§208.10. Local flood protection works; maintenance and operation of structures and facilities. — Inbound Citations

(a) A completed Federal flood control project, or completed functional portions thereof, is granted Active status in the RIP upon transfer of the operation and maintenance of the project (or functional portion thereof) to the non-Federal sponsor. Federal flood control works will be periodically inspected in accordance with 33 CFR 208.10 and Engineer Regulation (ER) 1130-2-530, Flood Control Operations and Maintenance Policies. These periodic inspections of Federal flood control works are also, for simplicity, known as CEI's. If a Federal project is found to be inadequately maintained on a CEI, then it will be placed in an Inactive status in the RIP. [Note: This is a separate and distinct action from project deauthorization, which is not within the scope of PL 84-99 activities.] A Federal project will remain in an Inactive status until such time as an adequate maintenance program is restored, and the project is determined by the Corps to be adequately maintained.

(c) This regulation applies to Federal authorized flood control and/or navigation storage projects, and to non-Federal projects which require the Secretary of the Army to prescribe regulations as a condition of the license, permit or legislation, during the planning, design and construction phases, and throughout the life of the project. In compliance with the authority cited above, this regulation defines certain activities and responsibilities concerning water control management throughout the Nation in the interest of flood control and navigation. In carrying out the conditions of this regulation, the owner and/or operating agency will comply with applicable provisions of Pub. L. 85-624, the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1958, and Pub. L. 92-500, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. This regulation does not apply to local flood protection works governed by § 208.10, or to navigation facilities and associated structures which are otherwise covered by part 207 (Navigation Regulations) of title 33 of the code. Small reservoirs, containing less than 12,500 acre-feet of flood control or navigation storage, may be excluded from this regulation and covered under § 208.10, unless specifically required by law or conditions of the license or permit.

(1) The terms reservoir and project as used herein include all water resource impoundment projects constructed or modified, including natural lakes, that are subject to this regulation.

(2) The term project owner refers to the entity responsible for maintenance, physical operation, and safety of the project, and for carrying out the water control plan in the interest of flood control and/or navigation as prescribed by the Corps of Engineers. Special arrangements may be made by the project owner for “operating agencies” to perform these tasks.

(3) The term letter of understanding as used herein includes statements which consummate this regulation for any given project and define the general provisions or conditions of the local sponsor, or owner, cooperation agreed to in the authorizing legislative document, and the requirements for compliance with section 7 of the 1944 Flood Control Act, the Federal Power Act or other special congressional act. This information will be specified in the water control plan and manual. The letter of understanding will be signed by a duly authorized representative of the Chief of Engineers and the project owner. A “field working agreement” may be substituted for a letter of understanding, provided that the specified minimum requirements of the latter, as stated above, are met.

(4) The term water control agreement refers to a compliation of water control criteria, guidelines, diagrams, release schedules, rule curves and specifications that basically govern the use of reservoir storage space allocated for flood control or navigation and/or release functions of a water control project for these purposes. In general, they indicate controlling or limiting rates of discharge and storage space required for flood control and/or navigation, based on the runoff potential during various seasons of the year.

(5) For the purpose of this regulation, the term water control plan is limited to the plan of regulation for a water resources project in the interest of flood control and/or navigation. The water control plan must conform with proposed allocations of storage capacity and downstream conditions or other requirements to meet all functional objectives of the particular project, acting separately or in combination with other projects in a system.

(6) The term real-time denotes the processing of current information or data in a sufficiently timely manner to influence a physical response in the system being monitored and controlled. As used herein the term connotes * * * the analyses for and execution of water control decisions for both minor and major flood events and for navigation, based on prevailing hydrometeorological and other conditions and constraints, to achieve efficient management of water resource systems.

(a) On projects authorized subject to specified conditions of local cooperation, no construction is undertaken by the Department of the Army until satisfactory assurances of the required local cooperation have been accepted by the Secretary of the Army and until any lands, easements, and rights-of-way required to be furnished by local interests have been made available for at least a complete unit of the project. The District Engineers notify local interests concerned of the requirements of local cooperation and request assurances by registered mail prior to the preparation of final plans and specifications. Regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Army for the maintenance and operation of local flood protection works are contained in § 208.10 of this chapter. When assurances satisfactory to the District Engineer are received, they are forwarded through the Division Engineer to the Chief of Engineers for consideration of the Secretary of the Army. The District Engineers advise local interests of the action taken by the Department. Completed projects or completed useful units thereof are normally turned over to local interests for maintenance and operation as soon as the construction and testing of equipment is completed and the project is in proper condition for the assumption of maintenance and operation by local interests. The transfer is accomplished by formal notice from the District Engineer to the local interests that the completed facilities are being turned over to them for maintenance and operation as of a specific date. During construction, District Engineers keep the local interests concerned advised as to the probable date of transfer.

(a) Regulations for the operation and maintenance of local flood protection works approved by the Secretary of the Army under the authority contained in Section 3 of the Flood Control Act of June 22, 1936, as amended and supplemented, are codified as § 208.10 of this chapter. These regulations cover conditions normally and regularly required. Whenever the regulations are not sufficiently broad to cover the specific maintenance and operation requirements of a particular project, District Engineers will submit through the Division Engineers recommended additional regulations needed for that particular project. Such supplemental regulations will require approval of the Secretary of the Army and will be made applicable only to the individual project concerned. Local interests will be advised of the approved regulations for operation and maintenance of local flood protection works at the time assurances of local cooperation are requested. District Engineers will keep informed as to the extent of compliance with approved regulations for operation and maintenance through regular, periodic inspection of the projects concerned and through careful analysis of the semiannual reports which the operating and maintaining agencies are required to submit in accordance with the regulations. The District Engineer's views as to any measures required to conform to the approved regulations will be furnished to the agencies responsible. In any case where the District Engineer has been unable to arrange satisfactory compliance or where there is question or disagreement as to the measures required for compliance, a report of the circumstances, together with the recommendations of the District and Division Engineers, will be submitted to the Chief of Engineers for consideration.

(2) The Operation and Maintenance Manual specified by 33 CFR 208.10(a)(10) will fulfill the requirement of providing a levee owner's manual if the Corps has not provided a separate levee owner's manual to the sponsor of a Federal project.