EP 1165-2-1
30 Jul 99
5-4. Planning Assistance to States. Section 22 of Public Law 93-251
authorized cooperation with states in the preparation of comprehensive
plans for the development, utilization and conservation of the water
and related resources of drainage basins located within the boundaries
of the state. Expenditures in any one state cannot exceed 0,000 in
any one year, as amended by Section 221 of WRDA 1996. Federal input
to the state planning program is on an effort or service basis in
lieu of an outright grant. Section 214 of Public Law 89-298 and
Section 204 of Public Law 91-611 provide separate authority to
undertake studies in New York and Puerto Rico; however, funding for
planning assistance to New York and Puerto Rico shall ordinarily be
funded under Section 22. Section 605 of Public Law 96-597 defines the
Virgin Islands and the territories in the Pacific as "states" for the
purpose of eligibility under Section 22 of Public Law 93-251. Section
319 of WRDA 1990 authorizes the Corps to establish, collect, and
expend appropriate fees from states and other non-Federal public
bodies to recover approximately 50 percent of the total cost of
providing assistance under the Planning Assistance to States Program.
Section 208 of WRDA 1992 gives federally-recognized Indian Tribes the
same status as states and territories under the Planning Assistance to
States Program.
5-5. Corps Planning Guidance. Detailed planning guidance essential
for the conduct of Corps planning studies is contained in ER 1105-2-
100 which incorporates the Water Resources Council's (WRC) Principles
and Guidelines (P&G) in its entirety.
5-6. The Planning Process. The WRC's P&G state that "the Federal
objective of water and related land resources project planning is to
contribute to national economic development consistent with protecting
the Nation's environment, pursuant to national environmental statutes,
applicable executive orders, and other Federal planning requirements."
Accordingly, this is the primary objective of the Federal water
resources planning process. Ecosystem restoration is a Federal
planning requirement and a Corps priority mission. In water and
related resources planning which involves restoration of ecosystems,
contributions are to National Ecosystem Restoration (NER). As
required by the P&G, and with the advent of non-Federal study cost
sharing, state and local water resource objectives are also
incorporated into the planning process. The planning process consists
of a series of steps that identify and respond to the problems and
opportunities associated with the Federal objective and specific state
and local concerns and culminates in the selection of a recommended
plan.
a. Major Planning Steps.
The planning process consists of the
following six major steps:
(1) Specify Problems and Opportunities. The problems and
opportunities statements should be framed in terms of the Federal
objective and specific state and local concerns. The statements
should be constructed to encourage a wide range of alternative
solutions with identifiable levels of achievement. Statements should
encompass current as well as future conditions and the planner should
be cognizant that initial expressions of problems and opportunities
may need to be modified during the study.
(2) Inventory and Forecast of Conditions Without a Plan. The
inventory and forecast step quantifies and qualifies the planning area
resources important to the identified water resources problems and
opportunities, now and in the future in the absence of a plan. This
5-3
Previous Page
