INSIGHTi
Army Corps of Engineers: Section 7001
Annual Report on Future Studies and Projects
Updated August 3, 2020
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), through its civil works mission, undertakes water resource
development studies and projects and other assistance activities that are specifical y authorized by
Congress. In Section 7001 of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) of 2014 (P.L.
113-121; 33 U.S.C. §2282d), Congress established an annual process for identifying proposals for site-
specific studies and projects within USACE’s water resource mission and authorities. The process
includes a cal for nonfederal proposals and concludes with a report by the Assistant Secretary of the
Army for Civil Works (ASACW) to USACE’s congressional authorizing committees.
Congress authorizes USACE studies and projects prior to appropriating funds and typical y considers
omnibus USACE water resource authorization bil s biennial y, typically titled as Water Resources
Development Acts (WRDAs). Most project-specific authorizations in WRDAs fal into three categories:
feasibility studies, construction projects, or modifications to existing authorizations. (See this CRS report
for more on the USACE authorization process.)
Inclusion of a proposal in a Section 7001 annual report does not provide congressional authorization or
appropriation. Rather, inclusion facilitates congressional consideration of the proposal’s authorization (in
a manner consistent with congressional earmark moratorium policies). For example, Congress has used
Section 7001 annual reports from 2015 through 2018 in developing WRDA 2016 (Title I of P.L. 114-322)
and WRDA 2018 (Title I of P.L. 115-270). USACE accepts nonfederal proposals for consideration in
Section 7001 annual reports over a 120-day period. The nonfederal proposal submission period for the
2021 report opened on May 1, 2020, with an August 31, 2020 submission deadline.
Section 7001 Report
Section 7001 of WRRDA 2014, as amended, directs the ASACW to submit an annual report to the House
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
The report may include the following:
completed feasibility reports;
proposed feasibility studies;
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proposed modifications to authorized studies and projects; and
proposed modifications to environmental infrastructure assistance projects and programs.
For proposals to be included, Section 7001 requires that proposals
(i) are related to the missions and authorities of the Corps of Engineers; (ii) require specific
congressional authorization, including by an Act of Congress; (iii) have not been congressionaly
authorized; (iv) have not been included in any previous annual report; and (v) if authorized, could
be carried out by the USACE.
The Section 7001 annual report includes only those proposals that the ASACW determines have met al
five criteria. Proposals that do not meet al five criteria are placed in the report’s appendix. For most
proposals listed in the appendix of past reports, an authority already existed to perform the requested
activity or the proposal did not fit within the USACE’s missions and authorities (i.e., navigation, flood
risk management, or aquatic ecosystem restoration).
Nonfederal Proposals
The annual report is based, in part, on proposals for study authorization and modification to authorized
studies, projects, and environmental infrastructure assistance submitted by nonfederal interests. The
annual Section 7001 process begins with the publication of a notice in the Federal Register requesting
proposals from nonfederal interests.
Nonfederal proposals are to include the following information:
description of the proposal (proposed feasibility study or modification to an authorized
USACE project, an authorized USACE study, or an environmental infrastructure
authority);
description of the purpose of the proposed activity and its relation to USACE missions
and authorities;
name of the nonfederal interest anticipated to act as the nonfederal sponsor and al other
nonfederal interests;
description of monetary and nonmonetary benefits of the proposal;
federal and nonfederal shares of the proposed activity’s cost and a total cost estimate;
a statement of support and financial ability from associated nonfederal interests; and
description of local support.
USACE encourages nonfederal interests to consult with their local USACE districts to determine whether
their proposals meet the Section 7001 criteria. According to the Federal Register notice published on May
1, 2020, nonfederal interests do not need to submit completed feasibility reports through the Section 7001
proposal process for project authorization.
S. 3591 Transmitted Reports and WRDA Authorization
The ASACW transmitted Section 7001 annual reports to the authorizing committees in 2015, 2016, 2017,
2018, 2019, and 2020. These reports are available at USACE, “Report to Congress on Future Water
Resources Development.”
In Section 1401 of WRDA 2018, Congress authorized al projects with feasibility reports that were
included in the 2017 and 2018 Section 7001 annual reports. Nineteen of the 20 nonfederal proposals in
the bodies of the 2017 and 2018 reports were incorporated into WRDA 2018. Of these, Congress
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authorized most of the proposals as feasibility studies in Sections 1201 and 1202. Others were authorized
as project modifications in Section 1303 or as projects in Sections 1401 and 1403.
In Section 1203 of WRDA 2018, Congress also included some proposals from the appendixes of the 2017
and 2018 reports and directed the ASACW to expedite completion of the listed studies. ASACW had
listed many of these proposals in the annual reports’ appendixes, based on an existing study authorization.
The Section 7001 annual reports for 2019 and 2020 collectively included 19 reports by the Chief of
Engineers (also known as Chief’s reports), 36 nonfederal proposals in the body of the reports, and 48
nonfederal proposals in the appendix. The 2019 report also included recommendations by the ASACW
(e.g., one nonfederal feasibility report and three proposed storage use plans), and both the 2019 and 2020
reports provided information in fulfilment of certain reporting requirements from WRRDA 2014.
Similar to WRDA 2016 and WRDA 2018, S. 3591 (reported by the Senate Environment and Public Works
Committee on May 11, 2020) and H.R. 7575 (passed by the House on July 29, 2020) draw on Section
7001 annual reports to identify activities for authorization. If enacted, the bil s also would alter future
Section 7001 processes.
Author Information
Anna E. Normand
Analyst in Natural Resources Policy
Disclaimer
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to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of
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