H.R. 9497

Water Resources Development Act of 2026

Sponsor: Sam Graves

3 cosponsors
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Official summary

Written by the Congressional Research Service.

Water Resources Development Act of 2026

This bill authorizes and modifies certain water resource infrastructure projects and programs of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and makes related requirements. For example, the bill authorizes and modifies various water resources feasibility studies and projects of the Corps of Engineers, such as studies or projects to

  • maintain ports and harbors,
  • make certain waterways more navigable,
  • reduce flood and storm damage,
  • restore aquatic ecosystems and protect fish and wildlife,
  • protect shorelines,
  • address harmful algal blooms,
  • rehabilitate dams,
  • manage recreational sites and facilities,
  • support water supply and storage projects, and
  • support other water resources infrastructure.

The bill also directs the Corps of Engineers to establish an Office on Alternative Delivery Methods in order to accelerate project delivery of infrastructure. 

In addition, the bill directs the Corps of Engineers to issue a rule that establishes categorical permissions for certain harbor or river improvements that will cause only minimal adverse environmental effects.

Text of the bill

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I General Provisions

Sec. 130. Benefits and costs attributable to certain measures Changed · Sep 3

Where this section came from

  1. Jun 29, 2026 · Introduced in House Referred to House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Jun 29
  2. Sep 3, 2026 · Reported in House Marked up by House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Jul 14 Reported by House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Sep 3 Committee members' individual votes aren't in our records.
What changed in the text

(a) In general. In the evaluation by the Secretary of benefits and costs of an authorized water resources development project, the Secretary shall treat benefits attributable to measures that utilize a natural feature or nature-based feature (as such terms are defined in section 1184(a) of the Water Resources Development Act of 2016 (33 U.S.C. 2289a(a ))) )) to be at least equal to the costs of such measures.

… 7 unchanged passages …

What is a markup?

A markup is a committee meeting where members go through a bill and vote on changes before sending it to the full chamber.

(a) In general. In the evaluation by the Secretary of benefits and costs of an authorized water resources development project, the Secretary shall treat benefits attributable to measures that utilize a natural feature or nature-based feature (as such terms are defined in section 1184(a) of the Water Resources Development Act of 2016 (33 U.S.C. 2289a(a)) to be at least equal to the costs of such measures.

(b) Considerations

(1) Applicability. The Secretary shall utilize the authority under subsection (a) on not more than 10 projects that utilize a natural feature or nature-based feature, including the projects specified under paragraph (2).

(2) Priority projects. The Secretary shall utilize the authority under subsection (a) on—

(A) the project for flood and storm damage reduction, New York and New Jersey Harbor and Tributaries, New York and New Jersey, as authorized by the Act of June 15, 1955 (chapter 140, 69 Stat. 132; 134 Stat. 2676; 138 Stat. 3152); and

(B) the development of a recommendation for mitigation of hot spot erosion on an authorized coastal storm risk management project in the State of New Jersey developed under section 1217 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (138 Stat. 3081).

(c) Report. Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and make publicly available (including on a publicly available website), a report detailing the results of each evaluation of benefits and costs carried out using the authority under this section.

(d) Sunset. The authority of the Secretary to initiate an evaluation under subsection (a) shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act.

II Studies and Reports

III Deauthorizations and Modifications

IV Water Resources Infrastructure

V Dam Safety