WASHINGTON, D.C. – Conservation and taxpayer advocacy groups have called upon President Clinton and Congress to make significant changes to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to break a cycle of mismanagement of water resources throughout the country.

Statement by Steve Ellis, TCS Water Resources Director (TCS Statement on Corps Waste)

The groups are calling for Congress and the Administration to reform the Corps of Engineers by implementing a 10-point “Prescription for Reform” to begin treatment for an ailing Corps. The Prescription outlines five specific steps that Congress can take and five steps the Administration can take this year to protect the environment and save tax dollars from controversial Corps construction projects.

“The administration must perform emergency surgery on the Corps to stop the hemorrhage of wasteful and destructive projects,” said Melissa Samet, an attorney with Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund. “Over the long term, we hope the strong medicine of independent review and restoring meaningful civilian control will help prevent future environmental destruction.”

In recent months, several Corps projects have come under scrutiny, including lock expansion, channel and harbor deepening, and contaminated site cleanups. In particular, top Corps officials allegedly ordered their subordinates to inflate the benefits of proposed projects to help increase the agency’s budget by 50 percent.

“These measures are meant to restore credibility and accountability to the agency that oversees our nation’s water resources,” said Jeff Stein, Regional Representative for American Rivers. “Without reforms, there is no way to ensure that corps projects are economically justified and environmentally sound; instead they’re suspect to doctored data and preconceived conclusions.”

Army Secretary Louis Caldera tried in March to make management changes aimed at reasserting civilian control, however the action drew a sharp response from some powerful senators, who complained among other things that they had not been adequately consulted. The administration backed down, temporarily suspending the proposed actions “in order to allow for a broader discussion with members of Congress on the need for these reforms,” said administration officials.

“Congress’ addiction to pork has made them blind to the need to reform the Corps of Engineers,” commented Steve Ellis, Director of Water Resources at Taxpayers for Common Sense. “The agency needs to be reined in, and Congress needs to stop standing in the way of reform.”

The necessity to reevaluate policies and procedures is heightened by the fact that there is currently a backlog of 500 active authorized projects, with a federal cost to complete of $38 billion. (There are 300 more outdated projects still authorized, for a potential total backlog of $46 billion.) At current appropriation levels, it would take 25 years to complete the backlog of active projects without any new authorizations; the Corps has estimated that the new authorizations in the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 would add a total cost of $4.5 billion.

The Troubled Waters report, released in March of this year by Taxpayers for Common Sense and the National Wildlife Federation, highlighted the Corps’ 25 worst projects nationwide. All the projects highlighted in the report were illustrative of problems with the Corps’ approach and management, and demonstrated the need for drastic changes at the agency. “The Army shouldn’t be at war with nature,” said David Conrad, water resource specialist with the National Wildlife Federation. “Reform is needed to bring this out-of-control agency back in line.”

“Whether you seek insurances that your money is not being flushed down river or want projects that are in the nation’s rather than private interest, you should recognize the urgency of these reforms,” said Tim Searchinger of Environmental Defense.

During the final weeks of this congressional session, and in the final months of the Clinton Administration, several opportunities exist to implement reform measures. Neither the Senate nor the House has approved its versions of the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 (WRDA), the omnibus bill that authorizes new Corps projects and sets Corps policy. Conservation and taxpayer advocacy groups are calling for items in their “Prescription for Reform” to be incorporated into that legislation. While the House version of WRDA does address some reform topics, the Senate has avoided the issue.

Also, Rep. Ron Kind and five other members of the House have introduced H.R. 4879, the Army Corps of Engineers Reform Act of 2000. This legislation provides an additional opportunity for reform in the next several weeks.

For more information, visit these websites:

American Rivers: www.americanrivers.org

Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund: www.earthjustice.org

Environmental Defense Fund: www.environmentaldefense.org

Friends of the Earth: www.foe.org

National Wildlife Federation: www.nwf.org

Sierra Club: www.sierraclub.org

Taxpayers for Common Sense: www.taxpayer.net

Contact: Keith Ashdown

(202) 546-8500 x110