Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This rule establishes Agency Specific Procedures (ASPs) for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to implement the Principles, Requirements, and Guidelines (PR&G) for Federal water resources investments. It provides a framework to govern how the Corps would evaluate proposed water resources investments, subject to the PR&G. The rule incorporates recommendations from interested parties. The Army is issuing this rule in response to congressional direction in the Water Resources Development Act of 2020.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is issuing this notice to advise Federal, State, and local governmental agencies, and the public that USACE is withdrawing the notice of intent (NOI) for the preparation of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Modification of the Bayou Lafourche and Lafourche-Jump Waterway, Louisiana, Navigation Channel Project in Lafourche Parish, which was published in the Federal Register on November 23, 2016. The Nonfederal Sponsor, the Greater Lafourche Port Commission, drafted an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Feasibility Report, which was submitted to the ASA-CW. In 2020, their EIS had an addendum to adjust the controlling depth of the Bayou Lafourche Waterway Federal navigation channel at Port Fourchon, Louisiana, to an engineering, economic and environmentally feasible depth and extend the main access channel to the natural contour of the Gulf of Mexico at the optimum depth. Since then, there has been a reduction of scope which involves less impacts than was anticipated at the time of the NOI, resulting in moving to an Environmental Assessment.

Pursuant to the Executive order, "Revitalizing our Nation's Commitment to Environmental Justice for All", the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is preparing its Environmental Justice Strategic Plan for the Civil Works programs. As part of that effort, the Corps is soliciting feedback on its Draft Environmental Justice Strategic Plan vision, goals, and objectives. The Corps is also soliciting input on priority actions and performance metrics that will be evaluated to advance the Draft Environmental Justice Strategic Plan vision, goals, and objectives. The Environmental Justice Strategic Plan will be a living document that is periodically updated, and comments will be therefore accepted any time at the email address listed below.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is issuing this notice to advise Federal, State, and local governmental agencies and the public that USACE is withdrawing the notice of intent for the preparation of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Amite River and Tributaries-East of the Mississippi River, Louisiana, Flood Risk Management Feasibility Study, which was published in the Federal Register on April 2, 2019. Since publication of the NOI, the USACE released a Draft Integrated Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement (DIFR/EIS) associated with this study on November 26, 2019 for concurrent public, technical, legal, and policy review. The USACE, after further evaluation of potential impacts, determined the revised (and current) TSP is not likely to result in significant impacts requiring the preparation of an EIS. The USACE therefore prepared the Supplemental Second Draft Integrated Feasibility Report with Environmental Assessment #600 (SSDIFR/EA) that was made available for a 45-day public review starting on December 15, 2023.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have made available for public review and comment the draft National Levee Safety Guidelines (Guidelines). The draft Guidelines are intended to serve as a national resource of best practices to help achieve nationwide consistency in improving the reliability of levees and resilience of communities behind levees throughout the United States. The draft Guidelines have been developed with stakeholder input as part of the National Levee Safety Program.

The Department of the Army is publishing this notice to announce the following Federal advisory committee meeting of the Board on Coastal Engineering Research (BCER). This meeting is open to the public.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) intends to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to evaluate further dredging of suitable beach nourishment sediment associated with the construction of the San Clemente Shoreline Protection Project, a coastal storm risk management project, and include an additional borrow area(s) to obtain beach compatible sediment for future renourishments. This SEIS will supplement the San Clemente Shoreline Protection Project Final Feasibility Report and Joint Final Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report dated February 2012 (FR/EIS/EIR), San Clemente Shoreline Protection Project Supplemental Environmental Assessments (SEA) prepared in 2023, and San Clemente Shoreline Protection Project Revised SEA prepared in 2024. The SEIS will not reformulate the broad array of alternatives previously examined in the FR/EIS/EIR and SEAs but will consider reasonable alternatives received during the scoping process. Mitigation will be considered as required for any additional impacts addressed in the SEIS.

