Source: PRESS RELEASE, 5/21/14
 
U.S. Congressman Mike McIntyre hailed the House passage of the final 2014 Water Resources Reform and Development Act, a comprehensive piece of legislation that will help local beaches and North Carolina’s coastal economy.

Congressman McIntyre said, “Our beaches, ports, and waterways are the economic lifeblood of our coast! With today’s passage of this bipartisan bill, we reaffirm our commitment to renourish our beaches, maintain our ports, protect the coast from floods, and keep our waterways open to navigation!

From Surf City to Sunset Beach, over 10,000 jobs are generated by our coastal economy each year. From the East Coast to the West Coast, and everywhere in between, this bill will create jobs and modernize our American water infrastructure for years to come.

In this WRRDA bill, I’m particularly pleased that we were able to extend the essential storm protection sand placement project at Carolina Beach, and get new ones started for Surf City and North Topsail Beach as well as Topsail Beach and New River Inlet!

Thanks to all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who helped us finalize this 2014 WRRDA bill!”

Congressman McIntyre was instrumental in the effort to include language in the final WRRDA Bill to allow for an extension of expiring beach nourishment projects. The WRRDA bill passed today authorizes a three-year extension of coastal storm damage projects which are scheduled to expire in the next five years, including the one in Carolina Beach, which is set to expire this year. Furthermore, the bill creates a process by which successful projects can be extended up to 15 years with the help of federal funds.

In addition to extending the Carolina Beach nourishment project, the WRRDA bill also authorizes two new North Carolina storm mitigation projects; one at Surf City and North Topsail Beach, and the other at Topsail Beach and New River Inlet. These areas will now be eligible for storm mitigation projects including sand placement and dune construction.

WRRDA-authorized beach nourishment projects are eligible for federal funding, which must be appropriated by Congress. Representative McIntyre has always been committed to securing federal funds for North Carolina beach nourishment projects during his time in Congress, most recently announcing the following amounts for ongoing projects:
o   $8 million for the current sand placement at Wrightsville Beach
o   $5.4 million for nourishment at Kure Beach
o   $2.7 for storm mitigation at Carolina Beach

It has been seven years since the passage of a WRRDA bill. Following today’s House passage of the Senate-House conference WRRDA bill, the legislation will be sent to the Senate for final passage.

Congressman McIntyre is the Chairman and Co-Founder of the Congressional Waterways Caucus and has long been an advocate for coastal storm damage reduction projects. Representative McIntyre has secured hundreds of millions of dollars for coastal nourishment, inlet dredging, and harbor maintenance during his time in Congress.

Further WRRDA 2014 Highlights

Reforms Bureaucracy, Accelerates Project Delivery, and Streamlines Environmental Reviews
o   Sets hard deadlines on the time and cost of studies
o   Consolidates or eliminates duplicative or unnecessary studies and requires concurrent reviews
o   Streamlines environmental reviews and improves coordination

Fiscally Responsible
o   Deauthorizes $18 billion of old, inactive projects that were authorized prior to WRDA 2007
o   More than fully offsets authorizations with deauthorizations
o   Sunsets new authorizations to prevent future project backlogs
o   Reduces the inventory of properties that are not needed for the missions of the Corps

Strengthens Oversight, Transparency, and Accountability
o   NO earmarks
o   Establishes a new, transparent process for future bills to review and prioritize water resources development activities with strong Congressional oversight

Increases Flexibility for Non-Federal Interests and Leverages Private Sector Investments to Multiply the Effect of Federal Funding
o   Maximizes the ability of non-federal interests to contribute their own funds to move studies and projects forward
o   Expands the ability of non-federal interests to contribute funds to expedite the evaluation and processing of permits
o   Establishes a Water Infrastructure Public Private Partnership Program and new options to expand the local role in project implementation
o   Creates innovative methods to invest in and finance water resources infrastructure and municipal drinking water and wastewater needs

Enhances Safety and Protects Communities
o   Strengthens dam and levee safety
o   Improves Army Corps of Engineers responses to extreme weather events
o   Encourages resilient construction techniques and the use of durable, sustainable, and innovative materials

Improves Competitiveness, Creates Jobs, and Strengthens Water Resources Infrastructure
o   Authorizes needed investment in America’s ports, strengthens ports that move the majority of the Nation’s commerce, and ensures equity for those ports that contribute the most to the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund
o   Increases the amount of funds drawn from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for maintenance dredging of federal navigation channels
o   Supports underserved, emerging ports
o   Reforms and preserves the Inland Waterways Trust Fund
o   Authorizes priority water resources infrastructure improvements recommended to Congress by the Chief of the Army Corps of Engineers to improve navigation and commerce and address flood risk management, hurricane and storm damage risk reduction, and environmental restoration needs