The Army Corps of Engineers has issued a sweeping new rule that could bolster consideration of environmental concerns in federal flood control projects.
The agency overhauled its process for planning water projects to require consideration of nature-based solutions to flooding. Examples of that could include restoration of wetlands or removal of properties in floodplains.
The new approach could represent a shift for an agency best known for building dams and water diversion projects that environmentalists have often opposed. Some experts say the new policy, finalized last month, is particularly important as climate change puts more communities at risk of flooding.
Still, because the rule was finalized late in the Biden administration, it could be overturned by Congress under the Congressional Review Act.
