WASHINGTON - Legislation drafted by Sens. David Vitter, R-La., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., to authorize projects and policies for the Army Corps of Engineers is running into some opposition after winning a unanimous vote last month by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Two influential Senate Democrats, Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia and Ron Wyden of Oregon, have...
WASHINGTON - Legislation drafted by Sens. David Vitter, R-La., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., to authorize projects and policies for the Army Corps of Engineers is running into some opposition after winning a unanimous vote last month by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
Two influential Senate Democrats, Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia and Ron Wyden of Oregon, have asked Boxer, the committee's chairwoman and a long-time advocate for strong environmental regulation, to strip a provision that would streamline environmental oversight of Corps water projects. Vitter is the top Republican on the committee.
"Time and time again, outside agency reviews of Army Corps of Engineers projects have identified significant economic, public safety, and environmental problems," Wyden and Rockefeller wrote in letter to Boxer first reported Thursday by E&E daily.
During the discussion of the bill last month at the Environment and Public Works Committee, Vitter said the streamlining provisions are intended to ease bureaucratic impediments that have resulted in long delays, particularly for important flood control projects and coastal restoration projects in Louisiana. Boxer insisted that strong environmental oversight would remain.
Vitter also added a provision that would enable local governments to take over management of key projects. He said Thursday that the bill is moving forward.
"One of the very top priorities I've been working on since day one with WRDA (Water Resources Development Act) is reforming the Corps and cutting through bureaucracy, and our bipartisan bill that was unanimously reported out of committee bill does that in a meaningful way. WRDA is still on path to be in front of the full Senate soon," Vitter said.
The Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, accused Boxer of bowing to Vitter in order to get water resources bill though committee with strong bipartisan support.
"In the interest of bipartisanship, Sen. Boxer, usually a stalwart supporter of environmental safeguards, has teamed up with a colleague who often tries to weaken them, in order to get the water resources bill through the Senate,'' said council spokeswoman Elizabeth Heyd.
Boxer has said that she hopes the water resources bill, which authorizes Army Corps programs and policies important to her home state of California, will be taken up by the Senate soon.