§ 622. — Contracts, etc., with private industry for implementation of projects for improvements and dredging; reduction of federally owned fleet.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 33USC622]
TITLE 33--NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS
CHAPTER 12--RIVER AND HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS GENERALLY
SUBCHAPTER V--PROSECUTION OF WORK GENERALLY
Sec. 622. Contracts, etc., with private industry for
implementation of projects for improvements and dredging;
reduction of federally owned fleet
(a) Contracts for dredging and related work
The Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers
(hereinafter referred to as the ``Secretary''), in carrying out projects
for improvement of rivers and harbors (other than surveys, estimates,
and gagings) shall, by contract or otherwise, carry out such work in the
manner most economical and advantageous to the United States. The
Secretary shall have dredging and related work done by contract if he
determines private industry has the capability to do such work and it
can be done at reasonable prices and in a timely manner. During the
four-year period which begins on April 26, 1978, the Secretary may limit
the application of the second sentence of this subsection for work for
which the federally owned fleet is available to achieve an orderly
transition to full implementation of this subsection.
(b) Reduction of federally owned fleet
As private industry reasonably demonstrates its capability under
subsection (a) of this section to perform the work done by the federally
owned fleet, at reasonable prices and in a timely manner, the federally
owned fleet shall be reduced in an orderly manner, as determined by the
Secretary, by retirement of plant. To carry out emergency and national
defense work the Secretary shall retain only the minimum federally owned
fleet capable of performing such work and he may exempt from the
provisions of this section such amount of work as he determines to be
reasonably necessary to keep such fleet fully operational, as determined
by the Secretary, after the minimum fleet requirements have been
determined. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, in carrying out the
reduction of the federally owned fleet, the Secretary may retain so much
of the federally owned fleet as he determines necessary, for so long as
he determines necessary, to insure the capability of the Federal
Government and private industry together to carry out projects for
improvements of rivers and harbors. For the purpose of making the
determination required by the preceding sentence the Secretary shall not
exempt any work from the requirements of this section. The minimum
federally owned fleet shall be maintained to technologically modern and
efficient standards, including replacement as necessary. The Secretary
is authorized and directed to undertake a study to determine the minimum
federally owned fleet required to perform emergency and national defense
work. The study, which shall be submitted to Congress within two years
after April 26, 1978, shall also include preservation of employee rights
of persons presently employed on the existing federally owned fleet.
(c) Program to increase use of private hopper dredges
(1) Initiation
The Secretary shall initiate a program to increase the use of
private-industry hopper dredges for the construction and maintenance
of Federal navigation channels.
(2) Ready reserve status for hopper dredge Wheeler
In order to carry out this subsection, the Secretary shall place
the Federal hopper dredge Wheeler in a ready reserve status not
later than the earlier of 90 days after the date of completion of
the rehabilitation of the hopper dredge McFarland pursuant to
section 563 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 or
October 1, 1997.
(3) Testing and use of ready reserve hopper dredge
The Secretary may periodically perform routine tests of the
equipment of the vessel placed in a ready reserve status under
paragraph (2) to ensure the vessel's ability to perform emergency
work. The Secretary shall not assign any scheduled hopper dredging
work to such vessel but shall perform any repairs needed to maintain
the vessel in a fully operational condition. The Secretary may place
the vessel in active status in order to perform any dredging work
only if the Secretary determines that private industry has failed to
submit a responsive and responsible bid for work advertised by the
Secretary or to carry out the project as required pursuant to a
contract with the Secretary.
(4) Repair and rehabilitation
The Secretary may undertake any repair and rehabilitation of any
Federal hopper dredge, including the vessel placed in ready reserve
status under paragraph (2) to allow the vessel to be placed in
active status as provided in paragraph (3).
(5) Procedures
The Secretary shall develop and implement procedures to ensure
that, to the maximum extent practicable, private industry hopper
dredge capacity is available to meet both routine and time-sensitive
dredging needs. Such procedures shall include--
(A) scheduling of contract solicitations to effectively
distribute dredging work throughout the dredging season; and
(B) use of expedited contracting procedures to allow dredges
performing routine work to be made available to meet time-
sensitive, urgent, or emergency dredging needs.
