Title 10Armed ForcesRelease 119-73

§2815a Stormwater management, shoreline erosion control, and water resilience projects for installations and defense access roads

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - General Military Law › Part PART IV— - SERVICE, SUPPLY, AND PROPERTY › Chapter CHAPTER 169— - MILITARY CONSTRUCTION AND MILITARY FAMILY HOUSING › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - MILITARY CONSTRUCTION › § 2815a

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Military departments may build projects on or near bases to manage stormwater, stop shoreline erosion, and improve water storage, filtration, and flood protection. These projects must help bases or defense access roads become more resilient and protect nearby waterways. Work can be done under different authorities, including authorized military construction, minor construction (section 2805), installation resilience projects (2815), defense community resilience (2391(d)), 2684a, 2914, reserve component facility projects (18233), or defense access road projects under section 210 of title 23. The Secretary must prioritize proposals that cut untreated stormwater runoff, protect installations and access roads from stormwater and extreme weather, control shoreline erosion from waves or storms, or otherwise improve water resilience. Allowed activities include stormwater ponds, permeable pavement, planters and rain gardens, stormwater capture and storage, and shoreline protections like riprap or seawalls. Projects must be coordinated with related projects (sections 2391, 2684, 2815, 2914) and the Assistant Secretary for Energy, Installations, and Environment must name someone to coordinate across the services. Each Secretary must report to the congressional defense committees within 90 days after each fiscal year ends. Reports must list planned, active, and completed projects and, for each, give title, location, a short scope, original and current cost estimates, and how the project meets the resilience or water-protection goals. Definitions: “defense access road” — road certified under section 210 of title 23; “facility” and “State” — meanings in section 18232; “military installation” — includes State-owned reserve facilities; “military installation resilience” — defined in section 101; “Secretary concerned” — the military department Secretary or the Secretary of Defense for Defense Agencies and State-owned reserve facilities; “water resilience” — an installation’s ability to handle changes in water availability.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §2815a

