[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 33, Volume 3]

[Revised as of July 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 33CFR385.38]



[Page 651-654]

 

                TITLE 33--NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS

 

 CHAPTER II--CORPS OF ENGINEERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, DEPARTMENT OF 

                                 DEFENSE

 

PART 385_PROGRAMMATIC REGULATIONS FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE EVERGLADES 

RESTORATION PLAN--Table of Contents

 

     Subpart E_Ensuring Protection of the Natural System and Water 

     Availability Consistent With the Goals and Purpose of the Plan

 

Sec.  385.38  Interim goals.



    (a) Agreement. (1) The Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the 

Interior, and the Governor shall, not later



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than December 13, 2004, and in consultation with the Environmental 

Protection Agency, the Department of Commerce, the Miccosukee Tribe of 

Indians of Florida, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and other Federal, 

State, and local agencies, and the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration 

Task Force, execute an Interim Goals Agreement establishing interim 

goals to facilitate inter-agency planning, monitoring, and assessment so 

as to achieve the overarching objectives of the Plan and to provide a 

means by which the restoration success of the Plan may be evaluated, and 

ultimately reported to Congress in accordance with Sec.  385.40 

throughout the implementation process.

    (2) After execution of the Interim Goals Agreement, the Department 

of the Army shall memorialize the agreement in appropriate Corps of 

Engineers guidance.

    (b) Purpose. (1) Interim goals are a means by which the restoration 

success of the Plan may be evaluated at specific points by agency 

managers, the State, and Congress throughout the overall planning and 

implementation process. In addition, interim goals will facilitate 

adaptive management and allow the Corps of Engineers and its non-Federal 

sponsors opportunities to make adjustments if actual project performance 

is less than anticipated, including recommending changes to the Plan. 

Interim goals are not standards or schedules enforceable in court.

    (2) The interim goals shall:

    (i) Facilitate inter-agency planning, monitoring and assessment;

    (ii) Be provided to the independent scientific review panel 

established in accordance with Sec.  385.22(a);

    (iii) Be considered in developing the Master Implementation 

Sequencing Plan, Project Implementation Reports, and Comprehensive Plan 

Modification Reports; and

    (iv) Be considered in making budgetary decisions concerning 

implementation of the Plan.

    (3) To ensure flexibility in implementing the Plan over the next 

several decades, and to ensure that interim goals may reflect changed 

circumstances or new information resulting from adaptive management, the 

interim goals may be modified, consistent with the processes set forth 

in paragraph (d) of this section, to reflect new information resulting 

from changed or unforeseen circumstances, new scientific and technical 

information, new or updated modeling; information developed through the 

assessment principles contained in the Plan; and future authorized 

changes to the Plan integrated into the implementation of the Plan.

    (4) The Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management 

District shall sequence and schedule projects as appropriate to achieve 

the interim goals and the interim targets established pursuant to Sec.  

385.39 to the extent practical given funding, technical, or other 

constraints.

    (5) If the interim goals have not been met or are unlikely to be 

met, then the Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management 

District shall determine why the interim goals have not been met or are 

unlikely to be met and either:

    (i) Initiate adaptive management actions pursuant to Sec.  385.31(d) 

to achieve the interim goals as soon as practical, consistent with the 

purposes of the Plan and consistent with the interim targets established 

pursuant to Sec.  385.39; or

    (ii) Recommend changes to the interim goals in accordance with 

paragraph (b)(3) of this section.

    (c) Principles for developing interim goals. (1) RECOVER, using best 

available science and information, shall recommend a set of interim 

goals for implementation of the Plan, consisting of regional hydrologic 

performance targets, improvements in water quality, and anticipated 

ecological responses for areas such as, Lake Okeechobee, the Kissimmee 

River Region, the Water Conservation Areas, the Lower East Coast, the 

Upper East Coast, the Everglades Agricultural Area, and the 

Caloosahatchee River, Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National 

