S. 601would fund a wide variety of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' projects, including tremendously more ambitious projects than this one, e.g., widening and deepening the Panama Canal.

On May 15, 2013, the Senate passed a $12.2 billion Water Resources Development Act (S. 601) with an 83-14 vote.

The bill, introduced by Barbara Boxer (D-CA), is the first Water Resources Development Act to pass in six years.

S. 601would fund U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' projects ranging from ports, levees and dams, to drinking water and environmental restoration projects. It would also fund the widening and deepening of the Panama Canal, preliminary steps in the $5.25 billion expansion of the canal to allow larger vessels like LNG (liquefied natural gas) tank ships to transit the waterway.

But S. 601 doesn't stop there. It would also fund the pilot Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA), which would provide low-interest loans for water projects that cost more than $20 million. Both the USACE and EPA would provide loans for large water projects that might include water recycling, habitat restoration and groundwater cleanup. The WIFIA program is based on the highly successful and over-subscribed Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) that was included in the last year's transportation legislation.

S. 601, like last year's transportation authorization legislation, has "project streamlining provisions" that designate the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) as the reviewer of such work and responsible for fining agencies that miss deadlines.

Concerns over streamlining projects have prompted Sen. Boxer to promise hearings in the Environment and Public Works Committee, of which she is the chair.

There is no timetable yet for the bill going to the House. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) has expressed concerns about S. 601 giving the USACE too much authority. You can view the full bill (284 pages) here.

The USACE has a combined engineering services force of 37,000 civilians and soldiers working in 130 countries.