The needed planning assistance is determined by the individual State or Native American Tribe. Every year, each state, tribal nation, local government, or other non-federal entity can provide the Corps of Engineers its request for studies under the program, and the Corps of Engineers then accommodates as many studies as possible within the funding allotment. Studies are only planning level of detail; they do not include detailed design for project construction. The studies generally involve the analysis of existing data for planning purposes, using standard engineering techniques, although some data collecÂtion is often necessary. Most studies become the basis for state, tribal nation and local planning decisions.
Collapse All Expand All
Funding:Congress funds the Planning Assistance to States and Tribes Program annually. Federal allotments for each state or tribal nation from the nationwide appropriation are limited to $500,000 annually, but typically are much less. Individual studies, of which there may be more than one per state or tribal nation per year, generally range in cost from $25,000 to over $100,000. These studies are cost shared on a 50 percent federal, 50 percent non-federal basis. 25 percent of the non-federal cost share can be provided as work-in-kind.
Typical Studies: The program can encompass many types of studies dealing with water and related land
resource issues. Types of studies conducted in recent years under the program include the following:
- Water Supply and Demand Studies
- Water Quality Studies
- Environmental Conservation Studies
- Environmental Restoration Studies
- Wetland Evaluation Studies
- Dam Safety/Failure Studies
- Flood Risk Management Studies
- Floodplain Management Studies
- Land Use Studies
- Master Planning
- Brownfields Environmental Assessments
- GIS Development