Preserve, Biscayne Bay, Florida Bay, and other estuaries and nearshore 

areas. These interim goals shall reflect the incremental accomplishment 

of the expected performance level of the Plan, and will identify 

improvements in



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quantity, quality, timing, and distribution of water for the natural 

system provided by the Plan in five-year increments that begin in 2005, 

with the goals reflecting the results expected to be achieved by 2010 

and for each five-year increment thereafter. The interim goals shall be 

developed through the use of appropriate models and tools and shall 

provide a quantitative basis for evaluating the restoration success of 

the Plan during the period of implementation. In developing the interim 

goals for the five-year increments, RECOVER shall use the Master 

Implementation Sequencing Plan as the basis for predicting performance 

at a given time. RECOVER may recommend additional interim goals in 

addition to those initially developed and may propose revisions to the 

initial set of interim goals as new information is gained through 

adaptive management. Interim goals shall include incremental 

improvements in the quantity, quality, timing, and distribution of water 

anticipated to be required to meet long-term hydrological and ecological 

restoration goals, based on best available science. These goals may be 

modified, based on best available science and the adaptive assessment 

principles contained in the Plan, in accordance with paragraph (d) of 

this section.

    (2) In developing its recommendations for interim goals, RECOVER 

shall consider indicators including, but not limited to:

    (i) Hydrologic indicators, including:

    (A) The amount of water, in addition to the pre-CERP baseline and 

assumptions regarding without project conditions, which will be 

available to the natural system;

    (B) Hydroperiod targets in designated sample areas throughout the 

Everglades;

    (C) The changes in the seasonal and annual overland flow volumes in 

the Everglades that will be available to the natural system;

    (D) The frequency of extreme high and low water levels in Lake 

Okeechobee; and

    (E) The frequency of meeting salinity envelopes in estuaries such as 

the St. Lucie, Caloosahatchee, Biscayne Bay, and Florida Bay and 

nearshore areas.

    (ii) Improvement in water quality; including:

    (A) Total phosphorus concentrations in the Everglades; and

    (B) Lake Okeechobee phosphorus concentrations.

    (iii) Ecological responses, including:

    (A) Increases in total spatial extent of restored wetlands;

    (B) Improvement in habitat quality; and

    (C) Improvement in native plant and animal abundance.

    (3) In developing the interim goals based upon water quality and 

expected ecological responses, the Corps of Engineers, The Department of 

the Interior, and the South Florida Water Management District shall take 

into consideration the extent to which actions undertaken by Federal, 

State, tribal, and other entities under programs not within the scope of 

this part may affect achievement of the goals.

    (d) Process for establishing interim goals. (1) The recommendations 

of RECOVER shall be provided to the Corps of Engineers, the Department 

of the Interior, and the South Florida Water Management District. These 

recommendations shall be provided no later than June 14, 2004. The 

proposed Interim Goals Agreement shall be developed by the Secretary of 

the Army, the Secretary of the Interior and the Governor in consultation 

with the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, the Seminole Tribe of 

Florida, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of the 

Commerce, other Federal, State, and local agencies, and the South 

Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force. In considering the interim 

goals to be included in the Interim Goals Agreement, the Secretary of 

the Army, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Governor, shall be 

provided with, and consider, the technical recommendations of RECOVER 

and any modifications to those recommendations by the Corps of 

Engineers, the Department of Interior, or the South Florida Water 

Management District. The Secretary of the Army shall provide a notice of 

availability of the proposed agreement to the public in the Federal 

Register and seek public comments. After considering comments of the 

public on the proposed



[[Page 654]]



agreement, and incorporating any suggestions that are appropriate and 

consistent with the goals and purposes of the Plan, the Secretary of the 

Army, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Governor, shall execute the 

final agreement, and the Secretary of the Army shall provide a notice of 

availability to the public in the Federal Register by no later than 

December 13 2004.

    (2) In developing its recommendations for interim goals, RECOVER 

shall use the principles in paragraph (c) of this section.

    (3) The Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Interior, and 

the Governor shall review the Interim Goals Agreement at a minimum of 

every five years after the date of the Interim Goals Agreement, to 

determine if the interim goals should be revised. Thereafter, the 

Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Governor 

shall revise the interim goals and execute a new agreement as 

appropriate. However, the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the 

Interior, and the Governor may review and revise the interim goals 

whenever appropriate as new information becomes available. Any revisions 

to the interim goals shall be consistent with the process established in 

this section.