Last week, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) released the final chapter to its 2013 “Principles and Requirements for Federal Investments in Water Resources.” Chapter III – Interagency Guidelines – clarifies terminology and requirements for conducting implementation studies and analyses for federal water resource projects. The intent of the full document is to ensure that water resource projects “factor the full suite of variables and alternatives that lead to sustainable, resilient and enduring investments, including economic, social, and environmental factors [and] allow for agencies and the public to participate in a transparent process and gain greater understanding of the tradeoffs of investment alternatives.”
Federal agencies covered by the Interagency Guidelines and other associated documents include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Tennessee Valley Authority, Federal Emergency Management Agency and Office of Management and Budget. Each agency will be responsible for incorporating the CEQ guidelines into its individual mission.
The new Interagency Guidelines chapter and other associated documents, as well as a full description of CEQ’s document updating process, are available through CEQ’s “Updated Principles, Requirements and Guidelines for Water and Land Related Resources Implementation Studies” webpage.