Congress Considering Destructive Water Bill in Lame Duck Session

November 18, 2004 — By National Wildlife Federation

WASHINGTON, DC - In the waning days of the lame duck session of the 108th Congress, lawmakers are considering passage of a fiscally wasteful and environmentally destructive authorization of water projects at a time of record-breaking deficits, the National Wildlife Federation warned today.

"The last thing this Congress should be doing is attaching wasteful, destructive water projects to an omnibus spending bill," said David Conrad, National Wildlife Federation Senior Water Resources Specialist.

"Unfortunately for the American taxpayer, wasteful water projects are just what Congress is working on right now," said Kate Costenbader, National Wildlife Federation Restore Aquatic Habitats Coordinator. "And they are doing this behind closed doors. Without public input. At a cost to taxpayers of billions of dollars." This would further swell the Corps' decades-long, $58 billion backlog of authorized but yet-to-be-constructed projects, continued Costenbader.

As early as today, Congress could attach to the FY '05 omnibus appropriations bill authorizations for water projects that made up the Water Resources Development Act. Congress failed to authorize this legislation during previous sessions, due to controversy over policy reforms needed to improve and modernize the Corps of Engineers' civil works program.

Even worse is that the omnibus package is not likely to include even the completely inadequate policy reforms contained in either the House or the Senate committee-passed versions of the bill, Conrad noted. "It is an abuse of public policy and the public trust to clear the way for more wasteful and environmentally destructive Corps of Engineers projects on the omnibus appropriations bill, when the Senate has neither debated nor passed the legislation," continued Conrad. "Authorizing water projects in this way is bad for the environment and bad for taxpayers."

Among the most destructive projects in the bill, according to Conrad, is the $1.7 billion Upper Mississippi River lock expansion project - the most expensive navigation project in the Corps' history. This project has been heavily criticized by the National Academy of Sciences, which in October issued its third report concluding that the project is not economically justified.

"Congress had 22 months to address the serious and mounting problems with the Corps' wasteful and destructive civil works program, and failed. They owe it to the people they serve to assure taxpayer protection from environmental harm and ludicrous tax spending before they authorize any additonal water projects," said Conrad.

Protecting wildlife through education and action since 1936, the National Wildlife Federation is America's conservation organization creating solutions that balance the needs of people and wildlife now and for future generations.

Contact: Kate Costenbader, 202-797-6869 or costenbader@nwf.org David Conrad, 202-797-6697 or conrad@nwf.org www.nwf.org