WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2026

On 2026-09-16, Representative Jeff Hurd (R-CO-3) delivered a floor speech titled "WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2026" in the House.

WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2026

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 146 (Wednesday, September 16, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 146 (Wednesday, September 16, 2026)] [House] [Pages H5850-H5893] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2026 Mr. GRAVES. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 9497) to provide for improvements to the rivers and harbors of the United States, to provide for the conservation and development of water and related resources, and for other purposes, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 9497 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Water Resources Development Act of 2026''. (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as follows: Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Secretary defined. TITLE I--GENERAL PROVISIONS Sec. 101. Program Offices within the Directorate of Civil Works. Sec. 102. Contracting efficiency. Sec. 103. Removal or remediation of contaminated sediment. Sec. 104. Levee owners board. Sec. 105. Categorical permissions. Sec. 106. Contributions by non-Federal interests. Sec. 107. Electronic submission and tracking of permit applications. Sec. 108. Project study schedule and cost estimate. Sec. 109. Continuing authority programs. Sec. 110. Dredged material management plans. Sec. 111. Dredging coordination. Sec. 112. Federal standard for dredged material disposal or placement. Sec. 113. Allocations from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. Sec. 114. Soo Locks operator wage rates. Sec. 115. Beneficial use of dredged material from harbors in the State of Ohio. Sec. 116. Minimum real estate interest. Sec. 117. Real estate appraisal validity. Sec. 118. Watershed and river basin assessments. Sec. 119. Prohibition on diversion of water from Missouri River. Sec. 120. Law enforcement at water resources development projects. Sec. 121. Disaster debris removal. Sec. 122. Wildfire contingency strategies. Sec. 123. Reservoir sediment pilot program. Sec. 124. Environmental dredging. Sec. 125. Expenses for control of aquatic plant growths and invasive species. Sec. 126. Feasibility studies; review of shoreline and streambank protection. Sec. 127. Harmful algal bloom demonstration program. Sec. 128. Shoreline and riverine protection and restoration. Sec. 129. Fish and oyster habitat restoration. Sec. 130. Benefits and costs attributable to certain measures. Sec. 131. Policy on utilization of all Corps authorities and missions. Sec. 132. Comprehensive feasibility studies and approaches for flood risk management and coastal storm risk management. Sec. 133. Realignment of certain Corps of Engineers Districts. Sec. 134. Update of Corps policy. Sec. 135. Availability of project information. Sec. 136. Fish and wildlife mitigation. Sec. 137. Sense of Congress regarding evaluation of flood risk management projects. Sec. 138. Recreational access. Sec. 139. Sense of Congress on munitions disposal. Sec. 140. Corps of Engineers workforce. Sec. 141. Reporting and oversight. Sec. 142. Ability to pay. Sec. 143. Pilot program prioritization. Sec. 144. Vessel removal by Corps of Engineers. Sec. 145. Sense of Congress related to Everglades Agricultural Area project. TITLE II--STUDIES AND REPORTS Sec. 201. Authorization of proposed feasibility studies. Sec. 202. Expedited completion. Sec. 203. Expedited modification of existing feasibility studies. Sec. 204. Expedited completion of other feasibility studies. Sec. 205. Corps of Engineers reports. Sec. 206. Report on the inland waterways system. Sec. 207. Coastal Storm Risk Management Trust Fund study. Sec. 208. Assessment of emerging harbor maintenance backlog. Sec. 209. GAO studies. Sec. 210. Inspector General reports. Sec. 211. Acceleration of emergency inland navigation projects. Sec. 212. Assessment of commercial fish landings data. Sec. 213. Assessments of dryland stream technologies and shoreline stabilization technologies. Sec. 214. Assessment of nonstructural approaches to flood risk management and hurricane and storm risk reduction. Sec. 215. Post-disaster watershed assessment for impacted areas. Sec. 216. Updated plan on Federal hopper dredge recapitalization. Sec. 217. Choctawhatchee and Pea River basins, Alabama and Florida. Sec. 218. Mobile Harbor land use assessment. Sec. 219. Expedited After-Action Review of Lake Okeechobee Recovery Operations. Sec. 220. Honolulu Harbor, Hawaii. Sec. 221. Chicago Area Waterway System. Sec. 222. Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin project, Brandon Road, Will County, Illinois. Sec. 223. Columbia Lock and Dam, Louisiana. Sec. 224. Lower Mississippi River Comprehensive Management Study. Sec. 225. Disposition study for Cape Cod Canal, Massachusetts. Sec. 226. New England regional confined aquatic disposal facilities. Sec. 227. Assateague Island, Maryland and Virginia. Sec. 228. Big Sandy Lake, Minnesota. Sec. 229. Upper Missouri River Basin sedimentation. Sec. 230. Table Rock Lake disposition study, Missouri and Arkansas. Sec. 231. Table Rock Lake, Missouri and Arkansas. Sec. 232. Evaluation of atomic contamination at Cochiti Lake, Sandoval County, New Mexico. Sec. 233. National Academy of Sciences study on Upper Rio Grande Basin. Sec. 234. Arbuckle-Timbered Hills, Oklahoma. Sec. 235. Disposition and cost allocation study of Willamette Valley, Oregon. Sec. 236. Foster Joseph Sayers Reservoir and Dam, Pennsylvania. Sec. 237. Humphreys County, Tennessee. Sec. 238. Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Texas. Sec. 239. Columbia River, Washington. Sec. 240. Tri-Cities Area, Washington. TITLE III--DEAUTHORIZATIONS AND MODIFICATIONS Sec. 301. Deauthorization of inactive projects. Sec. 302. General reauthorizations. Sec. 303. Conveyances. Sec. 304. Land exchange, Walton and Bay Counties, Florida. Sec. 305. Port Canaveral, Florida. Sec. 306. Specific deauthorizations. Sec. 307. Environmental infrastructure. Sec. 308. Forecast-informed reservoir operations. Sec. 309. Floodplain management services. Sec. 310. Planning assistance to States. Sec. 311. Maintenance of navigation channels. Sec. 312. Mobile Harbor, Alabama. Sec. 313. Mendenhall Glacier outburst flooding, Alaska. Sec. 314. Hansen Dam, Los Angeles-San Gabriel River Basin, California. Sec. 315. Morro Bay, California. Sec. 316. Oceanside, California. Sec. 317. Pajaro River, California. Sec. 318. Arkansas Valley Conduit, Colorado. Sec. 319. Rio Grande Environmental Management Program, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. Sec. 320. Miami Harbor, Miami-Dade County, Florida. Sec. 321. Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, Louisiana. Sec. 322. Pilottown anchorage area, Louisiana. Sec. 323. Jack Hubbard Memorial Breakwater, Burt Township, Michigan. Sec. 324. Sardis Lake, Panola County, Mississippi. Sec. 325. Hydraulic evaluation of Upper Mississippi River. Sec. 326. Lower Missouri River comprehensive flood protection. Sec. 327. Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee. Sec. 328. Great Lakes Commission. Sec. 329. Great Lakes Fishery and ecosystem restoration. Sec. 330. Truckee River and tributaries, Nevada. Sec. 331. Cooperative agreements, New Mexico. Sec. 332. Kinzua Dam safety modification study, Allegheny River, New York and Pennsylvania. Sec. 333. Surf City and North Topsail Beach, North Carolina. Sec. 334. Massillon Local Protection Project, Tuscarawas River, Ohio. Sec. 335. Toussaint River Federal navigation project, Carroll Township, Ohio. Sec. 336. Rio Puerto Nuevo flood risk management project, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Sec. 337. Buffalo Bayou Tributaries and Resiliency Study, Texas. Sec. 338. Chambers, Galveston, and Harris Counties, Texas, expedited real estate transfers. Sec. 339. Coastal Virginia. Sec. 340. Norfolk Coastal Storm Risk Management, Virginia. Sec. 341. Puget Sound and adjacent waters restoration, Washington. Sec. 342. Lower Columbia River. Sec. 343. Lower Columbia River Basin ecosystem restoration assessment. Sec. 344. Puget Sound nearshore ecosystem restoration, Washington. [[Page H5851]] Sec. 345. Washington Metropolitan Area, Washington, District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. Sec. 346. Federal Triangle Area, Washington, District of Columbia. TITLE IV--WATER RESOURCES INFRASTRUCTURE Sec. 401. Project authorizations. Sec. 402. Expedited completion of projects and activities. TITLE V--DAM SAFETY Sec. 501. National Dam Safety Program amendments. Sec. 502. Study on high hazard potential dam prioritizations. SEC. 2. SECRETARY DEFINED. In this Act, the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the Army. TITLE I--GENERAL PROVISIONS SEC. 101. PROGRAM OFFICES WITHIN THE DIRECTORATE OF CIVIL WORKS. (a) Office of Inland Navigation Construction Management.-- (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish within the Directorate of Civil Works an office to be known as the ``Office of Inland Navigation Construction Management''. (2) Administration.--In establishing the office under this subsection, the Secretary shall-- (A) designate an Inland Program Manager, who shall head the office and report directly to the Deputy Commanding General for Civil Works and Emergency Operations; and (B) provide the office with sufficient administrative, technical, and budgetary support to direct, perform, and coordinate the following tasks related to the inland waterways navigation mission of the Corps of Engineers: (i) Develop and maintain an inland waterway program management plan. (ii) Oversee inland waterways construction projects and major rehabilitation projects along the inland and intracoastal waterways of the United States, as described in section 206 of the Inland Waterways Revenue Act of 1978 (33 U.S.C. 1804). (iii) Coordinate, validate, and oversee funding for the projects des

Referenced legislation: HR9497, HR9497