When the U.S. Senate passed the Water Resources Development Act
(WRDA), it was a major step toward fixing the gnawing
infrastructure problems our country faces now and in to the
future. The most glaring may be on our waterways. Without
maintenance of our eroding locks and dams, the risk of
catastrophic failure grows. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of the
locks and dams on the nation’s inland waterways system have
exceeded their economic design life expectancy. WRDA would
sanction more than 20 new U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects,
some aimed at making ports more accessible in line with 2015
completion of a widened Panama Canal. It would ensure that more
money in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, financed by user
fees, actually goes to harbor improvements. It takes steps to
expedite the environmental review process and streamline the
process for Corps projects and reduce project completion times.
It would free up money and increase the capacity of the Inland
Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF) by taking the Olmsted Lo