USC Subchapter III

USC Subchapter III
in effect

33 U.S.C. § 2251 Inland Waterways Users Board

(a) Establishment of Users BoardThere is hereby established an Inland Waterway Users Board (hereinafter in this section referred to as the “Users Board”) composed of the eleven members selected by the Secretary, one of whom shall be designated by the Secretary as Chairman. The members shall be selected so as to represent various regions of the country and a spectrum of the primary users and shippers utilizing the inland and intracoastal waterways for commercial purposes. Due consideration shall be given to assure a balance among the members based on the ton-mile shipments of the various categories of commodities shipped on inland waterways. The Secretary of the Army shall designate, and the Secretaries of Agriculture, Transportation, and Commerce may each designate, a representative to act as an observer of the Users Board. (b) Duties of Users Board(1) In generalThe Users Board shall meet not less frequently than semiannually to develop and make recommendations to the Secretary and Congress regarding the inland waterways and inland harbors of the United States. (2) Advice and recommendationsFor commercial navigation features and components of the inland waterways and inland harbors of the United States, the Users Board shall provide—(A) prior to the development of the budget proposal of the President for a given fiscal year, advice and recommendations to the Secretary regarding construction and rehabilitation priorities and spending levels; (B) advice and recommendations to Congress regarding any feasibility report for a project on the inland waterway system that has been submitted to Congress pursuant to section 2282d of this title; (C) advice and recommendations to Congress regarding an increase in the authorized cost of those features and components; (D) not later than 60 days after the date of the submission of the budget proposal of the President to Congress, advice and recommendations to Congress regarding construction and rehabilitation priorities and spending levels; and (E) advice and recommendations on the development of a long-term capital investment program in accordance with subsection (d). (3) Project development teamsThe chairperson of the Users Board shall appoint a representative of the Users Board to serve as an advisor to the project development team for a qualifying project or the study or design of a commercial navigation feature or component of the inland waterways and inland harbors of the United States. (4) Independent judgmentAny advice or recommendation made by the Users Board to the Secretary shall reflect the independent judgment of the Users Board. (c) Duties of SecretaryThe Secretary shall—(1) communicate not less frequently than once each quarter to the Users Board the status of the study, design, or construction of all commercial navigation features or components of the inland waterways or inland harbors of the United States; and (2) submit to the Users Board a courtesy copy of all completed feasibility reports relating to a commercial navigation feature or component of the inland waterways or inland harbors of the United States. (d) Capital investment program(1) In generalNot later than 1 year after June 10, 2014, the Secretary, in coordination with the Users Board, shall develop and submit to Congress a report describing a 20-year program for making capital investments on the inland and intracoastal waterways based on the application of objective, national project selection prioritization criteria. (2) ConsiderationIn developing the program under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall take into consideration the 20-year capital investment strategy contained in the Inland Marine Transportation System (IMTS) Capital Projects Business Model, Final Report published on April 13, 2010, as approved by the Users Board. (3) CriteriaIn developing the plan and prioritization criteria under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that investments made under the 20-year program described in paragraph (1)—(A) are made in all geographical areas of the inland waterways system; and (B) ensure efficient funding of inland waterways projects. (4) Strategic review and updateNot later than 5 years after June 10, 2014, and not less frequently than once every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary, in coordination with the Users Board, shall—(A) submit to Congress and make publicly available a strategic review of the 20-year program in effect under this subsection, which shall identify and explain any changes to the project-specific recommendations contained in the previous 20-year program (including any changes to the prioritization criteria used to develop the updated recommendations); and (B) make revisions to the program, as appropriate. (e) Project management plansThe chairperson of the Users Board and the project development team member appointed by the chairperson under subsection (b)(3) may sign the project management plan for the qualifying project or the study or design of a commercial navigation feature or component of the inland waterways and inland harbors of the United States. (f) Administration(1) In generalThe Users Board shall be subject to chapter 10 of title 5, other than section 1013, and, with the consent of the appropriate agency head, the Users Board may use the facilities and services of any Federal agency. (2) Members not considered special Government employeesFor the purposes of complying with chapter 10 of title 5, the members of the Users Board shall not be considered special Government employees (as defined in section 202 of title 18). (3) Travel expensesNon-Federal members of the Users Board while engaged in the performance of their duties away from their homes or regular places of business, may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by section 5703 of title 5.

33 U.S.C. § 2252 Project delivery process reforms

(a) Requirements for qualifying projectsWith respect to each qualifying project, the Secretary shall require—(1) for each project manager, that—(A) the project manager have formal project management training and certification; and (B) the project manager be assigned from among personnel certified by the Chief of Engineers; and (2) for an applicable cost estimation, that—(A) the Secretary utilize a risk-based cost estimate with a confidence level of at least 80 percent; and (B) the cost estimate be developed—(i) for a qualifying project that requires an increase in the authorized amount in accordance with section 2280 of this title, during the preparation of a post-authorization change report or other similar decision document; (ii) for a qualifying project for which the first construction contract has not been awarded, prior to the award of the first construction contract; (iii) for a qualifying project without a completed feasibility report in accordance with section 2282 of this title, prior to the completion of such a report; and (iv) for a qualifying project with a completed feasibility report in accordance with section 2282 of this title that has not yet been authorized, during design for the qualifying project. (b) Additional project delivery process reformsNot later than 18 months after June 10, 2014, the Secretary shall—(1) establish a system to identify and apply on a continuing basis best management practices from prior or ongoing qualifying projects to improve the likelihood of on-time and on-budget completion of qualifying projects; (2) evaluate early contractor involvement acquisition procedures to improve on-time and on-budget project delivery performance; and (3) implement any additional measures that the Secretary determines will achieve the purposes of this subtitle, including—(A) the implementation of applicable practices and procedures developed pursuant to management by the Secretary of an applicable military construction program; (B) the development and use of a portfolio of standard designs for inland navigation locks, incorporating the use of a center of expertise for the design and review of qualifying projects; (C) the use of full-funding contracts or formulation of a revised continuing contracts clause; and (D) the establishment of procedures for recommending new project construction starts using a capital projects business model. (c) Pilot projects(1) In generalSubject to paragraph (2), the Secretary may carry out pilot projects to evaluate processes and procedures for the study, design, and construction of qualifying projects. (2) InclusionsAt a minimum, the Secretary shall carry out pilot projects under this subsection to evaluate—(A) early contractor involvement in the development of features and components; (B) an appropriate use of continuing contracts for the construction of features and components; and (C) applicable principles, procedures, and processes used for military construction projects.