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary concerned may carry out one or more of the following projects on or related to a military installation:
(1)A stormwater management project for the purposes of—
(A)improving military installation resilience or the resilience of a defense access road or other essential civilian infrastructure supporting a military installation; and
(B)protecting nearby waterways and stormwater-stressed ecosystems.
(2)A shoreline erosion control project for the purpose of improving, protecting, or repairing shoreline to protect the infrastructure of a military installation or a defense access road.
(3)A project to provide water storage and filtration, flood mitigation, or otherwise support water resilience.
(b)Using such amounts as may be provided in advance in appropriation Acts, the Secretary concerned may carry out a project under this section as, or as part of, any of the following:
(1)An authorized military construction project.
(2)An unspecified minor military construction project under section 2805 of this title, including using appropriations available for operation and maintenance subject to the limitation in subsection (c) of such section.
(3)A military installation resilience project under section 2815 of this title, including the use of appropriations available for operations and maintenance subject to the limitation of subsection (e)(3) of such section.
(4)A defense community infrastructure resilience project under section 2391(d) of this title.
(5)A military installation resilience project under section 2684a of this title.
(6)A construction project under section 2914 of this title.
(7)A reserve component facility project under section 18233 of this title.
(8)A defense access road project under section 210 of title 23.
(c)In selecting projects to be carried out under this section, the Secretary concerned shall give a priority to a project proposal that—
(1)minimizes the runoff of untreated stormwater into freshwater systems or tidal systems;
(2)protects military installations and defense access roads from stormwater runoff and water levels resulting from extreme weather conditions;
(3)controls shoreline erosion control that involve the improvement, protection, or repair of shoreline subject to wave action or stormwater runoff and water levels resulting from extreme weather condition; or
(4)supports water resilience at military installations.
(d)Activities carried out as part of a project under this section may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1)The installation, expansion, or refurbishment of stormwater ponds and other water-slowing, retention, or filtration measures to address storm water management.
(2)The installation of permeable pavement in lieu of, or to replace existing, nonpermeable pavement.
(3)The use of planters, tree boxes, cisterns, and rain gardens to reduce stormwater runoff.
(4)The capture or storage of stormwater for use in supporting water resilience at a military installation.
(5)The use of sheet piles, riprap, armor stone, sea walls, natural plantings, or any other technologies created to address shoreline erosion control.
(e)(1)In the case of a project carried out under this section on or related to a military installation and any project related to the same installation carried out under section 2391, 2684, 2815, or 2914 of this title, the Secretary concerned shall ensure coordination between the projects regarding the water access, management, conservation, security, and resilience aspects of the projects.
(2)The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment shall designate an official to be responsible for coordinating projects under this section among the military departments.
(f)(1)Not later than 90 days after the end of each fiscal year, each Secretary concerned shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report describing—
(A)the status of planned and active projects carried out by that Secretary under this section; and
(B)all projects completed by the Secretary concerned during the previous fiscal year.
(2)Each report shall include the following information with respect to each project described in the report:
(A)The title, location, a brief description of the scope of work, the original project cost estimate, and the current working cost estimate.
(B)The rationale for how the project will—
(i)improve military installation resilience or the resilience of a defense access road or other essential civilian infrastructure supporting a military installation;
(ii)protect waterways and stormwater-stressed ecosystems;
(iii)improve, protect, or repair shoreline to protect infrastructure of a military installation or a defense access road from shoreline erosion; or
(iv)provide water storage and filtration, flood mitigation, or otherwise support water resilience.
(C)Such other information as the Secretary concerned considers appropriate.
(g)In this section:
(1)The term “defense access road” means a road certified to the Secretary of Transportation as important to the national defense under the provisions of section 210 of title 23.
(2)The terms “facility” and “State” have the meanings given those terms in section 18232 of this title.
(3)The term “military installation” includes a facility of a reserve component owned by a State rather than the United States.
(4)The term “military installation resilience” has the meaning given that term in section 101 of this title.
(5)The term “Secretary concerned” means—
(A)the Secretary of a military department with respect to military installations under the jurisdiction of that Secretary; and
(B)the Secretary of Defense with respect to matters concerning the Defense Agencies and facilities of a reserve component owned by a State rather than the United States.
(6)The term “water resilience” means the capacity of a military installation to mitigate, respond, or adapt to changes in water availability due to manmade or natural phenomena.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2024—Pub. L. 118–159, § 2847(a)(1), amended section catchline generally. Prior to amendment, catchline read as follows: “Stormwater management projects for installation and defense access road resilience and waterway and ecosystems conservation”. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 118–159, § 2847(a)(2), amended subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The Secretary concerned may carry out a stormwater management project on or related to a military installation for the purpose of— “(1) improving military installation resilience or the resilience of a defense access road or other essential civilian infrastructure supporting the military installation; and “(2) protecting nearby waterways and stormwater-stressed ecosystems.” Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 118–159, § 2847(a)(3)(A), struck out “stormwater management” before “project under this section” in introductory provisions. Subsec. (b)(5) to (8). Pub. L. 118–159, § 2847(a)(3)(B), (C), added par.(5) and redesignated former pars. (5) to (7) as (6) to (8), respectively. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 118–159, § 2847(a)(4), amended subsec. (c) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “In selecting stormwater management projects to be carried out under this section, the Secretary concerned shall give a priority to project proposals involving the retrofitting of buildings and grounds on a military installation or retrofitting a defense access road to reduce stormwater runoff and ponding or standing water that includes the combination of stormwater runoff and water levels resulting from extreme weather conditions.” Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 118–159, § 2847(a)(5)(A), struck out “stormwater management” before “project” in introductory provisions. Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 118–159, § 2847(a)(5)(B), substituted “, retention, or filtration measures to address storm water management” for “and retention measures”. Subsec. (d)(4), (5). Pub. L. 118–159, § 2847(a)(5)(C), added pars. (4) and (5). Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 118–159, § 2847(a)(6), designated existing provisions as par. (1), struck out “stormwater management” before “project carried”, substituted “section 2391, 2684,” for “section 2391(d),”, and added par. (2). Subsec. (f)(1)(A). Pub. L. 118–159, § 2847(a)(7)(A), struck out “stormwater management” before “projects”. Subsec. (f)(2). Pub. L. 118–159, § 2847(a)(7)(A), struck out “stormwater management” before “project” in introductory provisions. Subsec. (f)(2)(B)(iii), (iv). Pub. L. 118–159, § 2847(a)(7)(B), added cls. (iii) and (iv). Subsec. (g)(4). Pub. L. 118–159, § 2847(b), substituted “section 101” for “section 101(e)(8)”. Subsec. (g)(6). Pub. L. 118–159, § 2847(a)(8), added par. (6).

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 2815a

Title 10Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73