Digest of Federal Resource Laws of Interest to the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service
Water Resources Development Act of 1988
Water Resources Development Act of 1988 (33 U.S.C. 59yj-1; 59y; 579a; 592; 988; 2201; 2211;
2280; 2300; 2312; 2313; and 42 U.S.C. 1962d-59; 102 Stat. 4012) -- Public Law 100-676,
enacted November 17, 1988, authorized 16 navigation, flood control, beach nourishment projects
as well as 20 modifications to previously authorized projects. (This was the first biennial
authorization for Corps water projects since enactment of the 1986 omnibus bill. Prior to the
passage of the 1986 statute, a 16-year period had elapsed due to the difficulty of developing
cost-sharing provisions.)
Provisions of interest to the Service include:
- Modification of dredged material disposal requirements for channel deepening in Gulfport
Harbor, Mississippi (section 4);
- Promotion of cost savings, increased efficiency, reliability and safety, and improved
environmental results through the use of innovative technology in all phases of water
resources development (section 8);
- Authorization of a simulation model of the south Florida hydrologic ecosystem (section
11);
- Authorization of the continued use of the contained disposal facility at the Great Lakes and
Connecting Channels project, as well as the monitoring of toxic pollutants at dredged
material disposal facilities (section 24);
- Declaration of areas of the Delaware River, Pennsylvania, and Coney Island Creek and
Gravesend Bay, New York, as nonnavigable, subsequent to a decision by the Corps of the
public interest of projects involved and with the caveat that the work is subject to all
applicable Federal statutes and regulations, including the National Environmental Policy Act,
section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, and section 404 of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (sections 38 and 39);
- Amendment of section 1135 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to extend
the environmental demonstration program study period from 2 to 5 years (section 41);
- Authorization of a study of the need to modernize and upgrade Federally owned and
operated hydroelectric power systems (section 42);
- Authorization of a study of the water quality effects of hydropower facilities operated by
the Corps (section 43);
- Authorization of the Des Plaines River Wetlands Demonstration Project, Illinois (section
45);
- Direction to proceed with work on the Kissimme River demonstration project, Florida,
pursuant to section 1135 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (section 46);
and
- Declaration of three bodies of water in Ridgefield, New Jersey, to be nonnavigable (section
54).
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