Title 33, Navigation and Navigable WatersRelease 119-110
§579a Corps Budgeting; Project Deauthorizations; Comprehensive Backlog Report
Title 33 › CHAPTER 12 — RIVER AND HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS GENERALLY › SUBCHAPTER I — GENERAL PROVISIONS › § 579a
Summary
The law says that any project the Corps is allowed to build must have money actually set aside for construction (including planning and design) during the five-year period that begins on November 17, 1986. If no money is obligated in that time, the project is no longer authorized after the last day of that five-year period. Within one year after November 17, 1986, the Secretary must send Congress a list of projects or project pieces that had no obligations in the 10 full fiscal years before that list was sent. Any project on that list is not authorized after December 31, 1989 if no funds were obligated for it after November 17, 1986 and before December 31, 1989. Every two years the Secretary must also make and publish four lists: unfinished construction projects and separable parts; authorized feasibility studies with no Chief’s Report; environmental infrastructure projects authorized under section 219 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1992; and major federal operation and maintenance needs for Corps projects and properties. For the first three lists the Secretary must include key facts for each item (when it was authorized, original budget authority, a short description, estimated completion date if fully funded, total cost to finish, money spent so far, yearly funding needed to finish, location, a statement from the non‑Federal partner about local cooperation, benefit‑cost ratios using two different discount rates, and the last fiscal year with obligations). For the operation and maintenance list the Secretary must give the authority, a short description, estimated federal costs to meet major needs, and estimated unmet or deferred needs. Starting in fiscal year 2020 and every two years after that, these lists must be sent with the President’s budget to the named Senate and House committees and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and put on a public website in a downloadable, searchable, and sortable form.
Full Legal Text
Title 33, §579a
Navigation and Navigable Waters, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Funds to be obligated for construction to avoid deauthorization
Any project authorized for construction by this Act shall not be authorized after the last day of the 5-year period beginning on November 17, 1986, unless during such period funds have been obligated for construction, including planning and designing, of such project.
(b)Transmission to Congress of list of unconstructed projects or separable elements authorized but not receiving obligations during 10 fiscal years preceding transmission; two-year updates of list
(1)Not later than one year after November 17, 1986, the Secretary shall transmit to Congress a list of unconstructed projects, or unconstructed separable elements of projects, which have been authorized, but have received no obligations during the 10 full fiscal years preceding the transmittal of such list. A project or separable element included in such list is not authorized after December 31, 1989, if funds have not been obligated for construction of such project or element after November 17, 1986, and before December 31, 1989.
(2)Comprehensive construction backlog and operation and maintenance report.—
(A)In general.—
The Secretary, once every 2 years, shall compile and publish—
(i)a complete list of all projects and separable elements of projects of the Corps of Engineers that are authorized for construction but have not been completed;
(ii)a complete list of all feasibility studies of the Corps of Engineers that Congress has authorized the Secretary to carry out for which a Report of the Chief of Engineers has not been issued;
(iii)a complete list of all environmental infrastructure projects authorized by Congress under section 219 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1992 (106 Stat. 4835); and
(iv)a list of major Federal operation and maintenance needs of projects and properties under the control of the Corps of Engineers.
(B)Required information.—
The Secretary shall include on each list developed under clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of subparagraph (A) for each feasibility study, project, and separable element on that list—
(i)the date of authorization of the feasibility study, project, or separable element, including any subsequent modifications to the original authorization;
(ii)the original budget authority for the feasibility study, project, or separable element;
(iii)a brief description of the feasibility study, project, or separable element;
(iv)the estimated date of completion of the feasibility study, project, or separable element, assuming all capability is fully funded;
(v)the estimated total cost of completion of the feasibility study, project, or separable element;
(vi)the amount of funds spent on the feasibility study, project, or separable element, including Federal and non-Federal funds;
(vii)the amount of appropriations estimated to be required in each fiscal year during the period of construction to complete the project or separable element by the date specified under clause (iv);
(viii)the location of the feasibility study, project, or separable element;
(ix)a statement from the non-Federal interest for the project or separable element indicating the non-Federal interest’s capability to provide the required local cooperation estimated to be required for the project or separable element in each fiscal year during the period of construction;
(x)the benefit-cost ratio of the project or separable element, calculated using the discount rate specified by the Office of Management and Budget for purposes of preparing the President’s budget pursuant to chapter 11 of title 31;
(xi)the benefit-cost ratio of the project or separable element, calculated using the discount rate utilized by the Corps of Engineers for water resources development project planning pursuant to section 1962d–17 of title 42; and
(xii)the last fiscal year in which the project or separable element incurred obligations.
