Posted on April 9, 2026
Federal funding was a major focus in Washington, D.C. this month with the release of the FY2026 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) Work Plan and the President’s Budget for FY2027.
Final Appropriations in FY2026 for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
On April 7th, the Administration released the FY2026 Corps’ Work Plan identifying final funding amounts for the current fiscal year. The FY26 Work Plan can be accessed through this link.
Below are the totals for each state: the first number is the President’s budget, followed by the amount allocated in the Energy & Water Appropriations bill by Congress, and the Final FY26 funding included in the work plan.
VA: Albemarle Chesapeake Canal- President’s Budget- $3.597M, Energy & Water Appropriations bill- $3.597M, Final FY26 funding- $3.597M
Dismal Swamp Canal- President’s Budget- $1.816M, Energy & Water Appropriations bill- $1.816M, Final FY26 funding- $1.816MNC: President’s Budget- $12.490M, Energy & Water Appropriations bill- $16.712M, Final FY26 funding- $16.712MSC: President’s Budget- $9.213M, Energy & Water Appropriations bill- $9.213M,
inal FY26 funding- $9.213MGA: President’s Budget- $6.265M, Energy & Water Appropriations bill – $6.265M, Final FY26 funding- $6.265M
FL: President’s Budget- $4.830M, Energy & Water Appropriations bill- $4.830M, Final FY26 funding- $4.830M
Total for the AIWW: President’s Budget- $38.211 Million, Energy & Water Appropriations bill- $42.433M, Final FY26 funding- $42.433 Million
Funding for our partners in the New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway: President’s Budget- $1.715 Million, Energy & Water Appropriations bill- $1.715M, Final FY26 Amount- $2.135 Million
As you will note, we received an additional $4.222 million in a Community Project Funding earmark from Congressman Murphy over the President’s budget, but we did not receive any additional funding in this year’s Work Plan for the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. However, we are happy to see our partners in NJ received an additional $420,000 in work plan funding. We still had a good year with project funding in every state, totaling over $42 million.
President’s Budget Released for FY2027
The President’s Budget for FY2027 (starting in October 2027) was released on April 3rd, and the press book outlining proposed projects for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is available by clicking here.
The administration is proposing $4.9 billion total for the Corps, which is $1.9 billion less than the final amount of funding they were provided in FY2026, a 23% reduction in their total allocation. Specifically related to the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, they are proposing the amounts below:
VA- ACC Canal- $681,000 and Dismal Swamp Canal- $478,000, Total- $1,159,000
NC- $7,789,500
SC- $8,604,400
GA- $5,547,500
FL- $5,859,800
Total: $28,960,200
In addition, they are proposing $334,000 for our partners along the New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway.
Overall, the funding amounts aren’t as high as we need them to be, but we have funding in every state again! This is a significant win, especially considering the overall Corps budget faces a substantial reduction. We celebrate this first step in the process, and we thank our Corps’ partners for including each District in the budget. A table comparing FY25-FY27 is included below.
To aid in the identification of real-time impacts from shoaling and waterway maintenance issues, we have launched a Commercial Operator and Corporate Member Stakeholder Group. The focus of this group is to assist the organization in identifying shoaling areas, bridge maintenance projects and other issues impacting use of the waterway; and help prioritize the areas that need to be addressed. With over 1,100 miles of Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and limited funding for waterway dredging and maintenance, we will use the resources created by this group to further refine our educational and advocacy efforts with the Administration and Congress.
The first quarterly meeting was held this month and our next will be in July. If you would like to become a member of this group and further assist us in developing resources to aid in our education and advocacy efforts, please consider joining as a corporate member or sponsor of the association.
