This week, the U.S. Congress is expected to pass the first Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) since 2000. WRDA is the act that would authorize vital projects for the nation’s fisheries and maritime interests, including projects such as inlet maintenance dredging and Everglades Restoration. But past WRDA’s also authorizes numerous “pork” projects such as unnecessary dams on the Mississippi and “beach nourishment” projects that promote unsustainable development on the frontal dunes of barrier islands, many of which are decaying due to sea-level rise.

Despite a $58 billion backlog of authorized, un-constructed Army Corps projects, the proposed WRDA 2007 bill is hardly a picture of fiscal conservatism. In fact, WRDA 2007 is likely to add another $31.5 billion to the list, and Corps Reform proponents point out that with a $2 billion per year in Corps’ construction funding, it would take over 40 years just to clear the backlog.

But Corps Reformers are pleased with several unprecedented amendments to this WRDA. One initiative critical to reforming the Corps is project prioritization, and an amendment to WRDA 2007, sponsored by Senators Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) and John McCain (R-Arizona), would establish a Water Resources Commission to do that. Comprised of 8 members appointed by the leadership of both parties and the President, the commissioners would be charged with issuing a one-time only, non-binding report prioritizing Corps projects based on a set of project specific criteria. They would also be responsible for recommending a process for adding additional authorizations and reconsidering priorities in the future.

As evidenced by Hurricane Katrina and many other disasters for which the Corps is responsible, the agency often depends on flawed scientific methodology. Another prime example is the Corps’ failure to build base Everglades Restoration designs on modern climate science. According to independent engineers, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan does not contain enough square feet to hold the amount of rainfall expected during this intense period of global warming, to prevent massive discharges from further damaging estuaries on either end of the Caloosahatchee/St. Lucie rivers. But an amendment offered by Senator John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) and Senator Feingold would require the Corps to use the best available climate science for project planning. They would have to account for potential future impacts of climate change on storms and floods and account for the costs and benefits associated with the loss and protection of wetlands, floodplains, beaches and other natural systems that can buffer the affects of climate change. The amendment also requires the Corps to use, where appropriate, nonstructural approaches to project planning to help protect such natural systems.

“If you love wildlife and fishing and hunting, the best thing you can do is call your federal legislators and ask them to support these amendments,” said Chelsea Maxwell, a spokeswoman for the National Wildlife Federation, adding that Florida has as much to gain as any state, due the Corps chronic beach and water mismanagement.