(C)Required operation and maintenance information.—
The Secretary shall include on the list developed under subparagraph (A)(iv), for each project and property under the control of the Corps of Engineers on that list—
(i)the authority under which the project was authorized or the property was acquired by the Corps of Engineers;
(ii)a brief description of the project or property;
(iii)an estimate of the Federal costs to meet the major operation and maintenance needs at the project or property; and
(iv)an estimate of unmet or deferred operation and maintenance needs at the project or property.
(D)Publication.—
(i)In general.—
For fiscal year 2020, and once every 2 years thereafter, in conjunction with the President’s annual budget submission to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31, the Secretary shall submit a copy of the lists developed under subparagraph (A) to—
(I)the Committee on Environment and Public Works and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and
(II)the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
(ii)Public availability.—
The Secretary shall make a copy of the lists available on a publicly accessible website site in a manner that is downloadable, searchable, and sortable.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
This Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is Pub. L. 99–662, Nov. 17, 1986, 100 Stat. 4082, known as the Water Resources Development Act of 1986. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title
note set out under section 2201 of this title and Tables. section 219 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1992, referred to in subsec. (b)(2)(A)(iii), is section 219 of Pub. L. 102–580, title II, Oct. 31, 1992, 106 Stat. 4835, which is not classified to the Code.
Amendments
2020—Subsec. (b)(2), (3). Pub. L. 116–260, § 360(b)(1), redesignated par. (3) as (2) and struck out former par. (2) which related to project deauthorizations and notification to Congress. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 116–260, § 360(b)(2), struck out subsec. (c). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a list of any projects or separable elements that are deauthorized under this section.” 2018—Pub. L. 115–270, § 1154(a)(1), substituted “Corps budgeting; project deauthorizations; comprehensive backlog report” for “Project deauthorizations” in section catchline. Subsec. (b)(3), (4). Pub. L. 115–270, § 1154(a)(2), added pars. (3) and (4) and struck out former pars. (3) and (4) which related to minimum funding lists and comprehensive backlog reports, respectively. 2014—Subsec. (b)(3), (4). Pub. L. 113–121 added pars. (3) and (4). 2007—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 110–114, § 2046(3), which directed the substitution of “such period” for “such 30 month period” in last sentence, was executed by making the substitution for “such 30-month period” to reflect the probable intent of Congress. Pub. L. 110–114, § 2046(2), in last sentence, substituted “the last date of the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which” for “30 months after the date”. Pub. L. 110–114, § 2046(1), in first sentence, substituted “year” for “two years” and “5” for “7”. 1999—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 106–109, in first sentence, substituted “Notwithstanding section 3003 of Public Law 104–66 (31 U.S.C. 1113 note; 109 Stat. 734), every” for “Every”. 1996—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 104–303 substituted “7 full” for “10 full”, “Upon submission” for “Before submission”, and “for the planning, design, or
Construction
” for “for
Construction
”. 1990—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 101–640 inserted after first sentence “Before submission of such list to Congress, the Secretary shall notify each Senator in whose State, and each Member of the House of Representatives in whose district, a project (including any part thereof) on such list would be located.”
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Savings Clause Pub. L. 115–270, title I, § 1332(b), Oct. 23, 2018, 132 Stat. 3835, provided that: “Notwithstanding the third sentence of section 1001(b)(2) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (former 33 U.S.C. 579a(b)(2)), projects and separable elements of projects identified in the fiscal year 2017 report prepared in accordance with such section and submitted to Congress on December 15, 2016, shall not be deauthorized unless such projects and separable elements meet the requirements of section 1301(b)(1)(A) of the Water Resources Development Act of 2016 (130 Stat. 1687) [former 33 U.S.C. 579d(b)(1)(A)].” Project Deauthorizations; Extension of Limitation on Period of Authorization Pub. L. 100–676, § 52(a), Nov. 17, 1988, 102 Stat. 4044, which provided that subsecs. (a) and (c) of this section applied to projects authorized for
Construction
by Pub. L. 100–676 (see
Short Title
of 1988 Amendment note set out under section 2201 of this title), except that the 5-year period during which funds had to be obligated to prevent deauthorization began on Nov. 17, 1988, and were also to apply to projects authorized for
Construction
subsequent to Pub. L. 100–676, except that 5-year period during which funds had to be obligated to prevent deauthorization began on the date of the authorization of such projects, was repealed by Pub. L. 104–303, title II, § 228(b)(1), Oct. 12, 1996, 110 Stat. 3703. “Secretary” Defined Secretary means the Secretary of the Army, see section 2201 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
33 U.S.C. § 579a
Title 33, Navigation and Navigable Waters
Last Updated
Sep 23, 2026
Release point: 119-110