River Basins and Coastal Systems Planning Within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2004) / Chapter Skim
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3 The Role of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Environmental Restoration and Stewardship
3 The Role of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Environmental Restoration and Stewardship
Pages 63-80
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From page 63... ...
Cumulative impacts of existing and planned projects must be considered, and effective methods for evaluating environmental as well as economic objectives must be implemented. This chapter examines the Corps' obligations in environmental stewardship in its role as a water project agency, as well as an environmental regulator.
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From page 64... ...
1990-1991 included roughly $1 billion for environmental restoration projects, which ranged from hazardous waste cleanups at military bases to the creation of wetlands. The FY 1990-1991 budget also included funds to modify several existing Corps projects for the purposes of ecosystem restoration, such as restoring wildlife areas along the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and rebuilding fish habitat along the Columbia River.
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From page 65... ...
Consequently, it is critical that the Corps allocate sufficient funds to monitor the efficacy of restoration efforts and generate information that will ultimately improve the success of restoration projects (this point is discussed in the newly released [NRC, 2004a] report Adaptive Management for Water Resources Project Planning)
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From page 66... ...
Adaptive Management for Water Resources Project Planning specifically called on Congress to provide new authority and direction to strengthen the Corps' ability to adjust operations of existing projects (in order to increase overall project benefits) and increase its ability to monitor post-construction changes.
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From page 67... ...
Alternatively, an incremental increase in habitat alteration that affects a particular species' population or the overall ecosystem function may be small, yet the cumulative impacts can be great. A piecemeal approach to environmental management without strong focus on cumulative effects is likely to result in a gradual erosion of habitat quality and quantity.
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From page 68... ...
The 2003 plan for oyster restoration in the Virginia portion of Chesapeake Bay exemplifies the value of many of the recommendations of this panel, which are also embodied in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Environmental Operating Principles.
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From page 69... ...
Finally, project planning included spatial scales far larger than the size of individual restoration projects and considered the inter connectedness of the aquatic environment. Planning has been on a state-wide basis and includes the entire Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, and 30 monitoring sites throughout the region.
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From page 70... ...
Several restoration fields have developed somewhat independently of ecological engineering, and many appear to have the design of ecosystems as their theme as well. A definition of ecological restoration, which resulted from a National Academy of Sciences study in the early 1990s on aquatic ecosystem restoration, is "the return of an ecosystem to a close approximation of its condition prior to disturbance" (NRC, 1992, p.
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From page 71... ...
However, building complex water resource projects, significantly changing land uses, and extensively modifying geochemical or hydrologic cycles (through use of pesticides or fertilizers or water diversion) are not as easily accounted for by Corps project planners, especially given that the Corps is not involved in the majority of these activities.
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From page 72... ...
. The CWA broadened the Corps' authority over dredging and filling in "waters of the United States." Section 404 of the CWA of 1972 prohibits the discharge of materials, such as dredged sediments, into coastal and inland waters of the United States unless authorized by a permit issued by the Corps of Engineers or a state with a regulatory program approved by the U.S.
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From page 73... ...
and if the regional permit reduces duplication of regulatory control by state and federal agencies. Individual permits, the most common form of permit issued by the Corps, are issued on a case-by-case basis for projects involving the discharge of materials into waters of the United States when a review of the proposed activity is in the public interest, as it is defined in the Corps' regulatory program regulations that govern administration of the Section 404 permitting program of the CWA.
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From page 74... ...
THE U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS ROLE IN ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP The Corps controls or strongly influences an enormous range of activities that alter ecological systems, watersheds, and riverine and coastal
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From page 75... ...
Because of the Corps' activities, expertise, authorities, and infrastructure, its staff is in a unique position to enhance environmental quality and should seek opportunities for environmental stewardship as a part of all projects and permitting activities -- not only when it is requested to do so by state and local partners. This emphasis on environmental stewardship should not be limited to restoration projects, but instead should be a major consideration in planning, design, and decision making for all Corps activities.
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From page 76... ...
General Robert Flowers marked an important step in increasing the role of environmental stewardship in Corps activities. The challenge that the Corps must now address is the thorough integration of these principles into its operating and evaluation procedures, and the development of mechanisms to foster a strong, uniform emphasis on environmental stewardship throughout the agency.
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From page 77... ...
repairing past environmental degradation and preventing future environmental losses-and the Corps' associated objectives and initiatives offer the potential to position it as a key player in the protection and restoration of our nation's environment. The environmental stewardship record of the Corps is mixed and includes both successes and failures.
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From page 78... ...
7. Respect the views of individuals and groups interested in Corps activities, listen to them actively, and learn from their perspective in the search to find innovative win-win solutions to the nation's problems that also protect and enhance the environment.
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From page 79... ...
Chapter 5 considers various barriers and possible remedies to more fully and consistently implementing an integrated approach to water resources management -- one that incorporates environmental stewardship. SUMMARY The extended time period from the request by a sponsor to project execution and post-project evaluation, combined with the rapidly changing importance of environmental restoration and stewardship in the Corps' agenda, make it difficult to separate historical problems from current procedures.
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From page 80... ...
Chapter 4 examines the basis and methods of Corps integrated water project planning within the river basin and coastal system context.
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