Water Resources Projects: Army Corps of Engineers Can Further Enhance Acceleration of Feasibility Studies
Released: 2019-07-29T00:00:00

Letter

Background

The Corps is one of the world’s largest public engineering, design, and construction management agencies. Located within the Department of Defense, the Corps has both military and civilian responsibilities. Through the civilian Civil Works Program, the Corps plans, constructs, operates, and maintains a wide range of water resources development projects such as navigation and flood risk projects. The Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, appointed by the President, sets the strategic direction for the program and has principal responsibility for the overall supervision of functions relating to the Army’s Civil Works Program. The Chief of Engineers, a military officer, is responsible for execution of the civil works and military missions. At the Corps level, the Civil Works Program is organized into three tiers: headquarters in Washington, D.C.; eight regional divisions; and 38 local district offices (see fig. 1).

Corps headquarters primarily develops policies and guidance to implement the agency’s responsibilities and plans the direction of the organization. The divisions, which were established generally according to watershed boundaries, primarily coordinate the districts’ civil works and military projects and are commanded by military officers. The districts, also commanded by military officers, are to, among other things, plan and implement feasibility studies and the resulting water resources development projects that are approved by the divisions and headquarters.

Major Steps in Corps Water Resources Development Projects

There are several steps in conducting a Corps water resources development project. When a local community perceives a need or experiences a water resources problem that is beyond its ability to solve, it typically contacts the Corps for assistance. These communities and Congress, as well as other entities, play key roles in the process. Figure 2 illustrates the major steps in conducting a Corps water resources development project.

Corps Feasibility Studies

As identified above, one of the major steps in initiating a water resources development project is conducting a feasibility study. Feasibility studies further investigate a water resources problem and make recommendations on whether a project is in the federal interest, and if so, how the problem should be addressed. Generally, the cost of a feasibility study is shared between the Corps and a nonfederal sponsor, such as a local port authority or a state agency.

In 2012, the Corps began using a new approach to conducting feasibility studies, referred to as SMART Planning. As part of this approach, Corps officials are to use and document a risk-informed approach to decision- making. Specifically, Corps officials are to consider risks at each point in the feasibility study process and balance the probability and consequences associated with those risks with the time and costs needed to avoid or mitigate risks through, for example, collecting additional data or conducting additional analysis. By doing so, they are to conduct only the additional analysis needed to make a decision at that point in the process. At each step, Corps officials are to use an approach that balances the level of detail, data collection, research, and associated risks with what is necessary to deliver the feasibility study, and they are to justify any additional work as the best course forward.

The Corps’ feasibility study process consists of four phases (scoping, alternative evaluation and analysis, feasibility-level analysis, and Chief’s report) and a number of key milestones, such as identifying project alternatives for further review (see fig. 3). The complete feasibility study process is to take place within the statutory target time frame of less than 3 years (36 months). The Corps uses SMART Planning to help feasibility studies meet the agency’s 3x3x3 rule. Corps policy allows the Corps to spend more money and take more time on an unusually complex feasibility study if the district leading the study requests and receives an exemption from headquarters or the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. However, Corps policy indicates that such exemptions are not routine and are to be granted only after careful consideration and review by division and headquarters officials. In addition, WRRDA 2014, as amended, provides that the Secretary of the Army may make an exception by extending the timeline of a study if the Secretary determines that the study is too complex to comply with the 3x3x3 rule. The Secretary is not to extend the timeline for a feasibility study for a period of more than 10 years, and any feasibility study that is not completed before that date shall no longer be authorized. The act also requires the Secretary to provide written notice to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure each time the Corps grants such an exception.

The feasibility study process includes work the Corps undertakes to satisfy requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other environmental statutes. Under NEPA, federal agencies are to evaluate the potential effects of proposed projects on the environment. When the Corps determines that a water resources development project could have significant environmental effects, it must prepare an EIS. The Corps issues a draft EIS as part of the overall draft feasibility report for public and stakeholder review and issues a final EIS when it issues its final feasibility report. Feasibility studies that require an EIS typically represent larger and more complex studies than those that do not require an EIS. According to a 2013 Congressional Research Service report, Corps feasibility studies that are larger and more complex tend to require additional funding and time when compared to less complex, smaller studies. While the Corps does not publish information on the length of time it takes to complete feasibility studies, our analysis of publicly available data showed that the median time it took the Corps to complete a feasibility study with an EIS was more than 7 years for those studies completed from 2008 through 2018.

