The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) reauthorization bill (HR 1495) passed the Senate on May 16, 91-4. It authorizes $13.9 billion worth of projects, versus around $15 billion in a House version cleared on April 29 by a vote of 395-25. Two-thirds of the WRDA legislation contains funds for projects to boost levees, reverse wetlands loss, and shore up flood protection in Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico. Conferees will now negotiate a final version. The bill, which includes an estimated 438 earmarks, is the first Senate legislation to require the disclosure of all earmark sponsors.

The American Soybean Association said it is pleased the Senate approved the Water Resources Development Act, and is calling for a rapid conference between the House and Senate versions of the bill. “The Senate’s passage of the Water Resources and Development Act is great news for soybean growers who have championed much-needed improvements on the Mississippi and Illinois waterways,” says ASA President Rick Ostlie. “Modern and efficient waterways and ports are essential to our economic well-being and international competitiveness.”

The authorization water resources projects include building seven locks, ecosystem and wetlands restoration, beach restoration, port upgrade and flood control. The bill authorizes $3.7 billion for construction of 1,200-foot locks and major ecosystem restoration on the Upper Mississippi and IllinoisRivers system – $1.95 billion for new locks and $1.7 billion for ecosystem restoration. That amount is about one-fourth of the Senate water bill’s entire price tag and is millions more than the House authorized. ‘‘By passing WRDA and its updates to the Mississippi River, we’ll preserve the low transportation costs for the two-thirds of the nation’s grain and soybean exports that travel along the Mississippi,’’ said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), the top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, said the bill is crucial because two-thirds of all consumer goods pass through harbors maintained by the Corps of Engineers. The nearly 12,000 miles of inland and intracoastal waterways include 192 commercially active lock and dam sites. More than half of those sites are at least 50 years old and need major rehabilitation, he said.

“This has not been easy,” said bill manager and Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) “And someday when I write my book on how a bill really becomes a law, I will let everyone know what it really takes to get a bill like this done, a bill that is seven years in the making.” Congress has not enacted a water resources authorization bill since 2000 (PL 106-541). Congress “normally” passes a revision of WRDA every two years.

The Senate measure includes language that would require the White House to recommend which hurricane-protection projects to authorize, based on an Army Corps of Engineers report due by the end of the year. It also would require committee markups of authorizing legislation within 45 days of the White House report, limit Senate floor debate to 20 hours, and bar non-germane amendments. The Senate bill allows independent panels to review Corps decisions, while the House bill would limit such panels to reviewing technical information.

The bill would authorize funding for many inland navigation, coastal restoration and flood-control projects, and also includes funding for more than 100 environmental infrastructure projects. Language was included that would reduce the estimated $58 billion backlog of Army Corps of Engineers water projects. The language would require annual reports from the Corps on project funding and projects not receiving construction funding in nine years to be de-authorized.

About 25 percent of the money being spent on WRDA will be centered on the GulfCoast region, restoring coastal areas and moving forward on a GulfCoast hurricane protection project, projects that the White House say would cost more than the bill outlines. The legislation includes an amendment added to expedite Category 5 hurricane protection projects and to close the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO), which critics say was responsible for the storm surge that overwhelmed New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

A Chinese trade delegation last week signed contracts in Des Moines, Iowa to buy 2.2 million tonnes of soybeans at a value of around $700 million. Combined with the contracts signed in Chicago earlier last week for 5.7 million tonnes, the total purchases of the Chinese delegation now stands at nearly 8 million tonnes of soybeans worth $2.7 billion. The volume is nearly three times as much as last year when $1 billion worth of soybeans were purchased by a similar delegation from China.

Wang Chao, the Chinese assistant minister of commerce, said his country is now the world’s largest importer of soybeans and that the U.S. is its top supplier. Wang also predicted that as his own country increases imports, total trade between the U.S. and China will be balanced by 2010.

In related news, China expects soybean imports will likely continue stable growth for the next couple of years as the economy expands steadily and more existing capacity for crushing is utilized. Cui Xiaoli, a researcher of market economy under the State Council’s DevelopmentResearchCenter commented recently that China will struggle to increase domestic soybean output, while population growth and increased wealth will boost demand for animal feed like soymeal and vegetable oils such as soy oil. “The imports of soybean will further increase, likely at an annual growth rate of 7 percent, as the demand for animal feed is strong,” said Xiaoli.

Li Ke, an analyst at China National Grain and OilsInformationCenter, said last month that he expects China to import 31 million tonnes of soybeans this year, up 9.2 percent from a year earlier. Imports are likely to reach 35 million tonnes in 2007-08, a further increase of 12.9 percent, he said.

The soy complex was fairly stable on May 17 despite fund buying continuing at a moderate pace as open interest climbed further. Soybean prices were basically unchanged from the previous day despite declines in corn and wheat. Soyoil recovered somewhat as a sharp increase in petroleum prices provided some room for soybean oil prices to trade slightly higher. July bean futures closed unchanged finishing at $291.28; August was unchanged, closing at $293.76; and September was unchanged ending at $296.52. July meal was down $0.55 closing at $234.46; August was $0.55 lower, finishing at $237.77; and September lost $0.22 to close at $239.75. July oil closed $5.73 higher to finish at $771.39; August was up $5.51, closing at $776.46; and September gained $5.51, ending at $781.75.

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