River Basins and Coastal Systems Planning Within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2004) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Pages 1-12
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From page 1... ...
There is a reduced emphasis on traditional construction projects and an increased focus on maintenance and reoperation of existing projects such as locks, dams, and levees and on environmental restoration projects ranging from local streambank rehabilitation to large and complex projects intended to restore ecosystem function of entire regions. The expanding range of water projects has increased the complexity of water project evaluation while also increasing the spatial and temporal scale of the necessary analyses.
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From page 2... ...
The Corps has embraced its responsibility to plan, develop, and operate water resources projects in a way that considers both economic performance and opportunities for environmental restoration, while minimizing unwanted or negative impacts to other areas within a watershed, adjacent watersheds, and the coastal system. To accomplish this, the Corps has made significant policy changes and has adopted an integrated watershed or regional perspective and environmental stewardship as primary institutional objectives.
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From page 3... ...
Toward Improved Integrated Water Planning An ideal environment for fully integrated water project planning that addresses social, economic, and environmental objectives at all relevant spatial and temporal scales would require a substantial amount of advance investigation and planning at the scale of river basins and coastal systems.
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From page 4... ...
Although any proposed project must face a complex web of regulatory requirements, conflicting stakeholder interests, and potential legal challenges that serve to communicate some of the broader goals that have been enunciated for our nation's waterways, this process is neither thorough nor efficient. In this context, general policy statements endorsing integrated water systems planning, a watershed approach, and ecosystem restoration may provide little immediate practical assistance for a harried Corps project manager, regardless of his or her inclination to conduct such studies.
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From page 5... ...
Yet the lack of consistent federal policy guidance and coordinated authority and funding for water resources planning and management has hampered the Corps' ability to consistently plan water resources projects within a broader and integrated systems context. Water Project Planning Procedures and Analyses Fully integrated water resource planning and management requires effective guidance to determine appropriate time and space scales of evaluation and to evaluate noncommensurate objectives.
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From page 6... ...
Advances in information and decision support technology can support studies of considerable breadth within the reconnaissance study framework. In the feasibility phase, the portions of the study concerned with a broader evaluation of benefits and costs throughout river basins and coastal systems should be federally funded, while preserving the existing 50 percent cost-sharing for those portions of the project directly concerned with project development, including design, land acquisition, and construction.
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From page 7... ...
Recommendation 5-3: The scope and budget for integrated planning studies should be determined in the reconnaissance phase and explicitly defined in the project study plan and cost-sharing agreement that define the scope and financial responsibilities of the feasibility study. Approval of a feasibility study should be contingent on a judgment, informed by appropriate internal and external review, that a study plan of the salient social, economic, and environmental factors, at all relevant spatial and temporal scales, has been defined.
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As pointed out in the recent NRC report Adaptive Management for Water Resources Project Planning (NRC, 2004a) , successful implementation of adaptive management will require resources to support its various components, including monitoring and related science programs, support staff, and stakeholder participation.
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From page 9... ...
Because the complexity and potential consequences will vary from project to project, the current cost limits on post-project evaluations should be replaced with a flexible system in which the scope, tasks, standards, and costs of post project evaluations are determined on a case-by-case basis, as part of a feasibility study. The decision to move ahead with a project should be contingent on the judgment, informed by appropriate internal and external review, that the post-project evaluation plan is sufficient to document the achievement of project objectives, as well as identifying unintended consequences and undesired cumulative effects associated with the project.
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From page 10... ...
Although general policy guidance mandating watershed, regional, and ecosystem analysis is clear and publicly supported by current Corps leadership, political support for true watershed or coastal systems planning has been neither consistent nor unanimous. Changes in planning guidance and institutional procedures of the Corps can allow it to effectively and consistently perform integrated water resources planning and environmental stewardship in a river basin and coastal systems context.
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From page 11... ...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 11 need not require wholesale -- and politically controversial -- changes in the Corps' organization or in its relations with local clients and federal sponsors.
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