S. 2848, Water Resources Development Act of 2016

S. 2848 would authorize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to construct projects to mitigate storm and hurricane damage, to improve navigation and flood management, and to assist state and local governments with safety programs for dams and levees. The bill also would authorize the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide grants and loans to state and local governments, public water systems, and nonprofit organizations to support a wide range of water quality projects and programs.

CBO estimates, that implementing this legislation would cost about $4.8 billion over the next five years and $10.6 billion over the 2017-2026 period, assuming appropriation of the authorized and necessary amounts.

In addition, CBO estimates that enacting the bill would reduce direct spending by $59 million over the 2017-2026 period and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimates that enacting the bill would reduce revenues by $53 million over that same period. Because enacting S. 2848 would affect direct spending and revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. CBO estimates that enacting the bill would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.

S. 2848 would impose intergovernmental and private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). Because the number of affected entities and the cost of compliance would probably be small, CBO expects that the costs of the mandates would fall below the annual thresholds established in UMRA for intergovernmental and private-sector mandates ($77 million and $154 million in 2016, respectively, adjusted annually for inflation).