Statutory Provisions for Accelerating Feasibility Studies

WRRDA 2014 contains provisions related to, among other things, accelerating the completion of feasibility studies for which an EIS is prepared. These provisions broadly fall into different general categories, which we grouped as follows:

Coordination and administration. These provisions are generally process oriented. Among other things, they relate to facilitating the process of coordinating and administering feasibility studies by, for example, encouraging the Corps and other agencies to coordinate early in the feasibility study process and resolve issues expeditiously.

Environmental review. These provisions relate to implementing NEPA and other environmental statutes when conducting feasibility studies. For example, the Corps is to establish a program to measure and report on progress made to improve and expedite the planning and environmental review process.

Public transparency. These provisions generally require the Corps to, among other things, make information publicly available on how it is implementing the acceleration provisions.

The Corps Has Taken Steps to Address Some Feasibility Study Acceleration Provisions but Not Others

The Corps has taken steps to address broad WRRDA 2014 provisions related to facilitating the process of coordinating and administering feasibility studies. For example: Issuance of a joint coordination guide. In September 2015, as a result of the act and previous ongoing coordination efforts, the Corps, NMFS, and FWS worked together to jointly issue a coordination guide for conducting feasibility studies. The guide discusses the feasibility study process in depth and emphasizes the importance of substantive, early engagement among the three agencies to successfully deliver projects and avoid delays later in the process that may result from lingering disagreements among the agencies.

Issuance of Corps guidance on WRRDA 2014 acceleration provisions. In March 2018, the Corps issued guidance on how officials should implement the WRRDA 2014 acceleration provisions when conducting feasibility studies. This includes guidance on implementing administrative changes such as deadlines for gathering agency or public comments. It also includes guidance on coordination within the agency as well as with other agencies and stakeholders, such as nonfederal sponsors. For example, WRRDA 2014 provides that the Corps is to make certain information available to other agencies as early as practicable in the environmental review process. The Corps’ March 2018 guidance indicates that Corps officials are to provide information on the (1) environmental and socioeconomic resources located within the physical area associated with a feasibility study, and (2) general locations of the different alternatives under consideration. While the guidance was not issued for almost 4 years after the enactment of WRRDA 2014, several Corps headquarters and district officials said the Corps disseminated information on how to implement the acceleration provisions to the districts in various ways, such as through webinars and working with teams that had initiated feasibility studies subject to the act’s acceleration provisions.

Many Corps headquarters, division, and district officials said that many of the act’s coordination and administration provisions are similar to long- standing practices they followed, based on requirements in other laws such as NEPA. For example, according to many Corps headquarters, division, and district officials, the WRRDA 2014 provision to develop a coordinated environmental review process is generally consistent with NEPA and its implementing regulations. According to a Corps headquarters official, the WRRDA 2014 coordination provisions add specificity to the Corps’ existing practices by detailing which agencies to involve in coordination efforts and when to involve them.

The Corps also has taken steps to address one of the WRRDA 2014 provisions related to public transparency. Specifically, the Corps is to annually prepare, and make publicly available, a list of feasibility studies subject to the acceleration provisions that do not have adequate funding to make substantial progress toward completion of the study. Corps headquarters and district officials said that in the past the Corps funded several hundred active feasibility studies at any given time. While this allowed for many feasibility studies to remain active and make some progress, it also made less funding available for individual feasibility studies and slowed the progress of some studies, according to several Corps officials. According to a February 2012 Corps policy memo, agency leadership initiated a process to review all active feasibility studies to determine which were the most viable for congressional funding. The Corps re-scoped or deactivated the remainder of the feasibility studies. Many Corps district and headquarters officials told us this allowed for increased funding for and progress to be made on the feasibility studies that remained active. As a result of the Corps’ efforts, headquarters officials said the number of active Corps feasibility studies decreased from 653 in 2012 to 89 at the end of 2018. In addition, they said that because active feasibility studies now have greater levels of funding, the agency has not had to report any active feasibility studies that do not have adequate funding.

However, as of May 2019, the Corps has not addressed other WRRDA 2014 provisions related to public transparency and environmental review. These include the following:

Status and progress database. By June 2015, the Corps was to establish and maintain an electronic database and, in coordination with other federal and state agencies, issue reporting requirements to make publicly available the status and progress regarding compliance with applicable requirements of NEPA and other required approval or action.

Performance measurement. The Corps is to establish a program to measure and report on progress made toward improving and expediting the planning and environmental review process.

Environmental review guidance. The Corps is to (1) prepare, in consultation with the Council on Environmental Quality and other federal agencies with jurisdiction over actions or resources that may be impacted by a project, guidance documents that describe the coordinated environmental review processes the Corps intends to use to implement reforms for planning projects, and (2) issue guidance on the use of programmatic approaches for the environmental review process that carries out specified actions and meets specified requirements.

