	Introduction

		Omnibus Water Authorization Deliberations in the 115th Congress

The 115 th Congress initiated deliberations on an omnibus water authorization bill with H.R. 8 , the Water Resources Development Act of 2018 (WRDA 2018), and S. 2800 , America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (AWIA 2018). On June 6, 2018, the House passed H.R. 8 , which was subsequently received in the Senate and referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (Senate EPW). On July 9, 2018, the Senate EPW posted on its website an amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 8 , titled America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018. This CRS report discusses H.R. 8 as passed by the House (referred to herein as WRDA 2018) and the Senate EPW-posted amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. The Senate did not take up H.R. Instead, House and Senate committee leadership agreed on new legislative text for an omnibus water authorization bill. On September 13, 2018, the House amended an unrelated courthouse-naming bill, passed by the Senate as S. 3021 , to include the negotiated text. The negotiated text contained provisions from various pieces of legislation, most prominently H.R. 8 , S. 2800 , and H.R. 3387 (Drinking Water Systems Improvement Act of 2017). Like S. 2800 , the House-passed S. 3021 is titled America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018. If the Senate agrees to the House amendments to the bill without proposing any further changes, the bill will be sent to the President for his signature. For information on S. 3021 , see CRS Report R45185, Army Corps of Engineers: Water Resource Authorization and Project Delivery Processes , by [author name scrubbed], and CRS Report R45304, Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF): Overview, Issues, and Legislation , by [author name scrubbed]. Enactment of S. 3021 likely would mean that the 115 th Congress would not take further action on H.R. 8 or on the Senate EPW-posted amendment to H.R. 8 , the two legislative texts discussed in this report. 8 and Senate EPW-Posted Amendment to H.R. 8 as it was passed by the House (referred to herein as WRDA 2018) on June 11, 2018, and the amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 8 as it was posted by the Senate EPW on July 9, 2018 (referred to herein as AWIA 2018). Subsequent legislative actions on omnibus water resource legislation (e.g., House-passed amendments to S. 3021 ) generally are not reflected in this report. In the tradition of previous legislation with the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) title, WRDA 2018 focused primarily on authorizing water resource projects and activities of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and dam and levee safety programs. AWIA 2018 included not only provisions related to USACE, but also provisions involving water quality and drinking water programs administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), particularly in Title V of AWIA 2018 ("EPA-Related Provisions"). For example, both WRDA 2018 and AWIA 2018 would have authorized USACE to conduct new studies and construct new projects, and both WRDA 2018 and AWIA 2018 would have modified existing authorizations. WRDA 2018 focused on USACE water resource projects and programs and dam and levee safety program authorities; although the majority of AWIA 2018's titles and provisions also related to the USACE's water resource projects, numerous provisions of AWIA 2018 were not directly related to USACE water resource activities. AWIA 2018 included provisions addressing a range of other topics, including EPA administered water programs and regulatory authorities, and water-related activities and other authorities of the Department of the Interior and other agencies. USACE Topics Related to WRDA 2018 and AWIA 2018 Deliberations

Provisions in WRDA 2018 and AWIA 2018 would have addressed the following selected broad USACE topics:
information dissemination and public input; USACE permissions and permits for nonfederal activities; studies of USACE structure and efficiency; budget processes for USACE; nature-based alternatives and projects; continuing authorities programs; project and study deauthorization; independent peer review; innovative financing for water resource projects; permitting of nonfederal water storage; and pricing of storage for domestic, municipal, and industrial water supply. AWIA 2018 also called for studies on "intractable water systems" and on WIFIA accessibility for certain communities.
Omnibus Water Authorization Legislation in the 115th Congress. The 115th Congress initiated deliberations on an omnibus water authorization bill with H.R. 8, the Water Resources Development Act of 2018 (WRDA 2018), and S. 2800, America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (AWIA 2018). The House passed H.R. 8 on June 11, 2018. On July 9, 2018, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (Senate EPW) posted on its website an amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 8, also titled America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018.
The Senate did not take up S. 2800 or the Senate EPW-posted amendment to H.R. 8. Instead, House and Senate committee leadership agreed on new legislative text. S. 3021, which the Senate passed as a courthouse-naming bill, was amended and passed in the House on September 13, 2018, to include the negotiated water authorization text. The negotiated text contains provisions from various pieces of legislation, most prominently H.R. 8, S. 2800, and H.R. 3387 (Drinking Water Systems Improvement Act of 2017). Like S. 2800, the House-passed S. 3021 is titled America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018. If the Senate agrees to the House amendments to the bill, without proposing any further changes, the bill will be sent to the President.
This CRS report reflects H.R. 8 as it was passed by the House on June 11, 2018 (referred to herein as WRDA 2018), and the amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 8 as it was posted by the Senate EPW on July 9, 2018 (referred to herein as AWIA 2018). Subsequent legislative actions on omnibus water resource legislation (e.g., House-passed amendments to S. 3021) generally are not reflected in this report. Enactment of the House amendments to S. 3021 likely would mean that both of the bills discussed in this report would not receive further attention in the 115th Congress. The House amendments to S. 3021 are discussed in CRS Report R45185, Army Corps of Engineers: Water Resource Authorization and Project Delivery Processes, by [author name scrubbed], and CRS Report R45304, Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF): Overview, Issues, and Legislation, by [author name scrubbed].
H.R. 8 and Senate EPW-Posted Amendment to H.R. 8. WRDA 2018 (H.R. 8) focused primarily on authorizing water resource projects and activities of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and dam and levee safety programs. AWIA 2018, as reflected in the amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 8 posted by the Senate EPW on July 9, 2018, included USACE and dam and levee safety provisions. It also included provisions on clean water and drinking water infrastructure programs and regulatory authorities of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), tribal water-related authorities and programs, and water-related activities of the Department of the Interior.
Both WRDA 2018 and AWIA 2018 would have authorized USACE to conduct new studies and construct new projects, modified and extended existing project and program authorizations, and altered deauthorization authorities. Both WRDA 2018 and AWIA 2018 included provisions requiring studies of USACE civil works structure and efficiency. WRDA 2018 also would have required a study of the agency's budget processes; AWIA 2018 would have established a five-year budget process for the agency. Both WRDA 2018 and AWIA 2018 included provisions on nature-based alternatives and projects. AWIA 2018 included a larger number and broader set of provisions related to specific USACE projects than WRDA 2018.
AWIA 2018, primarily Title V, addressed various EPA-administered water quality and infrastructure programs. Title V would have amended the Clean Water Act (CWA) for various purposes (e.g., to authorize grants for sewer overflow and stormwater management projects). AWIA 2018 also would have amended the Safe Drinking Water Act. It proposed several revisions to the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program, and it would have expressly authorized EPA's WaterSense program. AWIA 2018 would have amended the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) to authorize special terms for loan assistance provided to state Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund finance authorities. Further, it would have required a study on WIFIA accessibility for certain communities. WRDA 2018 contained none of the EPA-related provisions and generally focused on USACE and dam and levee safety authorities.