WASHINGTON – The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works released today a proposed rule establishing Agency Specific Procedures for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ implementation of the principles, requirements and guidelines for water resources investments.
The Agency Specific Procedures provide a framework to govern how the Corps would evaluate certain proposed water resource investments. The Corps is proposing this rule in response to Section 110 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2020.
“Through these procedures, we will continue our efforts to modernize Civil Works programs by maximizing public benefits and ensuring recommended projects achieve their water management objectives and better reflect community needs and priorities,” said Michael Connor, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. “We are committed to integrating economic, environmental, and social benefits into our planning and improving the Corps’ ability to build resilience in a broad range of communities, including rural, tribal, and low-income areas.”
Through the ASPs, the Corps has laid out a decision-making framework to meet the federal objective for future water resource investments set forth in the Water Resources Development Act of 2007. WRDA 2007 set forth the federal objective for future water resource investments to reflect national priorities, encourage economic development, and protect the environment by seeking to maximize sustainable economic development, avoid the unwise use of floodplains, and protect and restore natural ecosystems.
Additional changes to the procedures to evaluate proposed investments include how nature-based solutions and nonstructural features can be better incorporated into projects.
The proposed rule has been published in the Federal Register to gather comments over a 60-day period. Webinars will also be conducted to provide an overview of the proposed rule and to gather additional input. Details on the webinars and how to provide feedback can be found here.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works establishes policy direction and provides supervision of the Department of the Army functions relating to all aspects of the Civil Works Program of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. For more information, please contact Lauren Leuck at lauren.d.leuck.civ@army.mil or (703) 839-0383.
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