Includes Alaskan Ports and Harbors, Stops Executive Overreach
WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 4, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Appropriations for the Army Corps of Engineers, various Department of Energy programs, and a number of Alaskan projects requested by Congressman Don Young today passed the House of Representatives as part of H.R. 2028, the FY2016 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act. The bill, which passed 240 to 177, would provide $35.4 billion in FY16 spending – $29 billion for the Department of Energy and $5.6 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers.
“The Energy and Waters Appropriations Act provides critical infrastructure funding for our nation’s many projects and programs, including our energy grid, waterways, and infrastructure projects,” said Congressman Don Young. “For Alaskan communities, this legislation represents much needed funding for continued operations and maintenance of our harbors and ports, many of which require constant dredging. H.R. 2028 also works to ensure programs like the Denali Commissions, which continue to make progress on critical energy infrastructure projects in some of the most remote regions of the country, retain important funding.”
Of particular Alaskan interest, H.R. 2028 would restore funding for the now closed Office of the Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects. The bill would appropriate $1 million for the office authorized by Congress to assist in the permitting for a pipeline.
The bill also works to significantly reduce executive overreach by barring the Army Corps of Engineers from implementing its proposal to redefine the term “navigable waters” for the purpose of expanding which bodies of water are subject to Clean Water Act permit requirements. The bill would also bar funds from being used to:
- Implement two of the National Ocean Policy’s most concerning components: Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning and Ecosystem-Based Management,
- Enforce a ban on firearms on Corps land, as long as the possession of the firearm is in compliance with state law,
- Modify the definition of “fill material” or actions constituting the “discharge of fill material.” This is an effort to ensure the definition is not changed to include “mine waste.”
H.R. 2028 includes a number of priorities of Alaskan interest, including:
Funding for the Denali Commission – $10M
Army Corp of Engineers Continuing Authorities Program (CAP):
- $23.75M for the Army Corps of Engineers CAP program, which undertakes small localized projects without the lengthy study and authorization process typical of larger Corps projects.
Army Corps of Engineers Operations and Maintenance:
- Port of Anchorage – $11.9M
- Chena River Lakes – $3.6M
- Chignik Harbor – $400k
- Dillingham Harbor- $1.2m
- Homer Harbor – $462k
- Kechikan, Thomas Basin – $334k
- Lowell Creek Tunnell – $2.29m
- Ninilchik Harbor – $345k
- Nome Harbor – $1.55M
- Saint Paul Harbor – $4M
Army Corps of Engineers Studies:
- Craig Harbor – $535k
- Kotzebue Small Boat Harbor – $700k
- Perryville Harbor – $700k
- Saint George Harbor Improvement – $700k