A bipartisan coalition of House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee members introduced a $10 billion version of the Water Resources Development Act yesterday.

H.R. 2864 would authorize funding for major navigation, flood control and environmental restoration projects carried out by the Army Corps of Engineers and is almost identical to the version of WRDA passed in the House in 2003. In April, the 2005 Senate version of WRDA (S. 728), with a price tag between $7 billion and $17 billion, was approved by the Environment and Public Works Committee.

The legislation was introduced by full T&I Committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska), Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman John Duncan (R-Tennessee), T&I Committee ranking member James Oberstar (D-Minnesota) and Subcommittee ranking member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas).

Congress intended to renew WRDA every two years, but last approved the authorization in 2000. Subsequent reauthorization efforts failed due to opposition from environmentalists and lawmakers who felt the legislation needed to force the corps to do more to mitigate damages to natural resources and stiffen the process for independent reviews of the corps' work.

The House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee will mark up the bill Thursday, and the full committee markup in the House could come as early as next week.