In other instances, the Corps has taken some initial steps but has not fully addressed certain WRRDA 2014 provisions. Specifically, not later than 180 days after the act’s enactment, the Corps was to survey the agency’s use of categorical exclusions in projects since 2005, publish a review of that survey, and solicit requests from other federal agencies and project sponsors for new categorical exclusions. By June 2015, the Corps was to propose a new categorical exclusion if it identified a category of activities that merited such action. As of May 2019, the Corps had conducted an internal survey and solicited input through the Federal Register on its procedures for implementing NEPA. However, Corps headquarters officials said they had not published a review of its survey, targeted requests for new categorical exclusions to other federal agencies and nonfederal sponsors, or proposed new exclusions as merited. Appendix II contains a more detailed summary of the WRRDA 2014 acceleration provisions, along with information on Corps actions to address each provision.

Corps headquarters officials identified resource constraints as the primary reason for not addressing some public transparency and environmental review provisions. For example, to develop environmental review guidance, Corps headquarters officials told us that they would need to conduct various steps, including drafting guidance, conducting administrative review with other federal agencies, soliciting public comment, and revising the guidance. Headquarters officials also said they were involved in a similar effort with other federal agencies to develop environmental review guidance in a publication called the 2015 Red Book, an effort they characterized as labor intensive.

In addition, to establish a database to publicly report on the status of its feasibility studies, Corps headquarters officials said they would need to stand up and maintain a website similar to the Federal Infrastructure Permitting Dashboard for federal infrastructure projects. The Corps is one of many agencies involved in the effort to create and maintain this dashboard, and Corps headquarters officials said the effort was a resource-intensive process. Corps headquarters officials said that while they have not created the database required by WRRDA 2014, relevant information is available through the agency’s annual public reports on active and recently completed feasibility studies’ milestones and schedules. Corps headquarters officials also said the status of feasibility studies is often available on the Corps districts’ websites. However, this information is not easily accessible without knowing which district office is responsible for a given feasibility study.

While Corps officials identified resource constraints as the primary reason for not addressing certain WRRDA 2014 provisions, they did not provide specific estimates on the resources that the Corps would need to address these provisions. In addition, the officials said they do not have a plan that addresses how and when they intend to implement the provisions they have yet to address. We have previously reported on leading practices for sound planning and have found that implementation plans that include resource estimates help ensure organizations achieve their goals and objectives. Such a plan would better position the Corps to address the remaining WRRDA 2014 provisions related to environmental review and public transparency.

The Corps Has Performed Some Review of Its Feasibility Study Acceleration Reforms but Has Not Conducted a Comprehensive Evaluation of Impacts

The Corps monitors feasibility studies and has done some review of its acceleration reforms but has not conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the impacts of these reforms. In terms of monitoring, Corps policy states that division and district leaders are responsible for monitoring feasibility studies within their areas of responsibility. According to Corps policy, districts are to prepare a quality control plan for each project to ensure compliance with all technical and policy requirements, and divisions are responsible for quality assurance by ensuring that districts plan, design, and deliver quality projects on schedule and within budget. Corps headquarters officials also said they monitor the progress of feasibility studies during management meetings, during which they discuss the cost and status of feasibility studies as well as the quality of those studies; such meetings are largely led by Corps management or by the Corps’ Planning Advisory Board, which oversees the quality of feasibility studies.

In addition to monitoring individual feasibility studies, Corps headquarters officials said they have conducted some broader reviews of how the acceleration reforms are progressing. For example, they conducted a trend analysis in October 2018 and again in April 2019 to identify the reasons why some feasibility studies have received exceptions from the timing and cost requirements of the 3x3x3 rule. These analyses, among other things, identified that some studies were too complex to be completed within 3 years or for less than $3 million, according to Corps officials. Furthermore, based on their experiences with various reform efforts, Corps officials said that they have been making real-time enhancements. For example, based on input from the Corps’ Planning Advisory Board, Corps leadership has called for the agency to clarify its updated approach to risk management, according to Corps officials. These officials said each component within the Corps that is involved in conducting feasibility studies is to issue internal guidance on its risk management approach.

