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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is finalizing an update to the Federal regulation that covers the procedures that the Corps uses under section 5 of the Flood Control Act of 1941, as amended (33 U.S.C. 701n), commonly referred to as Public Law 84-99. The Corps relies on this program to prepare for, respond to, and help communities recover from a flood, hurricane, or other natural disaster, including the repair of damage to eligible flood risk reduction infrastructure. The Corps initiated this rulemaking process through an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) on February 13, 2015. The Corps published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on November 15, 2022.  The NPRM included a summary of the comments to the ANPRM.  The NPRM proposed to repeal the existing regulation and replace it with a new regulation that addresses statutory changes under various Water Resources Development Act provisions, reflects lessons learned over the past 20 years, and incorporates agency policies now in guidance relating to natural disaster procedures.

In 2015, the Corps published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rule Making (ANPR) in the Federal Register for a 60 day public comment period on policy revision concepts being considered for 33 CFR Part 203. The Corps then published proposed revisions to 33 CFR Part 203 in the Federal Register with a public comment period from November 15, 2022 to January 17, 2023. The Corps hosted nine regional workshops in Kansas City, MO; Fort Worth, TX; Seattle, WA; Sacramento, CA; Chicago, IL; Rock Island, IL; New Orleans, LA; and Wilmington, NC; Concord, MA; and two webinars to solicit input from interested parties. The Corps also met with two Tribal Nations for direct consultation and input. The final rule will address the input received by the Corps through the comment and public engagement process.