Section 214 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 (WRDA), as amended (33 U.S.C. 2352), provides:

(a) The Secretary, after public notice, may accept and expend funds contributed by a non-Federal public entity or a public-utility company, Indian Tribe, natural gas company, or railroad carrier to expedite the evaluation of a permit of that entity, company, Indian Tribe, or carrier related to a project or activity for a public purpose under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Army, including an aquatic ecosystem restoration project.

(b) In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall ensure that the use of funds accepted under subsection (a) will not impact impartial decision making with respect to permits, either substantively or procedurally.

(c) The authority to accept and expend funds does not expire, unless modified by law.

This law allows the Corps to accept funds from qualified entities to provide expedited review of qualifying permit application reviews, and other actions, provided they meet the requirements under WRDA and that their proposed activity is for a public purpose.

Qualifying entities are specifically defined.  Non-federal public entities include state and local governmental agencies, local transportation agencies, port authorities, flood and storm water management agencies, and governmental economic development agencies, and others.  Entities and organizations that meet the defined requirements, and those that are excluded, are listed in the regulations and official guidance.

An entity is required to enter into an official WRDA Agreement with the Corps before any funds may be accepted.  Activities qualifying for expedited review under a WRDA Agreement must be for a public purpose.

The Corps Regulatory Program is funded as a congressionally appropriated line item in the Federal budget.  Additional funds received by the Galveston District from qualifying entities are used to augment the Galveston District Regulatory budget.  WRDA supplemental funds are used primarily to pay for staff labor or to hire additional staff to expedite the evaluation of qualifying permit actions for entities with approved and active WRDA Agreements.

To ensure agreements will not impact impartial decision-making process, when WRDA funds are used, the Corps has established following procedures:

1. All final permit decisions must be reviewed by a decision maker at least one level above the standard decision maker.
2. All final permit decisions are available on the Galveston District website.
3. The Corps will not eliminate any procedures or decisions that would otherwise be required for that type of project and/or permit application under review.
4. The Corps will comply with all applicable laws and regulations.
5. Funds will only be expended to provide expedited review of qualifying permit actions, applied for by a qualifying entity.

For more information on these types of agreements, please see the Federal Guidance titled: Implementation Guidance for WRDA 214 dated Oct. 1, 2009 

Additional Information on WRDA 214 agreements may be found on the Corps Headquarters Section 214 web page.