The US Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) is beginning preliminary work on a new Water Resources Development Act, or WRDA to authorize funds for US Army Corps of Engineers river locks and dams, flood protection, environmental restoration and other projects.
Work is in its early days but a July 28 hearing showed wide interest in one issue that seems almost certain to be addressed in the new WRDA envisioned for 2022—changing how the Corps calculates potential projects’ benefit-cost ratio. Witnesses at the hearing said the current metric need an overhaul.