CORPS WEIGHS BOOSTING 'ENVIRONMENT' ROLE IN WATER RESOURCE STUDIES

摘要

Draft revisions to a 1983 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers guidance on principles to consider in planning water resources projects place environmental quality considerations on equal footing with national economic development - a departure from the existing, Reagan-era policy, which focuses almost exclusively on economic considerations - according to an interagency copy of the revisions obtained by Inside EPA. The proposed revisions respond to language in section 2031 of the 2007 Water Resources & Development Act (WRDA) that requires the Corps within two years to revise and update its "Economic and Environmental Principles and Guidelines for Water and Related Land Resources Implementation Studies" document. WRDA specifies that it is the policy of the United States that all water resources projects should reflect national priorities, encourage economic development and protect the environment, including "protecting and restoring the functions of natural systems and mitigating any unavoidable damage to natural systems."