33 U.S.C. § 2253 Annual financial review

For any inland waterways project that the Secretary carries out that has an estimated total cost of $500,000,000 or more, the Secretary shall submit to the congressional committees referred to in subsection (a) 11 See References in Text note below. an annual financial plan for the project. The plan shall be based on detailed annual estimates of the cost to complete the remaining elements of the project and on reasonable assumptions, as determined by the Secretary, of any future increases of the cost to complete the project.

33 U.S.C. § 2254 Assessment of operation and maintenance needs of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway

(a) In generalNot later than 90 days after June 10, 2014, the Secretary shall assess the operation and maintenance needs of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. (b) Types of activitiesIn carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary shall assess the operation and maintenance needs of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway as used for the following purposes:(1) Commercial navigation. (2) Commercial fishing. (3) Subsistence, including utilization by Indian tribes (as defined in section 5304 of title 25) for subsistence and ceremonial purposes. (4) Use as ingress and egress to harbors of refuge. (5) Transportation of persons. (6) Purposes relating to domestic energy production, including fabrication, servicing, and supply of domestic offshore energy production facilities. (7) Activities of the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating. (8) Public health and safety related equipment for responding to coastal and inland emergencies. (9) Recreation purposes. (10) Any other authorized purpose. (c) Report to CongressFor fiscal year 2015, and biennially thereafter, in conjunction with the annual budget submission by the President to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and make publicly available a report that, with respect to the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway—(1) identifies the operation and maintenance costs required to achieve the authorized length, width, and depth; (2) identifies the amount of funding requested in the President’s budget for operation and maintenance costs; and (3) identifies the unmet operation and maintenance needs of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

33 U.S.C. § 2255 Inland waterways riverbank stabilization

(a) In generalNot later than 1 year after June 10, 2014, and biennially thereafter, the Secretary shall conduct a study to determine the feasibility of—(1) carrying out projects for the inland and intracoastal waterways for purposes of—(A) flood damage reduction; (B) emergency streambank and shoreline protection; and (C) prevention and mitigation of shore damages attributable to navigation improvements; and (2) modifying projects for the inland and intracoastal waterways for the purpose of improving the quality of the environment. (b) RecommendationsIn conducting the study, the Secretary shall develop specific project recommendations and prioritize those recommendations based on—(1) the extent of damage and land loss resulting from riverbank erosion; (2) the rate of erosion; (3) the significant threat of future flood risk to public property, public infrastructure, or public safety; (4) the destruction of natural resources or habitats; and (5) the potential cost savings for maintenance of the channel. (c) DispositionThe Secretary may carry out any project identified in the study conducted pursuant to subsection (a) in accordance with the criteria for projects carried out under one of the following authorities:(1) Section 701r of this title. (2) Section 701s of this title. (3) Section 426i of this title. (4) Section 2309a of this title. (d) Annual reportFor a project recommended pursuant to the study that cannot be carried out under any of the authorities specified in subsection (c), upon a determination by the Secretary of the feasibility of the project, the Secretary may include a recommendation concerning the project in the annual report submitted to Congress under section 2282d of this title.

33 U.S.C. § 2255a High water-low water preparedness

(a) DefinitionsIn this section:(1) BypassThe term “bypass” means an alternate water route adjacent to a lock and dam on a Federal inland waterway system that can be used for commercial navigation during high water conditions. (2) Emergency conditionThe term “emergency condition” means—(A) unsafe conditions on a Federal inland waterway system that prevent the operation of commercial vessels, resulting from a major change in water level or flows; (B) an obstruction in a Federal inland waterway system, including silt, sediment, rock formation, or a shallow channel; (C) an impaired or inoperable Federal lock and dam; or (D) any other condition determined appropriate by the Secretary. (b) Emergency determinationThe Secretary, in consultation with the District Commanders responsible for maintaining any Federal inland waterway system, the users of the waterway system, and the Coast Guard, may make a determination that an emergency condition exists on the waterway system. (c) Emergency mitigation project(1) In generalSubject to paragraph (2) and the availability of appropriations, and in accordance with all applicable Federal requirements, the Secretary may carry out an emergency mitigation project on a Federal inland waterway system with respect to which the Secretary has determined that an emergency condition exists under subsection (b), or on a bypass of such system, to remedy that emergency condition. (2) DeadlineAn emergency mitigation project under paragraph (1) shall—(A) be initiated by not later than 60 days after the date on which the Secretary makes the applicable determination under subsection (b); and (B) to the maximum extent practicable, be completed by not later than 1 year after the date on which the Secretary makes such determination. (d) Authorization of appropriationsThere is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2024, to remain available until expended.

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