news

The House approved Congressman Bill Posey’s (R-Rockledge) amendment to strengthen Section 204 of the Water Resources Development Act and speed-up important port projects that have been authorized by Congress but are awaiting action by the Army Corps of Engineers. A backlog of Army Corps projects has caused long delays and prevented many ports from modernizing their operations and doing important and needed maintenance.

“After getting their projects authorized, many ports wait far too long to see the first federal construction dollar,” said Posey. “Under this plan, a port can opt to lead its own construction project and still have access to the expertise of the Army Corps when it’s needed. Doing so reduces the backlog, frees up the Army Corps to lead other projects and keeps our ports competitive.”

Currently, if construction on a project has not begun within seven years, the project falls off the list and needs to be reauthorized by Congress. Under Posey’s amendment the port project sponsor can use their own resources rather than federal dollars while still having access to the very specialized services of the Army Corps when needed. Ports will be responsible for reimbursing the costs of the assistance provided by the Army Corps. Posey said his amendment expands options for our ports to more efficiently modernize their infrastructure in a timelier manner.