INSIGHTi
Army Corps of Engineers: Section 7001 Report
on Future Studies and Projects
Updated May 5, 2022
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) undertakes water resource development studies and projects
and other assistance activities that are specifically authorized by Congress, typically biennially in Water
Resources Development Acts (WRDAs). In Section 7001 of the Water Resources Reform and
Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA; P.L. 113-121, 33 U.S.C. §2282d), the 113th Congress established an
annual process for identifying proposals for site-specific studies and projects within USACE’s water
resource mission and authorities. The Section 7001 process includes a call 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. In turn, these reports inform WRDA consideration. Congress last
enacted a WRDA referencing prior Section 7001 reports in December 2020. Since then, USACE has
published new Section 7001 reports for 2021 (November 2021) and 2022 (April 2022). The nonfederal
proposal submission period for the 2023 report opened on April 29, 2022, with an August 29, 2022,
deadline.
Congress established the Section 7001 process amidst congressional earmark moratorium policies that
applied to authorizations and appropriations during the 112th-116th Congresses. Although these policies
have changed in the 117th Congress, the Section 7001 process remains active. In addition to the Section
7001 process, the House Transportation and Infrastructure [T&I] Committee website and the Senate
Environment and Public Works [EPW] Committee website have indicated that they are considering
requests by Members of Congress as part of their WRDA development.
Congressional Authorization and Section 7001 Reports
Most project-specific authorizations in WRDAs fall into one of three categories: feasibility studies,
construction projects, or modifications to existing authorizations. Inclusion of a proposal in a Section
7001 report does not provide congressional authorization or appropriation; rather, inclusion facilitates
congressional consideration of the proposal’s authorization. For example, Congress has used Section
7001 reports when developing WRDA 2016 (Title I of P.L. 114-322), WRDA 2018 (Title I of P.L. 115-
270), and WRDA 2020 (Division AA of P.L. 116-260).
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Section 7001 Report
Section 7001 of WRRDA 2014, as amended, directs the ASACW to submit an annual report to the House
T&I Committee and the Senate EPW Committee. The report may include
completed feasibility reports;
proposed feasibility studies;
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 they
(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 congressionally
authorized; (iv) have not been included in any previous annual report; and (v) if authorized, could
be carried out by the USACE.
Section 7001 reports include only those proposals that the ASACW determines meet all five criteria.
Proposals that do not meet all five criteria are placed in the report’s appendix.
For most proposals listed in the appendices of reports transmitted in 2015-2022, an authority already
existed to perform the requested activity or the proposal did not fit within the USACE’s missions and
authorities. USACE adjusted the 2021 and 2022 solicitations to expand eligibility for inclusion in the
report to include
proposals whose primary purpose is municipal or agricultural water supply (per direction
from §127 of WRDA 2020), and
proposals for recreation or hydropower, if undertaken in conjunction with a project or
effort within a USACE mission.
Nonfederal Proposals
The annual report is based, in part, on proposals submitted by nonfederal interests. The Section 7001
process begins with the publication of a notice in the Federal Register requesting proposals from
nonfederal interests. Nonfederal proposals are to include a description of the proposed activity and its
relation to USACE missions and authorities, a statement of support and financial ability from sponsoring
nonfederal interests, and federal and nonfederal shares of the proposed activity’s estimated cost, among
other requirements. According to USACE, nonfederal interests do not need to submit completed
feasibility reports through the Section 7001 proposal process before pursuing construction authorization.
In WRDA 2020, Congress directed the ASACW to provide assistance to nonfederal interests for future
Section 7001 report submissions (§204). USACE has hosted webinars on the proposal process and
encourages nonfederal interests to request technical support through their USACE districts to prepare
submissions.
Transmitted Reports and WRDA Authorization
The ASACW transmitted Section 7001 reports to the authorizing committees annually from 2015 through
2022, which are available at USACE, entitled “Report to Congress on Future Water Resources
Development.”
The Section 7001 reports for 2021 and 2022 were transmitted to Congress after enactment of WRDA
2020. They included 17 reports by the Chief of Engineers (i.e., Chief’s reports) and 30 nonfederal
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proposals (13 new studies, 1 modification of a study authority, 6 modifications of project authorities, and
10 modifications to environmental infrastructure authorities) in the bodies of the reports. The appendices
included 38 nonfederal proposals that did not meet the aforementioned five criteria. Congress may use
these reports, and any past Section 7001 reports, in developing future WRDAs (e.g., a WRDA 2022). If a
future 7001 report (e.g., for 2023) is published prior to enactment of another WRDA, the contents of that
report may also be considered by Congress.
In WRDA 2020, Congress used Section 7001 annual reports to authorize studies, projects, and
modifications to authorities. For example, WRDA 2020
authorized construction for 19 studies with Chief’s reports and 2 other nonfederal
proposals listed in the 2019 and 2020 reports (§401);
conditionally authorized construction for a nonfederal feasibility report listed in the 2019
report (§403);
reauthorized 2 projects listed in the 2019 report (§355);
authorized 16 studies listed in the 2019 and 2020 reports (§201, §213) and 5 studies listed
in the appendices of the 2019 and 2020 reports (§209, §213);
authorized 5 modifications for water supply and 2 modifications for flood risk
management listed in the 2019 and 2020 reports (§353) and in the appendices of the 2019
and 2020 reports (§311, §337); and
amended 14 environmental infrastructure authorities (§352), as listed in the 2019 and
2020 reports and in the appendix of the 2019 report.
Author Information
Anna E. Normand
Analyst in Natural Resources Policy
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