Number: 2001-12
WHEREAS, the American people derive great benefits from a remarkable system of streams, lakes, rivers, wetlands, floodplains and other water resources upon which our community’s economic and environmental well-being depends; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is entrusted by federal law with planning and management responsibility for much of our nation’s water resources; and
WHEREAS, the lack of sound policy direction and leadership in the Corps management of our water resources is a nationwide problem fostered by a lack of objective decision review mechanisms, annual project performance monitoring, and incentives to produce high quality decisions, deficiencies the Corps refuses to correct internally; and
WHEREAS, the Corps continues to rely on expensive, structural flood control solutions driven by goals to enlarge budgets rather than adhering to more cost-effective, environmentally sensitive, non-structural solutions; and
WHEREAS, structural flood control practices destroy natural ecological floodplain functions and encourage communities to fill and develop river floodplains, resulting in the doubling of annual flood-related property losses and much human suffering over the past century; and
WHEREAS, through recent Water Resources Development Acts (WRDA), Congress has established, directed, and expanded as a primary mission of the Corps to protect and restore the physical and biological health and integrity of the nation’s water resources, including establishment of programs for aquatic habitat restoration, environmental improvements associated with existing Corps projects, expansion of nonstructural flood damage reduction authorities, such as the Challenge 21 program, and the creation of a growing body of specific programs and projects for environmental improvement of water resources in many areas of the nation, including the authorization in the most recent WRDA 2000 of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan _ the most extensive and ambitious water resources and natural habitat restoration effort ever undertaken; and
WHEREAS, while some Corps Districts have responded positively to new environmental restoration mission assignments, other Corps Districts and Divisions have ignored this mission, and continue to pursue wasteful, costly and environmentally destructive projects that undermine aquatic habitat restoration not only through direct environmental harm caused by the approval of destructive projects, but also by limiting the resources that are available for needed environmental restoration efforts; and
WHEREAS, a special investigation performed by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel has found that in specific cases the Corps of Engineers wastes federal tax dollars by engaging in deliberate institutionally-biased schemes to produce inaccurate feasibility study results and predict unrealistic benefits for the sole purpose of misleading American taxpayers and Congress into funding navigation and other water resource projects that lack demand, are not cost-effective, and trade off wildlife habitat, recreation, and other project outputs of greater value, and are all conducted under a decision-making process that fails to hold Corps officials accountable; and
WHEREAS, the Office of Special Counsel has also found that the Corps often deliberately controls and manipulates public involvement in building the decision information base, through collusion with project sponsors and by more affirmatively soliciting input from project supporters, which distorts the Administrative Record and misrepresents before Congress that the proposed action is without controversy; and
WHEREAS, the US Army continues to deny civilian oversight in managing our nation’s valuable rivers, streams, floodplains, lakes and wetlands _ activities that are not typically military but totally civilian in character;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation at its Annual Meeting assembled April 4-6, 2001 in Washington, DC, calls upon the Administration and Congress to enact legislation that holds the US Army Corps of Engineers to a higher standard of accuracy in project planning and decision-making, and that shall mandate an unbiased, independent review mechanism for decisions, and that shall be fully available to the affected public; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation calls upon the Administration and Congress to create a National Water Resource Review Commission to examine ways to improve management of our nation’s valuable streams, lakes, wetlands, floodplains and other water resources, and which shall include examining the issue of whether these resources should continue to be managed as a US Army military activity; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation calls upon the Administration and Congress to take these actions; 1)require annual monitoring reports that measure resource outputs at each existing Corps project, and periodic, independent reviews of all aspects of project performance and impacts, and require that these reports be freely available to Congress and the interested public, 2) establish a time frame based sunset review process which shall automatically de-authorize currently authorized but unfunded water projects that are outdated or environmentally destructive, 3) fully fund the Challenge 21 Initiative, 4) provide full habitat equivalency mitigation concurrent with project construction and development activities, preserve previous mitigation, and require completion of mitigation for already completed projects; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that projects be reviewed by an independent body within five years after project completion and actual results and consequences are compared to predicted results; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation calls upon the Congress and the Administration to take actions that will strongly affirm and provide the necessary direction and funding to support the Corps; environmental protection and restoration mission and to redirect Corps activities away from those that are damaging to the environment and toward environmental protection and restoration.