PLANNING MANUAL

by

Charles E. Yoe, Ph.D., Principal

The Greeley-Polhemus Group, Inc.

and

Kenneth D. Orth
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Water Resources Support Center
Institute for Water Resources

November 1996 IWR Report 96-R-21

ii
 PREFACE
What is planning? Who does planning? How do they do planning? Why do
planning at all? When we looked at the guidance that has been prepared to help the
Corps in its role as a steward of the Nation’s water resources we saw a gap. There was
policy guidance for planners and numerous publications describing methods for
accomplishing many important tasks. But, there was nowhere for new planners or non-
planners to turn to find out what planning is all about. This manual attempts to fill that
gap.

Will you get answers to the questions raised here from the pages that follow? We
hope so. It may help to begin with two points about the manual’s contents.

! First, this manual was prepared for new Corps planners with five or
fewer years of experience. While this is our target audience, we hope
that other professionals, people outside the Corps, and even more
experienced planners will find something of value here.

! Second, this manual describes what planning is and how it is best

practiced by the Corps of Engineers. It is not a “how to” manual nor
does it deal with policy questions of why things are done the way
they are.

It is our hope that this manual will help planners understand what planning is all
about and that it will help them become better planners. The six-step planning process
that forms the core of this manual’s content is a flexible, robust and effective model for
systematic problem solving. Understanding it provides you with an invaluable method
for approaching a wide variety of problems within and outside the Corps program.

This manual was prepared by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Institute for
Water Resources. Many people throughout the Corps, and some outside the Corps,
provided invaluable assistance in a series of interviews and the review of early versions of
this manual. As the result of the good advice of so many experienced and knowledgeable
people we made many changes in the draft manual to produce this final. Even if you
read the draft, you should read this manual for more good ideas from practicing planners.

Reducing the Cost and Time of Doing Planning

As you will see, planning is a dynamic process. It takes place in a dynamic

environment that requires that the process continues to evolve to meet ever-changing
social needs. We have attempted to remain faithful to the planning process and the
public policies that guided it at the time this manual was prepared.

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 Even as this manual was being completed changes in the policies that guide the
planning process were under discussion. For example, beginning in Fiscal Year 1997, all
new reconnaissance planning studies are targeted for completion in 6 to 12 months and
are limited to $100,000 in study costs. Other changes to achieve “faster and cheaper”
planning, in the overall interest of better government, can be expected.

Good planning, working through a step-by-step process to reach a

recommendation, can fit any schedule or budget. Good planning can be done in an
hour, a day, a week, a month, a year, a decade. You can do it with any amount of
time, effort and resources you care to dedicate to it. The one hour answer will rarely
be as good as the one year answer, but the realities of time and money constraints
need not preclude good planning.

A Word About the Principles and Guidelines

The Principles and Guidelines (usually referred to as the P&G) provide the
fundamental operating guidance for planning studies of the Federal water resource
development agencies, including the Corps Civil Works planning studies. The P&G
are the most recent in a series of Federal planning requirements (see Chapter Three)
that have evolved with changing national priorities. Sooner or later, we expect the
P&G will also be changed to reflect our Nation’s needs into the twenty-first century.
While change in the guidance is inevitable, fundamental planning principles will
endure. A step-by-step process for problem solving is a timeless tool. Whether its in
six steps, or five steps, or any number of steps, such a process is useful far beyond the
planning of Federal water resource projects. The process is basic to human nature,
and it is the heart of this manual.

A Challenge

Read, or browse through, this manual. Pick out one thing that you can use to
do better planning. Use it, somewhere, somehow, to plan something in the next
thirty days. Repeat, as desired.

So...

What is planning? Who does planning? How do they do planning? Why do

planning at all? Read on, and we will tell you what we have found. Practice it, and
you can enlighten us with what you have discovered.

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 Acknowledgments
This manual was prepared by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Institute for Water
Resources, under the Planning Methodologies Research Program. Ms. Jessica Fox, formerly of
the Institute, was the Work Unit project manager and directed the development of this manual
through February 1995; Mr. Kenneth Orth, of the Institute, was the project manager through its
completion. Mr. Michael Krouse, Chief of the Technical Analysis and Research Division,
Institute for Water Resources, was the Program Manager for this research. Mr. Kyle E. Schilling
was the Director for the Institute for Water Resources. Mr. Robert Daniel of the Corps
Headquarters, Civil Works Directorate, Planning Division, was the Program’s Technical Monitor;
and Mr. Steven Cone, Ms. Cheryl Smith, and Ms. Lillian Almodovar, all of the Headquarters,
Civil Works Directorate, Planning Division, oversaw this Work Unit.

