[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 33, Volume 3]
[Revised as of July 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 33CFR385.27]

[Page 639-640]
 
                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 
 
                 Subpart C_CERP Implementation Processes
 
Sec.  385.27  Project Cooperation Agreements.

    (a) General. Prior to initiating construction or implementation of a 
project, the Corps of Engineers shall execute a Project Cooperation 
Agreement with the non-Federal sponsor in accordance with applicable 
law.
    (b) Verification of water reservations. The Project Cooperation 
Agreement shall include a finding that the South Florida Water 
Management District or the Florida Department of Environmental 
Protection has executed under State law the reservation or allocation of 
water for the natural system as identified in the Project Implementation 
Report. Prior to execution of the Project Cooperation Agreement, the 
District Engineer shall verify in writing that the South Florida Water 
Management District or the Florida Department of Environmental 
Protection has executed under State law the reservation or allocation of 
water for the natural system as identified in the Project Implementation 
Report. The District Engineer's verification shall provide the basis for 
the finding in the Project Cooperation Agreement and be made available 
to the public.
    (c) Changes to water reservations. Reservations or allocations of 
water are a State responsibility. Any change to the reservation or 
allocation of water for the natural system made under State law shall 
require an amendment to the Project Cooperation Agreement.
    (1) The District Engineer shall, in consultation with the South 
Florida Water Management District, the Florida Department of 
Environmental Protection, the Department of the Interior, the 
Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Commerce, the 
Seminole Tribe of Florida, the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, 
and other Federal, State, and local agencies, verify in writing that the 
revised reservation or allocation continues to provide for an 
appropriate quantity, timing, and distribution of water dedicated and 
managed for the natural system after considering any changed 
circumstances or new information since completion of the Project 
Implementation Report. In accordance

[[Page 640]]

with applicable State law, the non-Federal sponsor shall provide 
opportunities for the public to review and comment on any proposed 
changes in the water reservation made by the State.
    (2) The Secretary of the Army shall notify the appropriate 
committees of Congress whenever a change to the reservation or 
allocation of water for the natural system executed under State law as 
described in the Project Implementation Report has been made. Such 
notification shall include the Secretary's and the State's reasons for 
determining that the revised reservation or allocation continues to 
provide for an appropriate quantity, timing, and distribution of water 
dedicated and managed for the natural system after considering any 
changed circumstances or new information since completion of the Project 
Implementation Report. The Secretary of the Army's notification to the 
appropriate committees of Congress shall be made available to the 
public.
    (d) Savings clause provisions. The Project Cooperation Agreement 
shall ensure that the Corps of Engineers and the non-Federal sponsor 
not:
    (1) Eliminate or transfer existing legal sources of water until a 
new source of comparable quantity and quality as that available on the 
date of enactment of WRDA 2000 is available to replace the water to be 
lost as a result of implementation of the Plan; and
    (2) Reduce levels of service for flood protection that are:
    (i) In existence on the date of enactment of WRDA 2000; and
    (ii) In accordance with applicable law.