81 FR 91150 - Implementation of Executive Orders on Floodplain Management and Establishing a Federal Flood Risk Management Standard and a Process for Further Soliciting and Considering Stakeholder Input

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 242 (December 16, 2016)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has developed draft internal agency implementation guidance for the Executive Order on Floodplain Management to incorporate the new requirements of the Executive Order on Establishing a Federal Flood Risk Management Standard and a Process for Further Soliciting and Considering Stakeholder Input. USACE is seeking feedback from partners, other government and non-government stakeholders, Tribes, and members of the general public on the proposed draft guidance that has been developed.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 242 (Friday, December 16, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 91150-91151]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30240]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Implementation of Executive Orders on Floodplain Management and 
Establishing a Federal Flood Risk Management Standard and a Process for 
Further Soliciting and Considering Stakeholder Input

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has developed draft 
internal agency implementation guidance for the Executive Order on 
Floodplain Management to incorporate the new requirements of the 
Executive Order on Establishing a Federal Flood Risk Management 
Standard and a Process for Further Soliciting and Considering 
Stakeholder Input. USACE is seeking feedback from partners, other 
government and non-government stakeholders, Tribes, and members of the 
general public on the proposed draft guidance that has been developed.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before January 30, 2017.

ADDRESSES: 
    Email: [email protected] and include ``Implementation 
Comments'', in the subject line of the message.
    Mail: HQ, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: EO13690/CECW-HS/3G68, 
441 G Street NW., Washington, DC 20314-1000.
    Hand Delivery/Courier: Due to security requirements, we cannot 
receive comments by hand delivery or courier.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Stephanie Bray, Headquarters, 
Office of Homeland Security, Washington, DC at 202-761-4827.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Executive Order 11988, Floodplain 
Management, was issued in 1977 and directed agencies to avoid to the 
extent possible the long and short-term adverse impacts associated with 
the occupancy and modification of floodplains and to avoid direct and 
indirect support of floodplain development wherever there is a 
practicable alternative. EO 11988 applied to Federal agencies carrying 
out its responsibilities for:
     Acquiring, managing, and disposing of federal lands and 
facilities;
     Providing federally-undertaken, financed, or assisted 
construction and improvements;
     Conducting federal activities and programs affecting land 
use, including but not limited to water and related land resources 
planning, regulation, and licensing activities.
    It required agencies performing federal actions in the base 
floodplain (floodplain associated with the 1 percent annual chance 
(also known as 1 percent annual exceedance probability) flood) to do 
the following:
    1. Determine if a proposed action is in the base floodplain (that 
area which has a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given 
year).
    2. Conduct early public review, including public notice.

[[Page 91151]]

    3. Identify and evaluate practicable alternatives to locating in 
the base floodplain, including alternative sites outside of the 
floodplain.
    4. Identify impacts of the proposed action.
    5. If impacts cannot be avoided, develop measures to minimize the 
impacts and restore and preserve the floodplain, as appropriate.
    6. Reevaluate alternatives.
    7. Present the findings and a public explanation.
    8. Implement the action.
    Following issuance of EO 11988 and the corresponding interagency 
Implementing Guidelines, USACE developed Engineering Regulation (ER) 
1165-2-26 for interpreting and implementing the requirements of EO 
11988. The regulation applies to all field operating activities having 
Civil Works responsibilities, with the exception of the Regulatory 
Program which implements EO 11988 through its regulations. Section 14 
of ER 1165-2-26 explains how EO 11988 applies to specific Civil Works 
programs.
    On January 30, 2015, the White House issued Executive Order 13690--
Establishing a Federal Flood Risk Management Standard and a Process for 
Further Soliciting and Considering Public Input. EO 13690 and the 
Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS), implemented through 
guidelines established by the Water Resources Council (``Implementing 
Guidelines''), updated EO 11988 to include the following:
     Requires the use of an expanded floodplain for some 
actions that are federal investments.
     Requires that the elevation and horizontal extent of the 
expanded floodplain be determined using one of three approaches: The 
climate-informed science approach, the freeboard value approach, and 
the 500-year flood elevation approach.
     Requires agencies to use natural and nature based 
approaches, where possible.
     Establishes higher standards for critical actions.
    USACE established a Product Development Team (PDT) to investigate 
what impacts EO 13690 and the FFRMS would have on its policies and 
programs and, in particular, to develop revised implementation guidance 
for EO 11988, as amended. A draft Engineer Circular (EC) that will 
ultimately rescind ER 1165-2-26 has been developed to provide 
overarching guidance for the implementation of EO 11988, as amended. 
The EC will expire two years from issuance, which will provide USACE 
time to evaluate the guidance provided, consider initial implementation 
experience to identify any necessary clarifications or changes, and 
incorporate any changes introduced by the reassessment of the FFRMS 
required by EO 13690. After two years, the EC will either be revised 
and reissued or converted to an ER, which does not expire and is more 
permanent agency guidance.
    The draft EC is intended to provide overarching guidance to all 
USACE Civil Works mission areas. As such, it does not provide extensive 
detail about how the requirements will be implemented within specific 
program areas or activities; instead it establishes intended 
implementation principles that will be clarified in greater detail in 
individual program specific guidance documents, to be developed or 
revised at a later date. Generally, the new requirements will be 
incorporated into specific guidance documents as they are updated 
through the agency's regular process and schedule, unless a new 
guidance document needs to be prepared to address some aspect of 
implementation of the requirements. USACE now invites review and 
comment from our partners and stakeholders on the proposed 
implementation guidance contained within the draft EC.

Instructions for Providing Comments Online

    USACE is requesting assistance in the form of data, comments, 
literature references, or field experiences, to help clarify the policy 
requirements for implementing EO 11988 and EO 13690 for agency 
activities. The draft EC is available for review on the USACE EO 13690 
Implementation Web site (http://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/Missions/FloodRiskManagement/FloodRiskManagementProgram/AbouttheProgram/PolicyandGuidance/FederalFloodRiskManagementStandard.aspx). An 
Executive Summary of the draft EC is also available on the Web site to 
provide a high-level overview of the document and summary of the more 
substantial changes since the original 1984 ER. Additionally, a list of 
topics and issues for which feedback would be especially helpful is 
posted for reviewer's consideration. While USACE welcomes any and all 
feedback on the draft EC, feedback responding to the list of identified 
topics and issues will be particularly helpful to USACE in clarifying 
areas requiring new policy or practice. The most useful comments are 
from specific experiences and case examples. Commenters should use 
their knowledge of working with USACE on various types of federal 
actions as well as their understanding of EO 11988 and EO 13690. When 
comments are being made on specific sections of the document, USACE 
requests that commenters identify the relevant page and line numbers to 
which the comment applies.
    All comments, literature citations, experiential references, data, 
other relevant reports, and input in response to the guiding topics and 
issues are being accepted through email, or through the postal service. 
All comments submitted by the date identified above will be compiled 
and sent to the PDT for their consideration.

Future Actions

    Feedback and comments provided in response to this notice will be 
considered and the draft EC will be updated as appropriate. When the 
final EC is published, a notice will be placed in the Federal Register 
and on the USACE EO 13690 Implementation Web site, and the document 
itself will be made available through the USACE publications Web site 
(http://www.publications.usace.army.mil/).

    Dated: December 12, 2016.
Karen Durham-Aguilera,
Director of Contingency, Operations and Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2016-30240 Filed 12-15-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3720-58-P