USACE announces final agency action on the USACE authorization for the proposed construction and maintenance of the Sunrise Wind project offshore of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York. USACE has issued a permit authorizing the construction and maintenance of the Sunrise Wind project under section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (RHA), section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), and section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. The Sunrise Wind project is a "covered project" under title 41 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act.

The North Carolina State Ports Authority (NCSPA) prepared a feasibility study pursuant to section 203 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986, as amended, and in [February 2020] submitted that study to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works (ASA(CW)) for review for the purpose of determining whether the study, and the process under which the study was developed, comply with Federal laws and regulations applicable to feasibility studies of water resources development project. This notice advises the public that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), at the direction of the ASA(CW), intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to address conditions for implementation of section 203 studies authorized for construction pursuant to section 403 of Water Resources Development Act of 2020. The ASA(CW)'s review of the NCSPA's study identified that National Environmental Policy Act and environmental compliance activities must be completed prior to implementation of the project. The NCSPA described the purpose of the project to be evaluated in the EIS as deepening and widening of the Wilmington Harbor Navigation Project. The USACE, as the lead federal agency, has determined the proposed action may significantly affect the quality of the human environment and seeks comments regarding the identification of potential alternatives, information, and analyses relevant to the report to improve navigation, beneficial use of dredge material, and to assess the potential social, economic, and environmental impacts of the proposed action.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is issuing this final rule to adjust its civil monetary penalties (CMP) under the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1922 (RHA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), and the National Fishing Enhancement Act (NFEA) to account for inflation.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District, Planning Division is notifying interested parties that it has withdrawn the Notice of Intent (NOI) to develop a Joint Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report for the Dredged Material Management Plan Feasibility Study. The original NOI to prepare a Joint EIS/EIR was published in the Federal Register on February 13, 2003. The proposed Dredged Material Management Plan Feasibility Study was converted into a Dredged Material Management Framework on August 24, 2009. A Final EIS/EIR was never completed.

USACE announces final agency action on the USACE authorization for the proposed construction and maintenance of the Ocean Wind 1 Offshore Wind Farm Project (the Ocean Wind 1 Project). USACE has issued a permit authorizing the construction and maintenance of the Ocean Wind 1 Project under section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (RHA) and section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The Ocean Wind 1 Project is a "covered project" under title 41 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act.

USACE announces final agency action on the USACE authorization for the proposed construction and maintenance of the Empire Wind 1 project offshore New York. USACE has issued a permit authorizing the construction and maintenance of the Empire Wind 1 project under section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (RHA), section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), and section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. The Empire Wind 1 project is a "covered project" under title 41 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District (Corps) is withdrawing its notice of intent (NOI) to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Arboretum Project in Sacramento County, California.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Buffalo District, has received an application for a Department of the Army (DA) permit (USACE number LRB-2000-02198) from Micron New York Semiconductor Manufacturing LLC (Micron), a wholly owned subsidiary of Micron Technology, Inc., to construct a semiconductor manufacturing facility for leading-edge manufacturing of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips. The USACE, as the lead federal agency under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), has determined the proposed project may significantly affect the quality of the human environment and will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS). The USACE action will be to issue, issue with modifications, or deny a DA permit for the proposed project. The EIS will assess the potential social, economic, and environmental impacts of the proposed project.

The Department of the Army is publishing this notice to announce the following Federal advisory committee meeting of the Board on Coastal Engineering Research (BCER). This meeting is open to the public.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), as part of an interagency effort with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), is announcing the availability of the final 2022 National Wetland Plant List (NWPL). The NWPL provides plant species wetland indicator status ratings, which are used in determining whether the hydrophytic vegetation factor is met when conducting wetland delineations under the Clean Water Act and wetland determinations under the Wetland Conservation Provisions of the Food Security Act. Other applications of the NWPL include wetland restoration, establishment, and enhancement projects.