II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2138 

To establish a pilot program to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and project 

delivery efficiency of non-Federal sponsors as the lead project delivery 

team for authorized civil works flood control and navigation construction 

projects of the Corps of Engineers. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 29, 2012 

Mr. VITTER (for himself and Mr. NELSON of Florida) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment 

and Public Works 

A BILL 

To establish a pilot program to evaluate the cost-effectiveness 

and project delivery efficiency of non-Federal sponsors 

as the lead project delivery team for authorized civil 

works flood control and navigation construction projects 

of the Corps of Engineers. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Corps of Engineers 

5 Project Delivery Flexibility Act of 2012’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Army, acting 

3 through the Chief of Engineers, shall establish a pilot pro4 gram to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and project delivery 

5 efficiency of non-Federal sponsors as the lead project de6 livery team for authorized civil works flood control and 

7 navigation construction projects of the Corps of Engi8 neers. 

9 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the pilot program 

10 are— 

11 (1) to identify project delivery and cost-saving 

12 alternatives that reduce the backlog of Corps of En13 gineers construction projects; 

14 (2) to evaluate the technical, financial, and or15 ganizational efficiencies of a non-Federal sponsor 

16 operating as the lead project manager for the de17 sign, execution, management, and construction of a 

18 project; and 

19 (3) to evaluate alternatives for the decentraliza20 tion of the project planning, management, and oper21 ational decisionmaking process of the Corps of Engi22 neers. 

23 (c) ADMINISTRATION.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), in 

25 carrying out the pilot program, the Secretary of the 

26 Army shall— 


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1 (A) identify not less than 12 congression2 ally authorized flood control and navigation 

3 construction projects of the Corps of Engineers 

4 that— 

5 (i) have received Federal funds and 

6 have experienced delays or missed sched7 uled deadlines in the 5 fiscal years prior to 

8 the date of enactment of this Act; 

9 (ii) have an unobligated funding bal10 ance in the Corps of Engineers Construc11 tion Account; and 

12 (iii) include levees, floodwalls, flood 

13 control channels, water control structures, 

14 or navigation locks and channels; 

15 (B) enter into a project partnership agree16 ment with the non-Federal sponsor for the non17 Federal sponsor to provide full project manage18 ment control for the design and construction of 

19 the flood control or navigation project, includ20 ing preconstruction engineering and design, 

21 project implementation, and construction activi22 ties; and 

23 (C) in consultation with the district engi24 neer and the non-Federal sponsor, develop a de25 tailed project management plan for each project 


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1 under the pilot program that outlines the scope, 

2 budget, design, and construction resource re3 quirements necessary for execution of the 

4 project by the non-Federal sponsor. 

5 (2) RESTRICTIONS.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—A flood control or navi7 gation project shall only receive Federal funding 

8 under this Act if the project is federally owned. 

9 (B) PROJECT DELIVERY TEAM.—As a con10 dition of receiving amounts under this Act, the 

11 non-Federal sponsor, in consultation with the 

12 district engineer and local project stakeholders, 

13 shall establish to oversee the execution of the 

14 project management plan a project delivery 

15 team, which shall, at a minimum, consist of— 

16 (i) a project manager; and 

17 (ii) a Corps of Engineers official, who 

18 shall provide technical assistance and guid19 ance on compliance with Corps of Engi20 neers engineering manuals and regulations. 

21 (3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—On the request 

22 of the non-Federal sponsor and in consultation with 

23 other appropriate Federal agencies, the Secretary of 

24 the Army shall provide the non-Federal sponsor with 

25 any necessary technical assistance, including assistVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:14 Feb 29, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2138.IS S2138

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1 ance relating to Federal acquisition regulations, con2 tracting requirements, and environmental regula3 tions. 

4 (d) APPLICABILITY.—Nothing in this Act alters any 

5 cost-sharing requirement established before the date of en6 actment of this Act for a project carried out under this 

7 Act. 

8 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Army shall 

10 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 

11 detailing the results of the pilot program carried out under 

12 this Act, including any recommendations of the Secretary 

13 concerning whether the program or any component of the 

14 program should be implemented on a national basis. 

15 SEC. 3. FUNDING. 

16 (a) RESCISSION OF UNOBLIGATED AMOUNTS.—Not17 withstanding any other provision of law, $200,000,000 of 

18 discretionary amounts that have been appropriated for fis19 cal years 2008 through 2011 and remain unobligated on 

20 the date of enactment of this Act— 

21 (1) is rescinded on the date of enactment of 

22 this Act; and 

23 (2) shall be made available to the Secretary of 

24 the Army, without further appropriation or fiscal 


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1 year limitation, for use only in accordance with this 

2 Act. 

3 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

5 Management and Budget shall determine and iden6 tify from which appropriation accounts the rescission 

7 under subsection (a) shall apply and the amount of 

8 the rescission that shall apply to each such account. 

9 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the 

11 Office of Management and Budget shall submit to 

12 Congress and the Secretary of the Treasury a report 

13 of the accounts and amounts determined and identi14 fied for rescission under paragraph (1). 

15 (c) EXCEPTION.—This section shall not apply to the 

16 unobligated funds of the Department of Defense, includ17 ing the Corps of Engineers, or the Department of Vet18 erans Affairs. 

19 (d) USE OF AMOUNTS.—The Secretary of the Army 

20 shall use the amounts made available to the Secretary 

21 under subsection (a)(2) to provide grants to non-Federal 

22 sponsors participating in the pilot program established 

23 under section 2. 

Æ 


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