However, Corps headquarters officials said the Corps has not conducted a comprehensive evaluation of acceleration reforms to determine what impacts the reforms have had and whether any modifications to those reforms are needed. Corps and other agency officials and stakeholders we interviewed differed in their views of the acceleration reforms’ impacts on the cost, time frames, and quality of feasibility studies:

Cost and time frames for completing feasibility studies. Many Corps officials said they agreed with the overall goals of reducing costs and increasing the speed with which feasibility studies are carried out. Some Corps headquarters and district officials said SMART Planning and the 3x3x3 rule are changing the Corps’ culture around the amount of time and cost a feasibility study should take. However, several Corps district and headquarters officials said some Corps staff are experiencing difficulties with the cultural change represented by SMART Planning and the 3x3x3 rule. For example, a Corps district official said that in the past some Corps navigation economists had one year to complete some modeling analyses for feasibility studies, but they now are to complete such work in 90 days due to the constraints of SMART Planning and the 3x3x3 rule, which has been a difficult adjustment. In addition, many Corps headquarters, division, and district officials raised concerns that the cost limitation of $3 million may not be realistic given differences in cost across geographic locations or the loss of spending value over time caused by inflation.

Quality of feasibility studies. Several Corps district officials we interviewed said they like the Corps’ new policy of involving other agencies earlier in the process and with more frequency. They said they believe this approach has improved coordination with other agencies—by, for example, inviting the other federal agencies to join the Corps in a formal initiation meeting—which can in turn improve the overall quality of a feasibility study. However, some FWS and NMFS officials said they would like to be more involved and have better communication with the Corps than they currently do, such as throughout the feasibility study process rather than just at the beginning of a study and at the end when their formal review is requested. Similarly, several Corps headquarters, district, and division officials have commended the agency’s new approach to risk management and stated that they aim to provide partner agencies with the information they need to conduct their work on the feasibility study. However, many Corps, FWS, and NMFS officials and nonfederal sponsors we interviewed said they were concerned that this new approach might result in insufficient information for making decisions, which could affect the quality of feasibility studies. For example, for six of the seven studies that we reviewed, officials from FWS and NMFS said it has become more difficult for them to provide meaningful input on the feasibility study alternatives considered because the Corps provides them with less detailed information than in the past.

Corps officials and other stakeholders we interviewed also expressed concern about possible impacts of the 3x3x3 rule on the quality of feasibility studies. For example, many Corps headquarters, division, and district officials said that because the 3x3x3 rule puts constraints on costs and time frames, if the scope of a feasibility study is not similarly reduced, it can affect the study’s quality. In addition, nonfederal sponsors for four of the seven studies we examined expressed concerns with the 3x3x3 rule; three of these four nonfederal sponsors said they believe that the Corps is more focused on meeting the cost and schedule timelines than on the needs or quality of the study.

Senior Corps headquarters officials said they are confident that the cost and duration of feasibility studies has decreased overall as a result of the acceleration reforms but could not provide us with documentation to support this observation. Specifically, officials said in March 2019 that based on analysis they had recently conducted, most feasibility studies are now being completed within 4 years and at a lower cost than feasibility studies undertaken prior to implementation of the 3x3x3 rule. While these results may not meet the 3x3x3 rule, officials said that these feasibility studies were the first subject to the acceleration reforms and may not depict the likelihood of future feasibility studies meeting the rule. This is, in part, because Corps officials who are working on new feasibility studies have the benefit of the past several years of experience working with the SMART Planning process. Further, Corps officials said that they do not have formal documentation summarizing how the acceleration reforms have affected the quality of their feasibility studies overall, but they monitor individual feasibility studies, as described earlier.

According to Corps headquarters officials, the Corps has not conducted a more comprehensive evaluation of the broader impacts of the acceleration reforms because it has only completed a small number of feasibility studies since 2012 under the acceleration reforms, and officials are focused on monitoring their ongoing individual studies. These officials said they see the value in conducting such an evaluation as they complete more studies but that they have not developed formal plans to do so. Effective program evaluation includes an evaluation plan—that is, a plan that takes into account the questions guiding the evaluation, the constraints faced in studying the program, and the information needs of the intended users. Developing an evaluation plan would help position the Corps to conduct a timely and effective review of the impacts of the acceleration reforms overall.

The Corps Has Not Maintained Complete Milestone Data for Selected Feasibility Studies in Its Central Data System

The Corps has not maintained complete data on the 10 key milestones in its central data system for more than half of the feasibility studies we reviewed. Specifically, for the 19 feasibility studies we reviewed, we found that: seven studies in the Corps’ central data system included complete data for all 10 key milestones, and twelve studies were missing one or more milestones in the data system.

Table 1 provides information on the key milestone data included in the Corps’ central data system for the 19 feasibility studies we reviewed.