Dr. Charles Yoe, a principal of The Greeley-Polhemus Group, Inc., and Mr. Kenneth Orth,
Institute for Water Resources, were the principal authors of this manual. Dr. Yoe started his
professional career as an economist in the Baltimore District, and has worked with many Corps
District planners and the Institute over the past several years. His work on this manual was for
The Greeley-Polhemus Group, Inc., under contract to the Institute for Water Resources. Mr. Orth
is a community planner with experience in the Buffalo, Los Angeles, and Jacksonville Districts
and the Headquarters.

An initial outline for this manual evolved from the results of over fifty interviews with
practicing Corps planners in early 1995. The outline was presented to an advisory group at a
May 1995 workshop, and a first draft manual was prepared as a result of the group’s suggestions
and direction. The advisory group and others reviewed the first draft during the summer of
1995. The final form of the draft manual was crafted at a second advisory group workshop in
August 1995. The advisory group included the following members:

Mr. Stuart Appelbaum, Jacksonville District

Ms. Sharon Bond, Louisville District
Mr. David Brandon, Omaha District
Mr. Edward Cohn, Southwestern Division
Mr. Steven Cone, Headquarters
Mr. Kenneth Cooper, Omaha District
Mr. Robert Daniel, Headquarters
Mr. George N. “Skip” Fach, Jr., Headquarters
Mr. William Fickel, Fort Worth District
Mr. Robert Gore, Baltimore District
Mr. William Hansen, Institute for Water Resources
Mr. James Karsten, Buffalo District
Mr. Harry Kitch, Headquarters
Mr. Michael Krouse, Institute for Water Resources
Mr. Robin Mooney, South Pacific Division

The draft manual was published in December 1995 as IWR Report 95-R-15 and was

v
widely-circulated for a six-month review. Copies were distributed throughout all levels and
across the functional areas of the Corps. The draft was also provided to planning offices and
other interests in selected local, State and Federal agencies, professional and special interest
groups, planning businesses, and university planning programs. Eighteen letters of comment on
the draft manual were received through June 1996. These included many thoughtful ideas from
Planning, Engineering, Operations and Project Management offices across the Corps. We
particularly appreciated the ideas provided by people outside the Corps, which included
comments by representatives of:

Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior

Civil Engineering Department, University of Kansas
Planning Commission, The County of Chester (Pennsylvania)
St. John’s River Water Management District (Florida)

In May and June 1996, three two-day Planning Workshops were conducted in the
Baltimore District. The workshops focused on basic principles and the planning process, and
provided an opportunity to discuss material from the draft manual in an interactive format.
Sixty-six planners, civil engineers, cost estimators, economists, biologists, archeologists and
others attended one of these sessions. Their comments and questions were a real-time check on
the manual and stirred some rethinking of topics. We appreciate the ideas from all those who
attended, and the additional effort of Mr. Robert Gore and Ms. Vaso Karanikolis of the Baltimore
District in arranging the sessions.

A smaller advisory group was assembled to assist in preparing the final manual. This
group met in July and October 1996, and included:

Ms. Lillian Almodovar, Headquarters

Mr. Steven Cone, Headquarters
Mr. George N. “Skip” Fach, Jr., Headquarters
Mr. Robert Gore, Baltimore District
Mr. William Hansen, Institute for water Resources
Mr. Michael Krouse, Institute for Water Resources
Mr. Ridge Robinson, Institute for Water Resources

Ms. Barbara Grider of the Baltimore District also provided a final editorial review.

The authors acknowledge and thank, without implicating, all who thought, wrote, spoke,
took action and otherwise contributed to this final manual.

