[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 24 (Monday, February 5, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5075-5076]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-02207]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
Policy and Procedural Guidance for Processing Requests To Alter
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Projects Pursuant to Section
408
AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is proposing to issue
an Engineer Circular (EC), which is an agency policy document that will
provide the policies and procedures related to how USACE will process
certain requests by others to alter a USACE civil works project
pursuant to Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, as
amended (more commonly referred to as Section 408). This notice
announces the availability of the draft EC for comment. The comment
period on the draft document starts with the publication of this notice
in the Federal Register and will last for 30 days. The draft EC is
available for review on the USACE Section 408 website (http://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Section408/) and at http://www.regulations.gov reference docket number COE-2018-0003.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before March 7, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number COE-
2018-0003 by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Email: [email protected] and include the docket number
COE-2018-0003 or ``EC 1165-2-220 Comments'' in the subject line of the
message.
Mail: Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: CECW-CE/
3E62, 441 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20314-1000.
Hand Delivery/Courier: Due to security requirements, we cannot
receive comments by hand delivery or courier.
Instructions: If submitting comments through the Federal
eRulemaking Portal, direct your comments to docket number COE-2018-
0003. All comments received will be included in the public docket
without change and may be made available on-line at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless the commenter indicates that the comment includes information
claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit
information that you consider to be CBI, or otherwise protected,
through regulations.gov or email. The regulations.gov website is an
anonymous access system, which means we will not know your identity or
contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment.
If you send an email directly to USACE without going through
regulations.gov, your email address will be automatically captured and
included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and
made available on the internet. If you submit an electronic comment, we
recommend that you include your name and other contact information in
the body of your comment. If we cannot read your comment because of
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, we may
not be able to consider your comment. Electronic comments should avoid
the use of any special characters, any form of encryption, and be free
of any defects or viruses.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to www.regulations.gov. All documents in the
docket are listed. Although listed in the index, some information is
not publicly available, such as CBI or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as
copyrighted material, is not placed on the internet and will be
publicly available only in hard copy form.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Tammy Conforti at 202-761-4649,
email [email protected], or visit http://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Section408/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of
1899, as amended, and codified in 33 U.S.C. 408 (Section 408) provides
that the Secretary of the Army may, upon the recommendation of the
Chief of Engineers, grant permission to other entities for the
permanent or temporary alteration or use of any USACE Civil Works
project. This requires a determination by the Secretary that the
requested alteration will not be injurious to the public interest and
will not impair the usefulness of the USACE project.
USACE is proposing to issue Engineer Circular (EC) 1165-2-220,
Policy and Procedural Guidance for Processing Requests to Alter U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Projects Pursuant to 33 U.S.C. 408,
to update processes related to how USACE will review certain requests
by others to alter a USACE civil works project. For example, other
entities may want to alter a Civil Works project to increase
recreational opportunities; improve flood risk management; or construct
a road, transmission line, or pipeline across a Civil Works project.
The purpose of the Section 408 review is to ensure that the
Congressionally-authorized purpose and benefits of a Civil Works
project are protected and maintained (e.g., flood risk management,
navigation, coastal storm damage reduction) and to ensure what is being
proposed is not injurious to the public interest. An effective and
efficient review of proposed alterations to Civil Works projects
protects tax payer investments in water resources infrastructure, while
ensuring compatibility with new infrastructure, improvements, and other
public or private interests.
The first comprehensive policy and procedures for evaluation of
alterations under Section 408 was issued as EC 1165-2-216 on July 31,
2014. Based on lessons learned from implementing EC 1165-2-216, USACE
began the process to revise and update its Section 408 process to
clarify applicability, roles and responsibilities, and the basic
requirements. From November 2016 through January 2018, USACE issued
multiple interim guidance to improve the efficiency and effectiveness
of the Section 408 review process while continuing to work on a full
policy revision.
USACE has now completed a draft of a new policy document (EC 1165-
2-220) to replace EC 1165-2-216. EC 1165-2-220 would expire two years
from issuance, which will provide USACE time consider implementation
experience to identify any necessary clarifications or changes. After
two years, EC 1165-2-220 will either be revised, rescinded, or
converted to an Engineer Regulation, which does not expire.
EC 1165-2-220 is intended to consolidate the interim guidance
issued since 2016 and update procedures to facilitate a scalable
approach to reviewing Section 408 requests in a timely manner while
maintaining a national consistent approach to
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decision-making. EC 1165-2-220 includes proposed revisions that clarify
the geographical limits for when the procedures set forth in the EC for
processing a Section 408 permission apply; eliminates duplication of
effort when the intent of Section 408 can be satisfied by another
existing USACE review process; addresses emergency alterations; and,
provides additional detail on categorical permissions and an option for
conducting a multi-phased review. The EC also provides greater clarity
on requirements for environmental compliance; implements timelines for
USACE reviews and notifications; and, provides additional delegation of
decision-making authority.
EC 1165-2-220 has also been developed in accordance with
requirements in Section 1007 of the Water Resources Reform and
Development Act (WRRDA) of 2014 (Pub. L. 113-121) and Section 1156 of
the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2016 (Title I of Pub. L.
114-322). USACE now invites all interested parties to review and
provide comment on the draft of EC 1165-2-220 prior to final
publication.
Following the comment period, USACE will consider all comments
received, make revisions as needed, and publish the final EC 1165-2-220
as soon as possible. When the final EC is published, a notice will be
placed in the Federal Register. The final EC will be available on USACE
publications website (http://www.publications.usace.army.mil/).
Dated: January 31, 2018.
James C. Dalton,
Director of Civil Works.
[FR Doc. 2018-02207 Filed 2-2-18; 8:45 am]
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