Many Corps headquarters and division officials said that Corps officials vary in their knowledge of its central data system. Many headquarters, division, and district officials we interviewed also acknowledged that, in general, the milestone information entered into the Corps’ central data system can be inconsistent across different feasibility studies.

Corps headquarters officials said agency policy requires district officials conducting feasibility studies to enter data on 10 key milestones for each study into the agency’s central data system. However, while the policy identified the 10 milestones, it only explicitly requires that two of the 10 milestones be entered into the agency’s central data system.

Specifically, the policy states that officials are to enter into the Corps’ data system the milestones for (1) feasibility study initiation and (2) posting of the plan for peer and stakeholder review. Corps officials said the intent of the policy is for all 10 key milestones to be entered into the central data system but acknowledged that the policy may not be clear. In part to assist district officials in conducting feasibility studies, Corps headquarters officials created a template, which includes information on nine of the 10 key milestones. In addition, a Corps district official said she was unclear on the agency’s expectations about which milestones to enter into the central data system. Corps headquarters officials said they contact district officials responsible for feasibility studies to obtain up-to- date information and ensure they understand the progress of each feasibility study. While this may help to ensure accuracy and completeness of milestone data on feasibility studies, several Corps district officials said the process of responding to such data calls can be time consuming and take them away from their core responsibilities. Without clarifying its policy to help ensure district officials enter data on all key milestones for feasibility studies into its central data system, the Corps will not have complete data to efficiently monitor the progress of feasibility studies.

Conclusions

The Corps has taken steps to address the acceleration provisions in WRRDA 2014, such as those related to coordination. However, it has not fully addressed provisions related to environmental review or public transparency. Corps officials said they do not have a plan that addresses implementation of remaining provisions or the resources that will be required to implement them. An implementation plan that includes resource estimates would better position the Corps to address the remaining provisions in WRRDA 2014.

Further, the Corps monitors the progress of feasibility studies and has conducted some reviews of the individual acceleration reforms. However, the agency has not developed an evaluation plan for its acceleration reforms to better understand the reforms’ impacts overall and determine whether any modifications to those reforms are needed. Developing such a plan would enable the Corps to conduct a timely and effective evaluation.

Further, without clarifying its policy to ensure district officials enter all key milestone dates for feasibility studies into its central data system, the Corps will continue to lack complete data to efficiently monitor the progress of feasibility studies.

Recommendations for Executive Action

We are making the following three recommendations to the Department of Defense: The Secretary of the Army should direct the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works to develop an implementation plan that includes resource estimates to address the remaining WRRDA 2014 acceleration provisions. (Recommendation 1)

The Secretary of the Army should direct the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works to develop a plan to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the impacts of the agency’s feasibility study acceleration reforms. (Recommendation 2)

The Secretary of the Army should direct the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works to clarify its policy to help ensure district officials enter data on all key milestones for feasibility studies into its central data system. (Recommendation 3)

Agency Comments

We provided a draft of this report to the Department of Defense for review and comment. In its written comments, reprinted in appendix III, the Department concurred with our recommendations. The Department commented that we should redirect our recommendations to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works rather than to the Chief of Engineers and the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which we did. The Department also provided technical comments, which we incorporated as appropriate.

We are sending copies of this report to the appropriate congressional committees, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Department of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, and other interested parties. In addition, the report is available at no charge on the GAO website at http://www.gao.gov.

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact me at (202) 512-3841 or FennellA@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this report. GAO staff who made key contributions to this report are listed in appendix IV.

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

This report examines the extent to which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has (1) addressed the feasibility study acceleration provisions under the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA 2014), (2) reviewed the impact of its feasibility study acceleration reforms, and (3) maintained complete milestone data for feasibility studies in its central data system.

To conduct our work, we reviewed the first 19 feasibility studies subject to the WRRDA 2014 feasibility study acceleration provisions, among other things. These feasibility studies included those that (1) were initiated after June 10, 2014, the date WRRDA 2014 was enacted, through August 15, 2018, and (2) for which an environmental impact statement (EIS) is prepared. We chose to review studies through August 15, 2018, because after that date the Corps initiated several feasibility studies using funding in a supplemental appropriation the Corps received in February 2018 to conduct work in response to recent large hurricanes, and Corps officials said they planned to use a somewhat different approach to conducting these studies. For each study, we reviewed Corps guidance on the agency’s process for planning feasibility studies and other related documentation. We examined information from the Corps on the progress and status of the19 feasibility studies. We also reviewed information for each feasibility study on the Corps’ business line or program, the district or division overseeing the study, and information on which studies had received exceptions from the 3x3x3 rule.

