[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 50 (Monday, December 18, 2000)]
[Pages 3063-3065]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Signing the Water Resources Development Act of 2000

December 11, 2000

    Today I have signed into law S. 2796, the ``Water Resources 
Development Act of 2000,'' a multibillion dollar omnibus bill to 
authorize water projects and programs of the United States Army Corps of 
Engineers.
    I am very pleased that this bill authorizes the Administration's 
plan to restore an unprecedented natural resource--America's Everglades. 
Thanks to an historic partnership among Federal, State, tribal, and 
local leaders, we can begin in earnest an over 30-year journey to 
complete the largest and most ambitious ecosystem restoration project in 
the world.
    Since the beginning of our first term, the Vice President and I have 
made Everglades restoration a priority. We have provided the

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necessary resources to Federal agencies and made timely completion of 
the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan an essential part of our 
environmental agenda. Through the leadership of the Army Corps of 
Engineers and the support of the Environmental Protection Agency, the 
Department of the Interior, and other Federal agencies, the State of 
Florida, and a diverse group of stakeholders, the authorized plan 
provides a scientifically sound blueprint to guide Everglades 
restoration. The legislation provides assurances that water developed 
under the Plan will be available for the restoration of the natural 
systems. We must all now make implementation of this Plan a priority if 
we are to save this threatened resource and leave an Everglades legacy 
that will make future generations proud of their Government. By acting 
now, we can reverse the damage of the past and rescue this unique and 
remarkable landscape.
    I am pleased that S. 2796 also authorizes a major project to deepen 
channels into New York/New Jersey harbor, our Nation's third largest 
container port, that will benefit consumers and producers, create jobs, 
and make the United States more competitive in world markets. The Act 
also authorizes my proposal for projects to improve the Puget Sound 
ecosystem and authorizes efforts to restore the estuary of the lower 
Columbia River, boosting the recovery of threatened and endangered 
salmon species in the Pacific Northwest.
    In addition, I am pleased that the Congress has adopted my proposals 
to strengthen the authority of the Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate 
comprehensively the water resources needs of watersheds throughout the 
Nation and to enhance its ability to work with Native American tribes 
and Alaska native communities to study proposed water resources 
projects. I also endorse the authorization for a National Academy of 
Sciences study on suggestions for an independent review of Army Corps of 
Engineers projects.
    I am very concerned and disappointed, however, with many of the 
provisions in S. 2796. Earlier this year, I submitted water resource 
legislation to the Congress directed at certain fundamental issues. 
First, the bill included several high-priority Corps initiatives 
addressing important needs currently facing the Nation. Second, the bill 
proposed a number of much needed water project reforms. Finally, my 
Administration developed this bill with a Federal cost of about $1 
billion within a framework of overall fiscal discipline that helps 
ensure that only the most worthwhile projects are funded.
    The version of this legislation as passed authorizes roughly $5 
billion in new Federal spending according to Corps of Engineers 
estimates, an amount that far exceeds a reasonable assessment of the 
available future Federal budgetary resources for this program. The vast 
majority of the new projects and modifications to existing projects in 
this bill have not completed the study phase or are under review and 
simply are not ready for authorization at this time. Until these 
proposals have completed the appropriate prior planning and review, 
including the review required for water resources project proposals 
under Executive Order 12322, neither the executive branch nor the 
Congress knows which of them will raise significant concerns regarding 
scope, feasibility, environmental acceptability, cost-sharing, or other 
issues. I strongly recommend that the Congress await completion of this 
process before reaching a decision on authorizing future projects and 
project modifications. Particularly in view of the Congress' directive 
to study benefits of an independent review of Corps of Engineers water 
projects, we need to find ways to strengthen the project planning and 
review process. I am pleased, however, that the Congress decided to drop 
proposed authorizations totaling more than $550 million for local 
infrastructure projects that should not become a responsibility of the 
Army Corps of Engineers.
    Furthermore, my Administration proposed improvements to the 
procedures used for deauthorizing dormant projects, changes to close a 
loophole in the existing ability-to-pay law, an increase in the local 
cost-share for structural flood damage reduction projects, and a program 
to clean up brownfields. I am disappointed that the Congress did not 
authorize any of these important reforms.
    Finally, section 601(b)(2)(D)(iii) provides that appropriations for 
certain water resources projects within the Everglades shall

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not be made unless technical reports on those projects have been 
approved by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and 
the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. This provision is 
a direction to the Congress regarding how the Congress will exercise its 
authority to appropriate funds. The provision does not limit the 
authority of agencies to spend funds that the Congress has appropriated.
    Notwithstanding our concerns, the Water Resources Development Act of 
2000 authorizes the Army to undertake much needed and important projects 
for improvements to the Nation's ports and harbors, and the restoration 
of our aquatic resources, including America's Everglades, and deserves 
enactment into law.
                                            William J. Clinton
 The White House,
 December 11, 2000.

Note: S. 2796, approved December 11, was assigned Public Law No. 106-
541.