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vii
 Planning Manual
Contents in Brief

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

CHAPTER TWO: PLANNING DEFINED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

CHAPTER THREE: HISTORY OF WATER RESOURCE PLANNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

CHAPTER FOUR: PLANNING GUIDANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

CHAPTER FIVE: CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CORPS PLANNING PROCESS . . . . . . . . . . 62

CHAPTER SIX: STEP ONE - IDENTIFYING PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES . . . . . . . . . 78

CHAPTER SEVEN: STEP TWO - INVENTORYING AND FORECASTING RESOURCES . . . 108

CHAPTER EIGHT: STEP THREE - FORMULATING ALTERNATIVE PLANS . . . . . . . . . . 130

CHAPTER NINE: STEP FOUR - EVALUATING ALTERNATIVE PLANS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

CHAPTER TEN: STEP FIVE - COMPARING ALTERNATIVE PLANS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

CHAPTER ELEVEN: STEP SIX - SELECTING RECOMMENDED PLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

CHAPTER TWELVE: PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT AND TEAMWORK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: TELLING YOUR STORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

viii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Acronyms Used in This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
PURPOSE AND AUDIENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
ORGANIZATION OF MANUAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

CHAPTER TWO: PLANNING DEFINED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
WHAT IS PLANNING? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

PLANNING AS A BASIC HUMAN ACTIVITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

PLANNING AS RATIONAL CHOICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
PLANNING AS CONTROL OF FUTURE CONSEQUENCES . . . . . . . . . . . 9
PLANNING AS A SPECIAL KIND OF PROBLEM SOLVING . . . . . . . . . . . 9
PLANNING IS WHAT PLANNERS DO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
WHAT PLANNING IS NOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

HOW IS PLANNING DONE? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

A GENERIC PLANNING MODEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

THE CORPS’ PLANNING MODEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
EXAMPLES OF PLANNING IN THE CORPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

TYPES OF PLANNING AND PLANNERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

GENERIC TYPES OF PLANNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

PLANNERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

WHERE DO PLANS COME FROM? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

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Table of Contents (Continued)

Project Development Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Study Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Plan Formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

CHAPTER THREE: HISTORY OF WATER RESOURCE PLANNING . . . . . . 31

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
A BRIEF HISTORY OF WATER RESOURCE PLANNING IN THE U.S. . . . . . . 32

THE BEGINNINGS OF WATER RESOURCE PLANNING . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

EARLY WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT IN AMERICA . . . . . . . . . 33

The Conservation Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Flood Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

PLANNING PRINCIPLES THROUGH THE YEARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

The Early Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

First Half of the 20th Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Planning Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Bureau of the Budget Circular A-47 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

The Green Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Plan Formulation in 1959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Senate Document Number 97 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

“Principles and Standards” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

“Principles and Guidelines” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
WRDA 1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

CONTINUING EVOLUTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER READING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

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Table of Contents (Continued)

CHAPTER FOUR: PLANNING GUIDANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
THE PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

PRINCIPLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
GUIDELINES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
NED Benefit Evaluation Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
EQ Evaluation Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

ER 1105-2-100 PLANNING GUIDANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

GUIDANCE LETTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
POLICY DIGEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
OTHER CORPS GUIDANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

CHAPTER FIVE: CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CORPS PLANNING

PROCESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
PLANNING IS AN ITERATIVE PROCESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

SOME FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

What Is An Iterative Process? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

What Is Iterated? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Why Is The Planning Process Iterative? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
How Do Iterations Differ From One Another? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
How Many Iterations Are Required? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
When Do You Stop the Iterations? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

THE ITERATIVE PROCESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

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Table of Contents (Continued)

SCREENING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
SCOPING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
PLANNING SETTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

PARTNERSHIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
PLANNING AREA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
PERIOD OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
STAKEHOLDERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

CHAPTER SIX: STEP 1 - IDENTIFYING PROBLEMS AND

OPPORTUNITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ILLUSTRATED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

FEDERAL GOALS AND OBJECTIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
PLANNING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

PLANNING OBJECTIVES AND CONSTRAINTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

PROFILE FOR AN OBJECTIVE OR CONSTRAINT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD OBJECTIVES AND CONSTRAINTS . . 92
WHAT A GOOD OBJECTIVE IS NOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

WHERE DO OBJECTIVES COME FROM? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH OBJECTIVES? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

CHAPTER SEVEN: STEP TWO - INVENTORYING AND FORECASTING

RESOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

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Table of Contents (Continued)

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
PLANNING CONDITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
WHAT KINDS OF INFORMATION ARE NEEDED? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

FOUR PARAMETERS OF DATA COLLECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

PREPARING AN INFORMATION STRATEGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

What Types of Information Are Typically Needed? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

FORECASTING FOR THE EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTS . 119

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

RECOGNIZE THE UNCERTAINTY IN WHAT YOU ARE DOING . . . . . . . . . 121

HOW TO FORECAST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
THE WITHOUT-PROJECT CONDITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD WITHOUT PROJECT CONDITION . . . . . 126
SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

