CONTACT: Eugene Pawlik, 202-761-7690
eugene.a.pawlik@usace.army.mil
WASHINGTON (April 28, 2009) – The United States Army Corps of Engineers today released a listing of Civil Works projects to be funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
The legislation, signed into law by President Barack Obama on February 17, appropriated $4.6 billion to the Corps for its Civil Works program. The $4.6 billion is distributed in the following program accounts:
· Operation and Maintenance $2.075 billion
· Construction $2 billion
· Mississippi River and Tributaries $375 million
· Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program $100 million
· Investigations $25 million
· Regulatory Program $25 million
“The Recovery Act funds for Civil Works will enable the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to do much good for the nation,” said John Paul Woodley, Jr., Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.
“In addition to the opportunity to help the nation and her citizens recover from this time of economic hardship,” said Woodley, “the Corps will be able to use these funds to accomplish work on water resources projects that will benefit the nation for years to come.”
“The Corps is fully committed to ensuring the Recovery Act funds provided for Civil Works are used to achieve the purposes envisioned by the President and Congress for the legislation,” said Maj. Gen. Merdith “Bo” Temple, deputy commanding general for Civil and Emergency Operations for the Corps.
“We intend to quickly put these dollars into action to get our fellow citizens to work on Corps projects throughout the nation,” said Temple. “At the same time, we will use these funds to build long-term value for the nation in its water resources projects with these funds.”
Economists estimate that Corps Recovery Act projects will create or maintain approximately 57,400 direct construction industry jobs and an additional 64,000 indirect and induced jobs in firms supplying or supporting the construction and the businesses that sell goods and services to these workers and their families.
The Corps’ list of Recovery Act-funded Civil Works projects released today includes approximately 178 construction projects, 892 Operation and Maintenance projects, 45 Mississippi River and Tributaries projects, 67 Investigations projects, and nine projects under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). Regulatory Program funds are distributed to Corps districts based upon workload. All projects on the lists have received appropriated funds in prior years’ Energy and Water Development Appropriations acts. No project on the lists is a new start.
The projects selected represent a set of productive investments that will contribute to economic development and aquatic ecosystem restoration. Consistent with congressional guidance that the Corps' allocation of Recovery Act funds maximize national benefits, the Corps made its allocation of Recovery Act construction funds based on the economic and environmental return of its ongoing projects.
The projects also meet the five criteria enumerated in the Congressional report accompanying the Recovery Act, namely that the projects:
· Be obligated/executed quickly;
· Result in high, immediate employment;
· Have little schedule risk;
· Be executed by contract or direct hire of temporary labor; and
· Complete a project phase, a project, an element, or will provide a useful service that does not require additional funding.
Recovery Act funds will be used to complete increments of work on previously started projects and in some cases to complete such projects.
The projects released today are distributed very broadly across the United States. The distribution of selected projects spreads the employment and other economic benefits across the nation.
The lists of projects released today and additional information on the Corps’ role in the Recovery Act are available on the Web at www.usace.army.mil/recovery.