{
  "id": "R43209",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R43209",
  "active": true,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 424117,
      "date": "2013-09-05",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-06T20:58:48.686586",
      "title": "Environmental Requirements Addressed During Corps Civil Works Project Planning: Background and Issues for Congress",
      "summary": "Under its civil works mission, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) undertakes water resource projects. The majority of Corps civil works projects involve commercial navigation, flood risk management, and ecosystem restoration.\nBefore Congress will authorize the construction of or appropriate funds for most Corps civil works projects, the agency must prepare various studies, reports, and evaluations of project benefits and detriments, including adverse environmental impacts. Those impacts, in turn, may obligate the Corps to demonstrate compliance with certain environmental requirements.\nEnvironmental Requirements Addressed During Planning\nSome interested stakeholders have questioned the degree to which environmental requirements hamper project delivery, and debate what changes could be made to accelerate delivery. In particular, some have questioned whether compliance with federal environmental laws and regulations delays the completion of reports that Congress uses to inform legislation authorizing project construction such as Water Resources Development Acts (WRDAs).\nThe planning process is used to develop a recommended water resource project that Congress may authorize. Among other requirements, planning must include an evaluation of project impacts on the environment and applicable federal requirements that arise from those impacts. Depending on the project, a wide array of environmental requirements may apply. There are two types of environmental requirements that may affect a water resource project: those that obligate the Corps to evaluate certain issues during planning, and those intended to protect human health or minimize harm to a protected resource from project-specific impacts. Integrating the evaluation of environmental impacts into project planning is intended, in part, to minimize the potential for unanticipated impacts from the project and mitigate the severity of unavoidable adverse impacts.\nGenerally, the Corps identifies and considers environmental impacts, including any applicable requirements arising from federal environmental laws such as the Clean Water Act, within the framework of documenting compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Compliance with NEPA and other \u201cenvironmental\u201d laws may obligate the Corps to consult with outside agencies to determine the degree to which a protected resource (e.g., historic site, endangered species habitat, wetlands) may be affected; to develop measures to mitigate or minimize adverse impacts; and/or to identify required approvals or permits.\nFactors That Cause Delay\nThe time that it takes the Corps to move from one phase of project development to another depends on a complex array of factors. When comparing individual Corps projects to each other, larger, more complex, and costly projects generally take longer. When looking at all civil works projects, Congress\u2019s role in authorizing required studies and project construction, and in appropriating funds necessary for the required studies and construction, often significantly affects project delivery timing.\nGiven the range of environmental issues and impacts that Congress has statutorily obligated the Corps to evaluate, the body of requirements that may be deemed environmental that apply to Corps projects can represent a significant element of project development. What is unclear is whether or which specific environmental requirements routinely delay project delivery, in general, or completion of necessary reports to Congress, in particular.\nScope of This Report\nThis report provides information about the civil works project development process, with a focus on the planning phase of development and challenges associated with determining the extent to which project delivery is affected by environmental requirements. To provide some context, the report identifies selected issues that have arisen in the past 50 years that resulted in Congress enacting various environmental requirements that affect the Corps\u2019 project planning process and that are intended to minimize adverse impacts of Corps projects. It also provides an overview of key federal requirements that generally must be addressed before the Corps\u2019 Chief of Engineers will issue a report (i.e., a Chief\u2019s Report). The transmission of that report to Congress by the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works is typically the final step in the planning process and is intended to inform congressional authorization of project construction.",
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      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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      "topics": []
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  "topics": [
    "Environmental Policy"
  ]
}