CHAPTER EIGHT: STEP THREE - FORMULATING ALTERNATIVE

PLANS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

FORMULATION DEFINED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR FORMULATION .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
FORMULATION CONCEPTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

SOLUTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Management Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Alternative Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

SCALES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
COMBINABILITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
DEPENDENCY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

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Table of Contents (Continued)

FORMULATION PHASES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

IDENTIFICATION OF MEASURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

FORMULATION OF ALTERNATIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
REFORMULATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
SEQUENCE OF PHASES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

FORMULATION APPROACHES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

HOW TO THINK FORMULATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Ask an Expert - The Heuristic Search Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Creative Problem-Solving Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Objectives-Measures Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Consider Plans of Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Consult a Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Formal Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOLUTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

NAMING ALTERNATIVE PLANS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

CHAPTER NINE: STEP FOUR - EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVE

PLANS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
WHAT TO EVALUATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
HOW TO EVALUATE? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
EVALUATION TASKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
WITH PROJECT CONDITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
COMPARE WITHOUT AND WITH CONDITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
ASSESSMENT: DESCRIBING DIFFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
MEASUREMENT PROCEDURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
APPRAISING PLAN EFFECTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
QUALIFYING PLANS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
QUALIFYING CRITERIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

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PLANNING OBJECTIVES AND CONSTRAINTS IN EVALUATION . . 166

FEDERAL OBJECTIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
OTHER IMPACTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
P&G SCREENING CRITERIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Completeness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Acceptability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

ORGANIZING EVALUATION RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

THE SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

National Economic Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Regional Economic Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Environmental Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Other Social Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

DISPLAYING EVALUATION RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

CHAPTER TEN: STEP FIVE - COMPARING ALTERNATIVE PLANS . . . . 181

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
STEPS RUNNING TOGETHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
COMPARISONS OF WHAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
COMPARING EFFECTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

COMMENSURABILITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
INCOMMENSURABILITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

METHODS OF COMPARISON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

WHAT ARE COMPARISON RESULTS? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

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Table of Contents (Continued)

COMMUNICATING RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

CHAPTER ELEVEN: STEP SIX - SELECTING RECOMMENDED PLAN . . 194

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
THE PURPOSE OF SELECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
NO-ACTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
THE NED PLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
THE LOCALLY PREFERRED PLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
DEFAULT ACTIONS IN THE ABSENCE OF AN NED PLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
WHO SELECTS THE PLAN? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
THE CHOICE SET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
SELECTION CRITERIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
DOCUMENTING THE SELECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
WHY PLANS FAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

CHAPTER TWELVE: PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
PLANNING CAN BE A MESSY PROCESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
CHANGE IS THE ONLY CONSTANT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
PLANNING BIASES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

TWO-STAGE PLANNING PROCESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

TIME CONSTRAINTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
BUDGET CONSTRAINTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
LIMITED AUTHORITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
COST-SHARING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
BIAS IN PLAN FORMULATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
NON-FEDERAL PARTNER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
AVOIDING BIAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN: PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT AND TEAMWORK . . . 215

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

GOALS OF PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

ATTITUDES TOWARD PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Program Design Shows Public’s Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Maintain Visible Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Don’t Sell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Recognize Limits of Expertise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Expertise Should Create Not Close Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Speak the Public’s Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Feelings Are a Source of Valuable Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Identify Limits of Your Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Be Creative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Designing a Public Involvement Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

SOME PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT TECHNIQUES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Non-Meeting Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

TEAMWORK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

WHY A TEAM? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Two Heads Are Better than One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Today’s Complexities Require Team Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

WHO SHOULD BE ON THE TEAM? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Team Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

HOW TO WORK LIKE A TEAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Characteristics of a Good Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

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Table of Contents (Continued)

Characteristics of a Poor Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

THE TEAM LEADER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

ARE YOU A TEAM PLAYER? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

SUGGESTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL READING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: TELLING YOUR STORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
WHY IS DOCUMENTATION NEEDED? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
WHAT IS DOCUMENTATION? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
WRITING THE REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

WHO IS THE READER? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

HOW TO MAKE YOUR REPORT EFFECTIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Beginnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
The Body of the Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Endings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

SOME HINTS FOR GOOD WRITING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Gunning Fog Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

A Few More Writing Rules of Thumb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

SOME HINTS FOR PRESENTATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

Headings and Subheadings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

Enumerate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Visuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Common Chart Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Reader Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

SOME HINTS FOR REVISING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

IS SIZE IMPORTANT? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

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Table of Contents (Continued)

