Guidance To Establish Policies for the Agency Levee Safety Program Entitled Engineer Circular 1165-2-218
| Published date | 25 February 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 10659 |
| Record Number | 2020-03726 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Army, Corps Of Engineers Department |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10659-10660]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-03726]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
Guidance To Establish Policies for the Agency Levee Safety
Program Entitled Engineer Circular 1165-2-218
AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Defense.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has developed draft
agency guidance, entitled Engineer Circular 1165-2-218, to consolidate
and formalize policies and procedures for its Levee Safety Program. The
intent of the Levee Safety Program is to understand, monitor, and
manage flood risk associated with levees over time, provide a framework
to sustain long term benefits, and adapt activities and actions based
on the dynamic nature of flood risk. USACE is seeking feedback from
non-federal levee sponsors, interested associations, Tribes, other
federal agencies, and any other interested individuals on this proposed
draft guidance document. This notice announces the availability of the
draft Engineer Circular for comment. The comment period on the draft
document starts with the publication of this notice in the Federal
Register and will last for 60 days. The draft Engineer Circular is
available for review on the USACE Levee Safety Program website (https://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Levee-Safety-Program/) and at
(http://www.regulations.gov) reference docket number COE-2020-0003.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 27, 2020.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number COE-
2020-0003 by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov (http://www.regulations.gov). Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Email: [email protected] (mail to: [email protected]) and
include the docket number, COE-2020-0003, in the subject line of the
message.
Mail: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: CECW-EC/3E62, 441 G
Street NW, Washington, DC 20314-1000.
Hand Delivery/Courier: Due to security requirements, we cannot
receive comments by hand delivery or courier.
Instructions: If submitting comments through the Federal
eRulemaking Portal, direct your comments to docket number COE-2020-
0003. All comments received will be included in the public docket
without change and may be made available on-line at http://www.regulations.gov (http://www.regulations.gov), including any
personal information provided, unless the commenter indicates that the
comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted
by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI, or
otherwise protected, through regulations.gov or email. The
regulations.gov website is an anonymous access system, which means we
will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide
it in the body of your comment. If you send an email directly to USACE
without going through regulations.gov, your email address will be
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is
placed in the public docket and made available on the internet. If you
submit an electronic comment, we recommend that you include your name
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If we cannot read your comment because of
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, we may
not be able to consider your comment. Electronic comments should avoid
the use of any special characters, any form of encryption, and be free
of any defects or viruses.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to www.regulations.gov (http://www.regulations.gov). All documents in the docket are listed. Although
listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, such
as CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on
the internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Tammy Conforti at 202-761-4649,
email [email protected] (mail to: [email protected]) or visit
http://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Levee-Safety-Program/
(http://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Levee-Safety-Program/).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Engineer Circular 1165-2-218, U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers (USACE) Levee Safety Program, provides the context
and policies for the implementation of program activities. Although
Engineer Circulars are typically used to establish internal agency
policy, this document has been drafted to include four volumes
applicable to both USACE and non-federal levee sponsors. The Engineer
Circular will be temporary in nature and will expire two years after
the date of publication, providing USACE time to learn through
implementation experience, identify clarifications or additional
resources required, and to work with our partners in implementing the
program. After two years, Engineer Circular 1165-2-218 will either be
revised, rescinded, or converted to an Engineer Regulation, which does
not expire.
Questions to Shape Focus of Public Comment Review: The purpose of
this review is to solicit feedback on clarity and understandability of
the draft Engineer Circular; on clarity and appropriateness of roles
and responsibilities related to the program; and on clarity of program
objectives, requirements, and available support.
[[Page 10660]]
Commenters are encouraged to use the following questions to guide their
feedback:
Question 1: Are the goals and objectives of the USACE Levee Safety
Program clearly stated? Please articulate any improvements or
clarifications needed.
Question 2: Are the roles and responsibilities of non-federal levee
sponsors clearly described? Please describe any improvements or
clarifications needed.
Question 3: Are the activities and services provided by USACE
understood? Please articulate any improvements or clarifications
needed.
Question 4: Is how and when USACE engages with non-federal levee
sponsors and other stakeholders throughout program activities clearly
described? Please describe any improvements or clarification needed.
Question 5: Is it clear what assistance and support USACE can
provide non-federal levee sponsors in the long-term management of flood
risk? Please describe any improvements or clarifications needed.
Question 6: Are there any other materials or resources that would
be helpful for non-federal levee sponsors or communities related to
managing levees?
Question 7: Are there any opportunities to improve the USACE Levee
Safety Program to further support public awareness of the risks and
benefits of levees? Please identify specific activities or materials
USACE should consider.
Question 8: Are there any specific changes you would recommend to
improve the USACE Levee Safety Program?
Future Actions: In addition, USACE will be hosting two public
webinars and five public meetings to provide an overview of the draft
Engineer Circular and directions on how to provide comments. For
information about the webinars and public meetings visit the USACE
Civil Works Levee Safety Program website (http://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Levee-Safety-Program/). Feedback and comments
provided in response to this notice will be considered and the draft
Engineer Circular will be updated as appropriate. When the final
Engineer Circular is published, a notice will be placed in the Federal
Register and on the USACE Civil Works Levee Safety Program website
(http://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Levee-Safety-Program/).
The final document itself will be made available through the USACE
publications website (http://www.publications.usace.army.mil/).
Dated: February 19, 2020.
R.D. James,
Assistant Secretary of the Army, Civil Works.
[FR Doc. 2020-03726 Filed 2-24-20; 8:45 am]
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