Sponsors (4)
Official title: 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.
Introduced June 29, 2026 by Samuel Graves · Last progress June 29, 2026
The bill accelerates and expands Corps water, navigation, and resilience projects (with more funds, studies, and faster delivery) to benefit communities and ecosystems, but does so by increasing federal authorizations and administrative changes that shift costs and risks to taxpayers, state/local sponsors, and the environment unless safeguards and adequate appropriations are maintained.
State, local, and tribal communities (and ports) gain substantially expanded authorizations, dedicated appropriations, and project/study approvals for flood control, drought resiliency, water supply, navigation, ecosystem restoration, and wastewater improvements, increasing the likelihood of funded, built water infrastructure.
Local project sponsors and taxpayers benefit from measures to speed project delivery: new Corps offices (inland navigation construction management, water supply/conservation), technical assistance, clearer schedules/cost estimates, expedited studies, and authority to move promising studies into preconstruction planning more quickly.
Taxpayers and local communities gain increased transparency and oversight through required public reporting, annual congressional reports, GAO/IG reviews, and publishing deauthorization lists, which should make delays, cost overruns, and priorities more visible.
Taxpayers face higher potential federal spending and fiscal pressure from expanded authorizations, new programs, studies, and pilot projects that increase budgetary exposure if appropriations follow the larger authorizations.
Local and state governments (and nonprofits) could shoulder substantially higher shares of project costs and long‑term operations/maintenance (e.g., higher cost shares, 100% OMRR&R, land/ROW requirements, in‑kind credits), increasing local fiscal burdens and potentially delaying projects that communities cannot afford.
Expedited permitting, mandated deadlines, and faster project approvals raise the risk of inadequate environmental review, increased dredging/contaminated‑sediment impacts, and ecological harm if safeguards and thorough analysis are shortened.
Based on analysis of 13 sections of legislative text.
Creates Corps offices, tightens feasibility study rules, authorizes and expedites many water resources projects, adjusts WRDA program caps, and directs project-level funding to named localities.
Creates new Army Corps of Engineers offices and management requirements, authorizes and expedites dozens of inland navigation, flood risk, ecosystem, drought resilience, and water infrastructure studies and projects, and adjusts several existing Corps programs and funding caps. It directs the Corps to set milestones and cost estimates for feasibility studies, accept limited state-provided sediment removal services in a 10-year pilot, add and modify numerous specific projects and study authorizations, accelerate reviews and reports to Congress, and allocate targeted funding for local water and wastewater projects. The bill affects Corps operations, federal project schedules, state and local water agencies, tribal communities, and many named localities by changing planning requirements, adding projects to Corps lists, increasing several program funding caps, and providing project-specific allocations. It contains many project-level authorizations and procedural deadlines (180 days, 1 year, 2 years) and a pilot program that terminates after 10 years.