The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) is pleased to celebrate the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's passage of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2024, a regular package of key industry priorities.

“As a nation, we move tremendous amounts of trade and cargo in large part because of timely and regular passage of the Water Resources Development Act," said Cary S. Davis, AAPA President and CEO. "Members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committees deserve tremendous credit for their bipartisan work to make continued investments in our nation's maritime infrastructure."

The legislation, as approved by the Committee, contains numerous study and project authorizations for individual ports and policy changes of interest to the entire industry. Those include:

  • Sec. 104 (page 27): Port Fourchon’s non-federal interest study provision.
  • Sec. 111 (page 52): Changing the Harbor deepening and maintenance cost-share thresholds from 50 ft. to 55 ft.;
  • Sec. 112 (page 52): Required guidance and mechanism for cost-share change for emerging harbors;
  • Sec. 113 (page 52): Expanding eligibility for remote and subsistence harbors;
  • Sec. 114 (page 54): Updated criteria for underserved community harbors;
  • Sec. 116 (page 56): Allowing Dredged material disposal facility partnerships by non-federal interests (NFIs);
  • Sec. 117 (page 60): Establishing a beneficial use pilot program which requires USACE to use 70% by weight of dredged material for beneficial use;
  • Sec. 130 (page 87): Changes to the benefit-to-cost ratio of projects in covered communities;
  • Sec. 144 (page 112): Allowing USACE to treat repairs needed due to a lack of maintenance as major rehabilitation which shifts costs from O&M to construction accounts;
  • Sec. 201 (page 130): Authorizations for numerous studies and study modifications;
  • Sec. 202 (page 155): Expedites completion of existing studies including Tampa Bay, FL;
  • Sec. 203 (page 157): Expedites completion of new studies including Port of Savannah and Port of Hawaii;
  • Sec. 205 (page 168): Mandates a Government Accountability Office study on donor ports;
  • Sec. 206 (page 186): Requires an Annual report on Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund needs and expenditures;
  • Sec. 305 (page 216): Addition of several federal channels in US ports;
  • Sec. 325 (page 233): Port Fourchon Belle Pass Channel, LA NFI requested study modifications;
  • Sec. 335 (page 244): Matagorda Ship Channel jetty deficiency, TX which serves Port O’Connor and Port Lavaca;
  • Sec. 339 (page 296): Specific deauthorizations including elements of navigation projects for some ports; and
  • Sec. 401 (page 301): Project Authorizations including channel projects for Oakland, CA and Baltimore Harbor, MD.

WRDA 2024 now moves to the House floor before it can be reconciled with a similar but different version that passed the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committees in May.