We also conducted a more in-depth review of seven of these 19 feasibility studies. We selected these seven studies because they represent different types of water resources development projects, were at varying stages of completion, and are geographically dispersed. The seven studies, and the Corps districts leading these studies, are:

Coastal Texas Protection and Restoration (Galveston District);

Houston Ship Channel Expansion Channel Improvement Project (Galveston District);

Matagorda Ship Channel (Galveston District);

Gulf Intercoastal Waterway: Brazos River Floodgates and Colorado River Locks Systems (Galveston District);

Mississippi River Ship Channel, Gulf to Baton Rouge, Louisiana General Reevaluation Report (New Orleans District);

Sacramento River, General Reevaluation Report (Sacramento

Port of Long Beach Deep Draft Navigation Improvements (Los Angeles District).

For each of these seven studies, we reviewed project management plans and other project documents, such as draft feasibility studies, if available. From August 2018 through November 2018, we visited the four district offices that led these seven studies, including the Corps’ Galveston, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Sacramento district offices. During these visits, we discussed the status and progress of each of these feasibility studies and the Corps’ coordination with other federal agencies and nonfederal sponsors, among other things. For each study, we interviewed officials from nonfederal sponsors—such as the state or local government associated with individual studies—and from federal partners—including the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). We selected FWS and NMFS because of the important role they play in reviewing environmental aspects of Corps feasibility studies and their role in the 2015 joint publication on coordination. We also interviewed Corps officials at the three divisions overseeing the districts that conducted the feasibility studies we selected. This included officials from the Corps’ South Pacific, Mississippi Valley, and Southwestern divisions. While the seven studies provide illustrative examples, they are not generalizable to all of the Corps’ feasibility studies for which an EIS is prepared.

We developed and used four standard sets of semi-structured interview questions for the following groups: the (1) Corps district office officials conducting the seven selected feasibility studies, (2) FWS and NMFS officials working with the Corps on these studies, (3) Corps division officials overseeing each study, and (4) nonfederal sponsors who worked with the Corps on each study.

To characterize the views of those we interviewed throughout the report, we defined modifiers to quantify officials’ views as follows: “some” refers to responses from two to four Corps officials and/or stakeholders; “several” refers to responses from five to seven Corps officials and/or stakeholders; and “many” refers to responses from eight or more Corps officials and/or stakeholders.

To examine the extent to which the Corps addressed the WRRDA 2014 feasibility study acceleration provisions, we compiled a list of the provisions. We then reviewed the Corps’ documentation related to the implementation of these provisions, including agency guidance and policies. We compared this information with the WRRDA 2014 acceleration provisions. To do this, we created categories for the acceleration provisions and grouped the provisions by category.

To examine the extent to which the Corps has reviewed the impact of its acceleration reforms, we reviewed Corps policy, guidance, training, and other documentation on implementation of those reforms. We use the term acceleration reforms to refer to the requirements that new feasibility studies are to be completed in less than 3 years and at a cost of not more than $3 million, the Corps’ risk management of feasibility studies through its new SMART Planning process, and the WRRDA 2014 acceleration provisions. We reviewed documentation from the Corps on the feasibility studies that have received exceptions from the 3x3x3 rule. We interviewed Corps headquarters officials to learn what, if any, (1) new policies were in place to help division and district staff implement the reforms; and (2) review or analysis headquarters officials had completed of the impacts of the reforms on the cost, time frames, or quality of feasibility studies. We also interviewed Corps districts and division officials who were responsible for the seven studies about how the acceleration reforms were working, as well as FWS and NMFS officials and nonfederal sponsors about their views of the impacts of the new processes on their work on these feasibility studies. We compared this information with program evaluation guidance.

To examine the extent to which the Corps has maintained complete milestone data for feasibility studies in its central data system, we obtained milestone data from the system for the 19 Corps feasibility studies in our review. We analyzed the milestone data to determine which milestone dates were in the system and then worked with Corps headquarters officials to verify that information. We assessed the reliability of these data by reviewing related documentation and interviewing knowledgeable officials, among other things. We determined that the data were sufficiently reliable for the purpose of understanding which districts and divisions conducted feasibility studies and for understanding the types of milestones that were entered into the central data system. However, as discussed in this report, we determined that the milestone data were not sufficiently reliable for other purposes. We reviewed data for all feasibility studies in our review to determine whether they conformed to Corps expectations on what milestone data should be in the system.

