HR 8812 Introduced
Water Resources Development
Last week, Rep Graves (R,MO) introduced HR 8812, the Water Resources Development Act of 2024. This is the annual authorization bill for the conservation and development of water and related resources. This year’s bill does include cyberphysical security requirements for the remote operations of Corps facilities. The bill would include increases in the amounts authorized for each of the following activities:
Emergency Streambank and Shoreline Protection ($25 million increased to $50 million),
Storm And Hurricane Restoration And Impact Minimization Program ($37.5 million increased to $62.5 million),
Small River and Harbor Improvement Projects ($10 million increased to $12.5 million),
Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration ($10 million increased to $15 million), and
Removal Of Obstructions; Clearing Channels ($0.5 million to $1 million).
Cybersecurity Requirement
Section 136 of the bill addresses remote operations at Corps dams. It establishes a ten-year period during which the Army Corps of Engineers will not newly use remote operation activities at a navigation or hydroelectric power generating facility without first notifying Congress that certain actions have been taken. Amongst those requirements is one that the Corps “will address any cyber and physical security risks to such project in accordance with applicable Federal law and agency guidance.”
The Corps of Engineers has two current guidance documents that address cybersecurity of control system design on CoE projects:
Moving Forward
Graves is the Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration. The bill will be considered in committee, and it will be passed. The only question is how much bipartisan support it will receive. I suspect that it will be substantial.
Commentary
While the Republicans in the House are genetically opposed to spending increases, this bill does increase spending for water projects. To be fair the amounts included in this bill are relatively small as far as federal projects go. More importantly congresscritters like to see the big red and white CoE signs that accompany their projects, those signs remind voters of how federal money is coming back into the local economy through the diligent work of their congressional delegation.