Since the enactment of WRDA 1986, Congress has used these omnibus authorization bills to both create new USACE authorities and refine existing programs based on evolving national priorities and lessons learned from program implementation. Recent WRDAs have addressed critical issues including drought resilience, water supply development, infrastructure modernization, and support for economically disadvantaged communities.

The most recent legislation, the Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (WRDA 2024, P.L. 118-272), continued Congress's bipartisan commitment to strengthening America's water infrastructure by authorizing new construction projects, modifying existing authorities, and establishing updated policy guidance for USACE operations. WRDA 2024 also authorized five new regional environmental infrastructure programs, each incorporating flexible delivery mechanisms that allow federal assistance to be provided through grants or reimbursements to nonfederal sponsors.

Authorization through WRDA is typically a prerequisite for USACE activities to receive federal appropriations through the annual Energy and Water Development appropriations process. This two-step framework—authorization followed by appropriation—ensures congressional oversight of both program scope and funding levels.

The Congressional Research Service has identified over 600 environmental infrastructure assistance authorities with cumulative authorizations of appropriations totaling approximately $18.1 billion. Section 219 authorities constitute the majority of these geographically specific project authorizations, covering at least 46 states, the District of Columbia, and four U.S. territories.

Section 219 projects address critical community needs including wastewater treatment facilities, water supply and distribution systems, stormwater management infrastructure, surface water protection, and environmental restoration. These projects support public health, environmental quality, and economic development in communities that have secured congressional authorization for USACE assistance.

Congress has continued to expand Section 219 in recent legislation. WRDA 2022 added 132 new Section 219 authorities and amended 24 existing authorities. WRDA 2024 authorized an additional 193 new Section 219 authorities and amended 53 existing authorities, providing a combined $5.4 billion increase in authorization of appropriations. WRDA 2024 also established a seven-year pilot program to increase the federal cost share from 75 percent to 90 percent for Section 219 projects benefiting economically disadvantaged communities.

Unlike traditional USACE water resource projects, Section 219 assistance does not require completion of the agency's standard feasibility study process. However, projects receiving Section 219 assistance must comply with applicable federal environmental laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act.

The federal cost share for Section 219 projects is established at 75 percent federal and 25 percent nonfederal, subject to ability-to-pay provisions. The nonfederal sponsor must provide all lands, easements, rights-of-way, relocations, and disposal areas necessary for construction, operation, and maintenance. The nonfederal sponsor assumes 100 percent responsibility for operations and maintenance of completed facilities.

USACE and nonfederal sponsors execute partnership agreements before USACE provides assistance under Section 219. These agreements establish the specific scope of work, cost-sharing arrangements, and respective responsibilities of federal and nonfederal parties.

From FY 2020 through FY 2025, Congress appropriated between $100 million and $300 million annually for environmental infrastructure assistance across all USACE authorities. Appropriations have been provided both through Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending requests for specific projects and through additional funding that USACE allocates among eligible authorities in work plans.

However, the current statutory framework limits the form in which federal assistance can be delivered under Section 219. Unlike many other USACE environmental infrastructure authorities, Section 219 does not explicitly authorize the federal share to be provided in the form of grants or reimbursements to nonfederal sponsors for work they perform directly.

Under current practice, USACE must act as the construction manager for Section 219 projects regardless of local capacity or capability. This means the Corps must directly manage design, contracting, and construction using federal procurement processes even when local governments are fully equipped to deliver the same work more quickly and at lower cost using existing local contractors, established delivery methods, and streamlined procurement vehicles.

This statutory limitation produces several inefficiencies that undermine the program's effectiveness:

• Capacity Constraints Lead to Project Delays or Cancellations. USACE districts operate with finite staffing and contracting resources. When the agency must directly manage every aspect of Section 219 project delivery, Corps personnel and administrative capacity become bottlenecks. In practice, USACE has declined to move forward on otherwise shovel-ready projects simply because district offices lack the internal capacity to execute them through federal procurement. This can result in critical infrastructure projects experiencing significant delays in initiation and completion, or projects never advancing despite having secured congressional authorization.
• Federal Procurement Requirements Increase Costs. Federal procurement processes, while designed to ensure competition and transparency, add cost premiums and administrative overhead compared to local government contracting. Local governments routinely deliver similar infrastructure projects at lower total costs by leveraging existing relationships with regional contractors, utilizing competitive local bidding processes, and employing streamlined project delivery methods. When USACE must procure all services federally for Section 219 projects, these cost efficiencies are lost, reducing the number of projects that can be completed with available appropriations.
• Appropriated Funds Remain Unobligated. Congress regularly appropriates funding for environmental infrastructure assistance with the expectation that these federal dollars will translate into completed projects serving communities. However, when USACE lacks the administrative capacity to manage projects through federal procurement, appropriated funds can remain unobligated or be obligated more slowly than necessary. This represents an inefficient use of taxpayer resources and delays the delivery of critical infrastructure improvements.
• Inconsistency with Proven Delivery Models. The Section 219 limitation is particularly problematic because numerous other USACE environmental infrastructure authorities successfully use grants and reimbursements as delivery mechanisms. Regional, state, and multi-state environmental infrastructure programs have demonstrated for decades that allowing nonfederal sponsors to lead project delivery—with federal reimbursement of eligible costs—accelerates timelines, reduces costs, and improves outcomes. Section 219's procurement-only restriction prevents the program from benefiting from these proven efficiencies.

The current statutory framework effectively requires USACE to do more with less while preventing the agency from using delivery mechanisms that would allow appropriated funds to accomplish more projects. This creates an untenable situation where both federal and local partners face unnecessary obstacles to delivering infrastructure improvements that Congress has explicitly authorized and funded.

The proposed change is narrow and limited in scope. It would allow, but not require, reimbursement as a delivery option while maintaining all existing program requirements, cost-sharing ratios, sponsor responsibilities, and congressional oversight mechanisms. Projects would continue to require partnership agreements between USACE and nonfederal sponsors, and all applicable federal laws including environmental compliance requirements would remain in full effect.

This amendment follows clear congressional precedent. Most regional, state, and multi-state environmental infrastructure authorities enacted since 2007 explicitly authorize federal assistance to be provided through grants or reimbursements. Most recently, WRDA 2024 established five new environmental infrastructure programs—covering Western Washington State, Kentucky and West Virginia, Southeastern North Carolina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania—each of which expressly allows federal assistance through grants or reimbursements to nonfederal sponsors.

The requested Section 219 amendment is actually more limited than these recent precedents. It seeks only reimbursement authority, not grant authority, and simply aligns Section 219 with long-standing, bipartisan congressional practice that has proven effective across USACE's broader environmental infrastructure portfolio.

Section 219 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1992, as amended, is further amended to redesignate subsection (d) as subsection (e) and insert a new subsection (d) as follows:

(d) REIMBURSEMENTS.—For projects, or separable elements of projects, for which assistance is provided under this section, the Federal share may be in the form of reimbursements of non-Federal project costs.