OTHER MEDIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

VIDEO REPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

RADIO AND TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
NEWSPAPERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
INTERNET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
MEETINGS, WORKSHOPS AND THE LIKE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

APPENDIX I: PLANNER’S LIBRARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

FIGURES

Figure 1: Organization of Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 4

Figure 2: Corps’ Planning Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Figure 3: Relational Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Figure 4: Planning Horizon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Figure 5: National Goals & Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Figure 6: Where Objectives and Constraints Come From . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Figure 7: Screening and Evaluation Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Figure 8: Screening Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Figure 9: Effects Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Figure 10: Monetary Evaluation Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Figure 11: Study Team Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

TABLES

Table 1: Planning Defined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Table 2: Two Planning Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Table 3: Planning in the Corps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

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Table 4: Types of Project Purposes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Table 5: Examples of Other Planning Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Table 6: Selected Planning Specialties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Table 7: Planner’s Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Table 8: Content of P&G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Table 9: Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Table 10: NED Benefit Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Table 11: EQ Evaluation Process: Phases and Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Table 12: Content of ER 1105-2-100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Table 13: Corps Guidance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Table 14: Differences Between Problems & Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Table 15: Similarities Among Problems & Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Table 16: Goals & Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Table 17: Similarities Among Objectives & Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Table 18: Differences Between Objectives & Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Table 19: Objective & Constraint Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Table 20: Planning Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Table 21: Selected Data for Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Table 22: Information Gathering Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Table 23: General Sources of Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Table 24: Examples of Macroenvironmental Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Table 25: Forecasting Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Table 26: Characteristics of a Good Without Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Table 27: Examples of Current Corps Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Table 28: Pairwise Compatible Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Table 29: Idea Generation Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Table 30: Objectives & Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Table 31: Objectives-Measures Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Table 32: Compare Without and With Plan Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Table 33: Assessment of Plan Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Table 34: Summary Comparison of Detailed Plans for Duck Creek, Ohio . . . . 173
Table 35: Simple Ranking Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Table 36: Selected Publics & Team Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Table 37: Types of Planning Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

xx
xxi
 ACRONYMS USED IN THIS MANUAL
ASA(CW) - Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works
BCR - Benefit-cost ratio
BOB - Bureau of the Budget
CAP - Continuing authority programs
CEQ - Council on Environmental Quality
CW - Civil works
EC - Engineering Circular
EM - Engineering Pamphlet
EO - Executive Order
EPA - Environmental Protection Agency
EQ - Environmental quality
ER - Engineering Regulation
ETL - Engineering Technical Letter
FCSA - Feasibility Cost-Sharing Agreement
FONSI - Finding of no significant impact
GIS - Geographic Information System
H&H - Hydraulics and hydrology
HEP - Habitat Evaluation Procedures
HSI - Habitat Suitability Index
HTRW - Hazardous, toxic, and radioactive waste
IWR - Institute for Water Resources
MCEM - Multi-criteria evaluation methods
NED - National economic development
NEPA - National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
No. - Number
NTIS - National Technical Information Service
O&M - Operations and maintenance
OMB - Office of Management and Budget
OSE - Other social effects
P&G - Principles and Guidelines
P&S - Principles and Standards
PCA - Project cooperation agreement
PED - Preconstruction engineering and design
PGL - Planning Guidance Letter
PGN - Planning Guidance Notebook
P.L. - Public law
SD - Senate Document
SOW - Scope of work

xxii
SWB - Social well-being
U.S.C. - United States Code
WES - Waterways Experiment Station
WRC - Water Resources Council
WRDA - Water Resources Development Act

xxiii
xxiv
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
“We must ask where we are and whither we are
tending.” Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) Sixteenth
President of the United States.

INTRODUCTION
Planningwith a little “p” is problem solving and it is done throughout the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers organization. Some of it is done by planners in Planning
Divisions on planning studies. Some of it is done by engineers in Construction
Divisions. Some of it is done by wildlife biologists in Regulatory Offices. Much of it
is being done by people who do not think of themselves as planners. Planning is called
for to one degree or another any time a decision is required.

No matter who does it, planning is best when done well by people who
understand and value it. This manual offers a rational and systematic approach to
planning that is applicable to virtually any planning activities the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers needs to undertake.