(6) Report
Not later than 2 years after October 12, 1996, the Secretary
shall report to Congress on whether the vessel placed in ready
reserve status under paragraph (2) is needed to be returned to
active status or continued in a ready reserve status or whether
another Federal hopper dredge should be placed in a ready reserve
status.
(7) Limitations
(A) Reductions in status
The Secretary may not further reduce the readiness status of
any Federal hopper dredge below a ready reserve status except
any vessel placed in such status for not less than 5 years that
the Secretary determines has not been used sufficiently to
justify retaining the vessel in such status.
(B) Increase in assignments of dredging work
For each fiscal year beginning after October 12, 1996, the
Secretary shall not assign any greater quantity of dredging work
to any Federal hopper dredge in active status than was assigned
to that vessel in the average of the 3 prior fiscal years.
(C) Remaining dredges
In carrying out the program under this section, the
Secretary shall not reduce the availability and utilization of
Federal hopper dredge vessels stationed on the Pacific and
Atlantic coasts below that which occurred in fiscal year 1996 to
meet the navigation dredging needs of the ports on those coasts.
(8) Contracts; payment of capital costs
The Secretary may enter into a contract for the maintenance and
crewing of any Federal hopper dredge retained in a ready reserve
status. The capital costs (including depreciation costs) of any
dredge retained in such status shall be paid for out of funds made
available from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and shall not be
charged against the Corps of Engineers' Revolving Fund Account or
any individual project cost unless the dredge is specifically used
in connection with that project.
(Aug. 11, 1888, ch. 860, Sec. 3, 25 Stat. 423; July 25, 1912, ch. 253,
Sec. 1, 37 Stat. 222; Mar. 2, 1919, ch. 95, Sec. 3, 40 Stat. 1287; Pub.
L. 95-269, Sec. 1, Apr. 26, 1978, 92 Stat. 218; Pub. L. 104-303, title
II, Sec. 237, Oct. 12, 1996, 110 Stat. 3705.)
References in Text
Section 563 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1996, referred
to in subsec. (c)(2), is section 563 of Pub. L. 104-303, Oct. 12, 1996,
110 Stat. 3784, which is not classified to the Code.
Codification
Prior to the general amendment by Pub. L. 95-269, this section was a
composite of several Acts as follows:
The first sentence was from a part of section 3 of Act of Aug. 11,
1888, the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1888. The remainder of
section 3 was classified to section 623 of this title.
The second sentence, which provided that all improvement works
authorized by contract may, in the discretion of the Secretary of War
[now Army], be carried on by contract or otherwise, as may be most
economical or advantageous to the United States, was from section 1 of
the Act of July 25, 1912, the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of
1912. Previous similar provisions were contained in Acts Mar. 2, 1907,
ch. 2509, Sec. 1, 34 Stat. 1110; Feb. 27, 1911, ch. 166, Sec. 1, 36
Stat. 952.
The third sentence, which provided that in all cases where the
project for a work of river or harbor improvement provides for the
construction or use of Government dredging plant, the Secretary of War
[now Army] may, in his discretion, have the work done by contract if
reasonable prices can be obtained, was from section 3 of the Act of Mar.
2, 1919, the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1919, which
superseded a somewhat similar provision in section 3 of the Act of Aug.
8, 1917, ch. 49, 40 Stat. 261. Section 1 of the 1917 Act, 40 Stat. 255,
provided in part that ``the work proposed under the project adopted by
the river and harbor Act approved July twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred
and twelve, may be done by contract if reasonable prices can be
obtained''.
Amendments
1996--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104-303 added subsec. (c).
1978--Pub. L. 95-269 designated existing provision as subsec. (a),
substituted provisions relating to authority of Secretary of the Army,
acting through the Chief of Engineers, to implement improvement projects
by contract or otherwise and dredging and related work by contract with
private industry, for provisions relating to authority of the Secretary
of the Army to apply moneys appropriated for improvements by contract or
otherwise and for construction or use of a Government dredging plant by
contract, and added subsec. (b).
