) This section directs GAO to review and report on the administration and management of all Public Buildings Service (PBS) real estate programs and activities as well as activities related to the building operations account of the Federal Buildings Fund.

(Sec. 2306) This section directs GSA to sell the building known as the Webster School in Washington, DC. Net proceeds must be deposited into the Federal Buildings Fund.

(Sec. 2307) This section directs GSA, on behalf of the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Prisons, to sell certain federal property located in Missouri that is connected with the U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas. The property may not be sold to a foreign entity.

(Sec. 2308) This section directs GAO to report to specified congressional committees on whether buildings owned and leased by GSA comply with the Architectural Barriers Act.

(Sec. 2309) This section directs GSA to modify the process by which the agency revises the P100 facilities standards, which are design standards and performance criteria for GSA-owned buildings. The section requires the process to include a public comment period and publication of the revisions in the Federal Register and on the GSA website. The GSA must also report on the modified process to specified congressional committees.

(Sec. 2310) This section establishes an expiration date for certain congressional committee resolutions that authorize projects proposed by GSA. Unless a lease is awarded or a construction, alteration, repair, design, or acquisition project is initiated no later than five years after the resolution approves the project, the resolution’s approval expires.

(Sec. 2311) This section directs GSA to offer to convey the Huntsville Courthouse and Post Office in Huntsville, Alabama, to the City of Huntsville for fair market value.

(Sec. 2312) This section directs GSA to sell the Wilbur J. Cohen building in Washington, DC. Net proceeds must be deposited into the Federal Buildings Fund. The property may not be sold to a foreign entity.

(Sec. 2313) This section designates a federal courthouse annex in London, Kentucky, as the Eugene E. Siler, Jr. United States Courthouse Annex.

(Sec. 2314) This section designates a federal building in San Francisco, California, as the Senator Dianne Feinstein Federal Building.

(Sec. 2315) This section redesignates the Richard H. Poff Federal Building in Roanoke, Virginia, as the Reuben E. Lawson Federal Building.

(Sec. 2316) This section designates a courthouse in Clarksburg, West Virginia, as the Irene M. Keeley United States Courthouse.

(Sec. 2317) This section designates a federal building in North Platte, Nebraska, as the Virginia Smith Federal Building.

(Sec. 2318) This section designates a federal building and courthouse in Rome, Georgia, as the Harold L. Murphy Federal Building and United States Courthouse.

(Sec. 2319) This section designates a federal courthouse in Los Angeles, California, as the Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez United States Courthouse.

(Sec. 2320) This section designates the Department of Energy's Integrated Engineering Research Center in Batavia, Illinois, as the Helen Edwards Engineering Research Center.