Institute for Water Resources

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Public Law 84-99 Rehabilitation Program

Under P.L. 84-99 (33 USC 701n), USACE has the ability to provide rehabilitation assistance for flood risk management projects damaged during flood events. Through the voluntary Rehabilitation Program, USACE will assist in repairing levee systems and other flood risk management projects after a flood event if the projects meet the required eligibility criteria.

Rehabilitation Program Interim Policy

On March 21, 2014, USACE issued interim policy on eligibility for rehabilitation assistance for levee systems. The interim policy, developed in response to numerous changes over the last few years in the agency’s strategic direction, is intended to keep the Rehabilitation Program operational during a longer-term policy revision effort. The eligibility criteria for rehabilitation assistance promote broader flood risk management activities, including emergency preparedness planning, risk communication, and risk-informed prioritization of maintenance activities.
The interim policy applies only to levee systems; determinations for other types of flood risk management projects will be on hold until the final policy is developed. The eligibility criteria for levees were selected to ensure that no incentive would be created for public sponsors to take actions that might negatively impact natural resources or tribal rights. The interim policy is being used in all future Initial Eligibility Inspections and Continuing Eligibility Inspections for the PL 84-99 Rehabilitation Program.
A presentation, talking points, fact sheet, and questions and answers regarding the interim policy are available.
Development of new final policy for rehabilitation assistance will be a long-term effort as it will require changes to 33 Code of Federal Regulations Part 203 through a rule-making process.

Rehabilitation Program Final Policy Development

USACE is implementing the Rehabilitation Program’s new direction through a two-step process. Step one was to issue interim policy for implementation while developing final policy, and step two is to develop and solicit feedback for the new eligibility criteria and how they will affect the Rehabilitation Program.
The final policy for eligibility criteria will consider broader concepts of flood risk management, risk communication and risk-informed decision-making rather than simply a strict adherence to standards. An interdisciplinary team is currently developing revised eligibility criteria, based on solicitation of ideas within USACE, which will be included in Chapter 5 of ER/EP 500-1-1. External feedback on new eligibility criteria were solicited via an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published in the Federal Register; a fact sheet provides additional details about consideration of PL 84-99 changes.
Final eligibility criteria will be developed and issued as part of a larger comprehensive effort to revise the regulation covering Civil Emergency Management and the associated Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) for emergency management PL 84-99. The entirety of ER 500-1-1, including Chapter 5 focused on the Rehabilitation Program, has been under revision for several years. Before issuing its rehabilitation program final policy, USACE will complete the public rulemaking process for the changes to the CFR.