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Section 2031 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (Pub. L. 110-114) called for revisions to the 1983 Principles and Guidelines for Water and Land Related Resources Implementation Studies, resulting in the issuance of the Principles and Requirements (P&R) guidance document in March 2013 and the Interagency Guidelines in December 2014, which together comprise the Principles, Requirements, and Guidelines (PR&G). The PR&G are intended to provide a common framework and policy guidance for analyzing a diverse range of water resources projects, programs, activities, and related actions involving Federal investment in water resources.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) plans to propose a regulation to show how it would apply the PR&G to the Corps’ civil works program and authorities.  In this proposed regulation, the Corps intends to increase consistency and compatibility in its Federal water resources investment decision making to include considerations such as analyzing a broader range of long-term costs and benefits, enhancing collaboration, including a more thorough and transparent risk and uncertainty analyses, and improving resilience for dealing with emerging challenges, including climate change.

The Department of the Army completed an outreach strategy and engagement effort through publication of a Federal Register notice in June 2022 on the PR&G.  This engagement effort included an open docket for submission of comments, a series of virtual meetings with the public, and a series of virtual meetings with Tribes to solicit early input prior to embarking on a rulemaking action on agency specific procedures outlining how the Corps can best meet the policy goals of PR&G.  The Corps will consider the input received during these engagements to inform the development of the proposed rule.

Statement of Need:

The Corps is developing implementing procedures for the Principles, Requirements, and Guidelines (PR&G) under section 110 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2020.

Summary of the Legal Basis:

Section 110 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 provided for the Secretary of the Army to issue agency specific guidelines to implement the PR&G.  Also see section 2031 of Pub. L. 110-114.

Alternatives:

The Corps could implement PR&G with guidance rather than through rulemaking; however, such procedures would not be binding. As an alternative, the Corps could seek to rely solely on the PR&G documents to implement PR&G in lieu of developing its own procedures. This could result in confusion and a lack of consistency for the Corps as to how and when it would apply the PR&G in the Civil Works program.  The Corps decided to conduct this rulemaking to ensure the PR&G implementing procedures are clear for the Corps and the public as well as binding. 

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

As this rulemaking is developing procedures for the Corps to implement to ensure compliance with the PR&G, there may be some administrative costs incurred to the Corps for implementation-related training. There also would be benefits that accrue to the public in some cases in the form of improved outcomes in Corps decisions related to proposed and ongoing water resource development projects. 

Risks:

The proposed action is not anticipated to increase risk to public health, safety, or the environment, but could potentially help to reduce such risks qin some cases.