§ 263.21 - Small navigation project authority.

§ 263.21 Small navigation project authority.

(a) Legislative authority. Section 107 of the River and Harbor Act of 1960, as amended by Section 310 of the River and Harbor Act of 1965, section 112 of the River and Harbor Act of 1970, and section 133(a) of the Water Resources Development Act, approved 22 October 1976, states:

(a) The Secretary of the Army is authorized to allot from any appropriations hereafter made for rivers and harbors not to exceed $25,000,000 for any one fiscal year for the construction of small river and harbor improvement projects not specifically authorized by Congress which will result in substantial benefits to navigation and which can be operated consistently with appropriate and economic use of the waters of the Nation for other purposes, when in the opinion of the Chief of Engineers such work is advisable, if benefits are in excess of the costs.

(b) Not more than $2,000,000 shall be allotted for the construction of a project under this section at any single locality and the amount allotted shall be sufficient to complete the Federal participation in the project under this section.

(c) Local interests shall provide without cost to the United States all necessary lands, easements and rights-of-way for all projects to be constructed under the authority of this section. In addition, local interests may be required to hold and save the United States free from damages that may result from the construction and maintenance of the project, and may be required to provide such additional local cooperation as the Chief of Engineers deems appropriate. A State, county, municipality or other responsible local entity shall give assurance satisfactory to the Chief of Engineers that such conditions of cooperation as are required will be accomplished.

(d) Non-Federal interests may be required to share in the cost of the project to the extent that the Chief of Engineers deems that such cost should not be borne by the Federal Government in view of the recreational or otherwise special or local nature of the project benefits.

(e) Each project for which money is allotted under this section shall be complete in itself and not commit the United States to any additional improvement to insure its successful operation other than routine maintenance, and except as may result from the normal procedure apply to projects authorized after submission of survey reports and projects constructed under the authority of this section shall be considered as authorized projects.

(f) This section shall apply to, but not be limited to, the provision of low water access navigation channels from the existing channel of the Mississippi River to harbor areas heretofore or now established and located along the Mississippi River.

(b) Operation and maintenance responsibility. Projects for navigation constructed under the authority of Section 107 will be considered the same as authorized projects and are operated and maintained by the Corps of Engineers at Federal cost under the same procedures and policies as applied to projects specifically authorized by Congress. (Reference section 6, Pub. L. 93-251).

(c) Aids to navigation. Planning and design of channel and other navigation improvements should give full consideration to the feasibility and costs of establishment by the Coast Guard of suitable aids to navigation. The costs for navigation aids to be provided by the Corps of Engineers, Coast Guard, State, and local interests, and similar project-associated costs, will be included in the economic analysis. Project associated expenditures by the Corps of Engineers for aids to navigation are included within the cost limitation under the Section 107 authority, but expenditures by the U.S. Coast Guard are not. The report appendix should reproduce the letter from the Coast Guard stating the estimated number, type and cost of navigation aids and their maintenance cost.

(d) Local cooperation. Local cooperation requirements for projects under the Sec. 107 authority are those normally recommended for similar work authorized by Congress.

[40 FR 51134, Nov. 3, 1975, as amended at 41 FR 56943, Dec. 30, 1976]