§385.37. Flood protection. — Inbound Citations

(vi) Be consistent with the reservation or allocation of water for the natural system and the savings clause provisions described in the Project Implementation Report and the Project Cooperation Agreement and the provisions of § 385.35(b), § 385.36, and § 385.37 and reflect the operational criteria used in the identification of the appropriate quantity, timing, and distribution of water dedicated and managed for the natural system;

(xi) Determine, in accordance with § 385.37(b) that implementation of the selected alternative will not reduce levels of service for flood protection that:

(A) Were in existence on the date of enactment of section 601 of WRDA 2000; and

(B) Are in accordance with applicable law; and consider, as appropriate, in accordance with § 385.37(c), opportunities to provide additional flood protection;

(1) Projects shall be sequenced and scheduled to maximize the achievement of the goals and purposes of the Plan at the earliest possible time and in the most cost-effective way, consistent with the requirement that each project be justified on a next-added increment basis, including the achievement of the interim goals established pursuant to § 385.38 and the interim targets established pursuant § 385.39, consistent with § 385.36 and § 385.37(b), and to the extent practical given funding, engineering, and other constraints. The sequencing and scheduling of projects shall be based on considering factors, including, but not limited to:

(i) Technical dependencies and constraints;

(ii) Benefits to be provided by the project;

(iii) Availability of lands required for the project; and

(iv) Avoiding elimination or transfers of existing legal sources of water until an alternate source of comparable quantity and quality is available, in accordance with § 385.36.

(B) Are in accordance with applicable law; and consider, as appropriate, in accordance with § 385.37(c), opportunities to provide additional flood protection;