FY22 budget for USACE includes $695 million for Detroit and Chicago Districts

The US Army Corps of Engineers recently announced its funding under the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2022.

The budget includes about $6.8 billion in gross discretionary funding for the Civil Works program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Chicago and Detroit Districts of the USACE have recently published press releases disclosing key operations related to water management, provided in excerpts below.

CHICAGO, IL

The budget will provide about $100 million in funding for the USACE Chicago District.

The Chicago District will receive $500,000 for the Chicago Shoreline General Reevaluation Report. This study will address significant coastal storm damage experienced along at-risk reaches of the shoreline of Lake Michigan within the city of Chicago. The GRR will reevaluate portions of the shoreline not included in the 1999 project. It will also consider protection challenges exacerbated by high-lake levels in recent years.

Of great significance for the region is also an additional $500,000 for the Great Lakes Coastal Resiliency Study, a new start project that includes the three USACE Great Lakes districts – Buffalo, Chicago and Detroit – with a goal to create a plan identifying vulnerable coastal areas and recommending actions to bolster the coastal areas’ ability to withstand, recover from and adapt to future hydrologic uncertainty with respect to the built and natural coastal environments. Recent high-water events across the Great Lakes brought about the study’s need.

Both studies are long-term efforts to address shoreline challenges.

Last year the Chicago District grew from about 4,000 square miles within the Chicago area to about 31,500 square miles, expanding its project and mission portfolio as USACE adjusted its Civil Works boundaries within the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division.

DETROIT, MI

In Detroit, the budget includes approximately $595 million set aside for Detroit District projects, including $480 million for the New Lock at the Soo Locks facility in Sault St. Marie, Mich. and $500,000 for the same Great Lakes Coastal Resiliency Study mentioned above.

The Civil Works budget funds the operations and maintenance program, including Great Lakes federal shipping channels and navigation structures within the Detroit District’s area of responsibility across Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. This includes funding for the Soo Locks, in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., which is a critical infrastructure project for the nation.

The FY 2022 Civil Works budget press book is available at https://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Budget/ under the heading Program Budget: Press Books.

SOURCE: US Army Corps of Engineers: Chicago District and Detroit District