We estimated the median time it took the Corps to complete a feasibility study for which an EIS was prepared. To do this, we obtained from the Corps website the names of all feasibility studies completed with a Chief’s Report from July 2008 through June 2018 and the dates they were completed. We verified with Corps headquarters officials that its list of studies with a Chief’s Report was current for that time frame. For each of these feasibility studies, we then found the associated notice of intent to complete an EIS as published in the Federal Register. While the date the Corps filed a notice of intent to complete an EIS is not the initiation date for the feasibility study, we used it as a proxy since Corps headquarters officials said that, in the past, the notice of intent was filed soon after a study was initiated. We calculated the time between the date the notice of intent was filed and the date of the Chief’s report to arrive at an estimate of the amount of time the each feasibility study took to complete. We then calculated the median time it took to complete these feasibility studies.

We conducted this performance audit from April 2018 to July 2019 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform our audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.

Appendix II: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Project Acceleration Statutory Provisions and Corps Actions Related to Each Provision

Appendix II: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Project Acceleration Statutory Provisions and Corps Actions Related to Each Provision provides guidance, independently evaluates, and approves the document before taking subsequent action; and ensures the project sponsor complies with all design and mitigation commitments.

In addition, any NEPA documents prepared in this way are to be adopted and used by any federal agency when making any determination to the same extent the agency could adopt or use a document prepared by another federal agency under NEPA.

Category name Coordination and Administration Designating Jurisdictional Agencies GAO summary of statutory provision For all federal, state, and local governments and Indian tribes that may have jurisdiction over a project or that may be required to review some aspect of the feasibility study or make a determination on issuing a permit or other decision, the Corps must: identify these agencies as early as practicable, and invite these agencies to participate or coordinate as early as practicable and set a deadline for response.

Corps actions related to provision The Corps issued its WRRDA 2014 acceleration guidance in March 2018. as well as the Principles and Guidelines and Planning Guidance Notebook.

Any federal agency invited by the Corps will be designated as a cooperating agency unless that agency follows certain specified steps.

Plan for Coordinating Input and Completing Environmental Review The Corps, after consultation with and with the concurrence of relevant entities is to establish a plan for coordinating public and agency participation in, and comment on, the environmental review process for each feasibility study or category of studies. As soon as practicable but not later than 45 days after the close of the public comment period on a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), the Corps, after consultation with and with the concurrence of relevant entities, also is to establish, as a part of the coordination plan, a schedule for completing the environmental review process. In doing so, the Corps is to consider certain factors, provide the schedule to relevant entities, and make it available to the public.

The Corps issued its WRRDA 2014 acceleration guidance in March 2018. In addition, a Corps official indicated that portions of this provision are implemented under the Corps’ NEPA procedures.

The Corps issued its WRRDA 2014 acceleration guidance in March 2018. not more than 60 days for agency or public comment on a draft EIS, and not more than 30 days for agency and public comment on other environmental review documents.

GAO summary of statutory provision Issue Identification and Resolution The Corps, the cooperating agencies, and any participating agencies are required to work cooperatively to identify and resolve issues that could delay completion of the environmental review process or result in the denial of any approval required for the project study under applicable laws.

Corps actions related to provision The Corps issued its WRRDA 2014 acceleration guidance in March 2018. In addition, a Corps official indicated that portions of this provision are implemented under the Corps’ NEPA procedures and Planning Guidance Notebook. Many Corps district officials said they have used various strategies, such as meetings, to resolve issues with other agencies.

The Corps is to make information available to the cooperating and participating agencies as soon as practicable in the environmental review process regarding the environmental and socioeconomic resources located within the project area and the general locations of the alternatives under consideration. Based on information from the Corps, cooperating and participating agencies are to identify as early as practicable any issues of concern regarding the potential environmental or socioeconomic impacts of the project, including any issues that could substantially delay or prevent an agency from granting a permit or other approval that is needed for the project study.

On the request of a participating or cooperating agency or project sponsor, the Corps is to convene an issue resolution meeting with the relevant entities to resolve issues that may (1) delay completion of the environmental review process, or (2) result in denial of any approval required for the project study under applicable laws. Such a meeting is to be held not later than 21 days after the Corps receives the request for the meeting unless the Corps determines there is good cause to extend that deadline. Additionally, the Corps may convene an issue resolution meeting at its discretion, regardless of whether such a meeting is requested. If resolution cannot be achieved within 30 days of an issue resolution meeting and the Corps determines that all information necessary to resolve the issue has been obtained, the Corps is to forward the dispute to the heads of the relevant agencies for resolution.

Corps actions related to provision The Corps issued its WRRDA 2014 acceleration guidance in March 2018.

The Corps must notify the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure as soon as practicable. The Corps must continue notifications every 60 days thereafter until all decisions have been made by the federal agency. The amount of funds made available to support the office of the head of that federal agency must be reduced by certain specified amounts, subject to certain limitations.

The Corps, NMFS, and FWS jointly issued a coordination guide for conducting feasibility studies in September 2015. The Corps also issued its WRRDA 2014 acceleration guidance in March 2018.b In addition, a Corps official indicated that portions of this provision are implemented under the agency’s NEPA procedures and Planning Guidance Notebook,f as well as the Principles and Guidelines.e

Upon request by a state or project sponsor, and to the maximum extent practicable and appropriate, as determined by the agencies, the Corps and other federal agencies with relevant jurisdiction in the environmental review process are to provide technical assistance to the state or project sponsor in carrying out early coordination activities. If requested by a state or project sponsor, the Corps, in consultation with other federal agencies with relevant jurisdiction, may establish memoranda of agreement with certain entities to carry out early coordination activities, subject to certain limitations.

New Information The Corps is to consider information received after the close of a comment period if the information satisfies the requirements for a supplemental EIS under NEPA regulations.

The Corps issued its WRRDA 2014 acceleration guidance in March 2018.

Corps actions related to provision The Corps issued its WRRDA 2014 acceleration guidance in March 2018.

With respect to the environmental review process for any project study, the Corps is to have the authority and responsibility to (1) take actions as are necessary and proper and within the Corps’ authority to facilitate the expeditious resolution of the environmental review process for the project study, and (2) prepare or ensure that any required EIS or other environmental review document required to be completed under NEPA is completed in accordance with applicable federal law.

Publishing Information on Studies with Inadequate Funding to Make Substantial Progress The Corps is to annually prepare and make publicly available a list of feasibility studies that the agency does not have adequate funding to make substantial progress toward the completion of the study.

The Corps has undertaken a multi-year effort to focus funding on the feasibility studies the agency determined are the most viable options for Congressional funding and then re-scope or deactivate the remaining studies.

The Corps has not taken action as of May 2019. not later than June 10, 2015, establish and maintain an electronic database and, in coordination with other federal and state agencies, issue reporting requirements to make publicly available the status and progress with respect to compliance with applicable requirements of NEPA and other required approval or action; and publish the status and progress of any such required approval or action on a feasibility study.

Categorical Exclusions Not later than 180 days after June 10, 2014, the Corps is to: conduct an internal survey on its use of categorical exclusions since 2005, publish a review of the survey that includes a description of certain specified information, and solicit requests from other federal agencies and project sponsors for new categorical exclusions.

As of May 2019, the Corps had conducted an internal survey and solicited public input through the Federal Register on its procedures for implementing NEPA. However, Corps headquarters officials said they had not published a review of its survey, targeted requests for new categorical exclusions to other federal agencies and nonfederal sponsors, or proposed new exclusions as merited.

If the Corps identifies a category of activities that merits establishing a new categorical exclusion, the agency is also to propose new categorical exclusions by June 10, 2015.

Performance Measurement The Corps is to establish a program to measure and report on progress made toward improving and expediting the planning and environmental review process.

The Corps has not taken action as of May 2019.

GAO summary of statutory provision Guidance on Coordinated Environmental Review The Corps, in consultation with the Council on Environmental Quality and other federal agencies with jurisdiction over actions or resources that may be impacted by a project, is to prepare guidance documents that describe the coordinated environmental review processes that the Corps intends to use to implement the reforms for the planning of projects.

Corps actions related to provision The Corps has not taken action as of May 2019. Corps officials said they have reached out to the Council on Environmental Quality several times and are waiting for feedback on preparing this guidance.

Guidance on Programmatic Approaches to Environmental Review The Corps is to issue guidance on the use of programmatic approaches to carry out the environmental review process that carries out specified actions and meets specified requirements.

The Corps has not taken action as of May 2019.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Implementation Guidance for Section 1005 of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA 2014), Project Acceleration (Washington, D.C.: March 2018). Pub. L. No. 91-190, 83 Stat 852 (1970) (codified as amended at 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321-4347).

Appendix III: Comments from the Department of Defense

Appendix IV: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments

GAO Contact

Staff Acknowledgments

In addition to the contact named above, Vondalee R. Hunt (Assistant Director), Candace Carpenter (Analyst in Charge), Matthew Levie, and Rebecca Makar made key contributions to this report. In addition, Michael Armes, Justin Fisher, Gwen Kirby, Patricia Moye, and Kiki Theodoropoulos contributed to the report.