Water resources planning is the bread and butter of the Corps’

What is planning functions. As national values and priorities change, new planning
planning? functions are emerging outside the realm of water resources. Planning
within the Corps of Engineers is far more pervasive than most people would
How is it done?
imagine. There are the traditional reconnaissance and feasibility studies for
Where do plans the typical single purpose project that virtually everyone recognizes as
come from? planning. Then there are operations and maintenance budgeting problems,
dredged material placement, major rehabilitation, environmental
infrastructure, the regulatory program, military construction projects,
project validation assessments, mobilization planning, master planning for military
facilities, reservoir master planning, logistics planning, planning assistance to the
States, formerly used defense sites, the installation restoration program, special
projects, incidental hazardous, toxic and radioactive wastes (HTRW) issues, and
strategic planning as examples of some of the other newly emerging Corps planning
functions. Planners have a great deal to offer to these activities.

It’s of little importance whether planners are concentrated in one place in the
organization or spread throughout it. What is important is that the people who are
planning know how to plan. Planners are solvers of wicked problems; complex
intractable problems for which there is no one right answer. Planners are shapers of
the future. They are generalists with a specialty. They are the kinds of people 21st
century organizations are going to need.

1
 Few people are trained as planners. Most learn on the job. To be a good
planner, however, one needs to know how to go about planning. There has to be a way
to approach planning. A planner needs a framework upon which plans can be built.
Over the last two centuries, a remarkably simple and flexible planning process has
emerged in the water resource development field. It is, in fact, one of the most logical
and best described planning processes to be found anywhere. The six-step planning
process currently used by the Corps and applicable to all the Corps’ water resources
and other planning functions is described and elaborated upon in this manual.

What is planning? How is it done? Where do plans come from? Elementary

questions, yet experience shows the answers are not so easily derived. Answering them
is the goal of this manual.

PURPOSE AND AUDIENCE

The primary purposes of this manual are twofold. First, it explains what
planning is. Second, it explains how planning can be done by the Corps of Engineers.
Its focus will be on water resources planning, though the principles, tools and
methodologies discussed are equally applicable to other planning functions as well.
This manual deals with planning. It is not about Planning Divisions, project
management, budgetary processes, or types of reports.

The target reader for this manual is the Corps planner with less than five years
of experience. To the extent the manual succeeds in explaining the basic tenets of
planning in general and the Corps’ planning process in particular it may also be of
interest to anyone who has to find rational solutions to complex problems. Non-
planners within the Corps as well as non-Federal partners and members of the general
public may find it helpful to understand the planning process and the reasons for it.
Experienced Corps planners may also find the manual to be a useful refresher.

This is not a comprehensive planning document. It does not repeat in detail

the guidance or planning procedures that can be found in other documents. Nor does
this manual provide a cookbook approach to planning. As the reader will learn, that
would be antithetical to the planning process.

The manual has been written so you can read from it selectively, though it is
most congruent and complete if read in its entirety. Readers are encouraged to browse
through the manual and read what interests you. A measure of redundancy has been
added to ease the burden of those who do read this manual a piece at a time.

2
 ORGANIZATION OF MANUAL
The manual consists of 14 chapters and an appendix as shown in Figure 1.
The first four chapters are introductory in nature and explain what planning is. Chapter
Two defines planning generally, and the Corps’ six-step planning process specifically,
as a rational problem solving process. The basic terminology and concepts needed to
understand the greater content of the manual are presented here. Chapter Three
provides a brief history of water resource planning by the Corps. This history is
presented against the backdrop of the larger issues of water resources development in
the United States. The final introductory chapter, Chapter Four, provides an overview
of the key planning guidance that directs the plan formulation process. These are
primarily the Economic and Environmental Principles and Guidelines for Water and
Related Land Resources Implementation Studies ( also known as Principles and
Guidelines or P&G) and Engineering Regulation (ER) 1105-2-100, Guidance for
Conducting Civil Works Planning Studies.

The next seven chapters address the questions of how planning is done and
from where plans come. This is done in a detailed discussion of selected elements of
the Corps’ six-step planning process. A separate chapter is devoted to each of the
planning steps. Chapter Five, however, first discusses iterations, screening, and other
essential concepts that run throughout the six planning steps. Chapter Six addresses
the first step, identification of problems and opportunities. Substantial emphasis
is given to the specification of planning objectives and constraints, critical steps in
the formulation process.

Chapter Seven covers the second step of the plan formulation process, the
inventory and forecast of resources. Step three, the formulation of alternative
plans, is covered in Chapter Eight. The next chapter addresses plan evaluation, the
fourth major planning step. Chapter Ten discusses the comparison of plans and
Chapter Eleven describes the sixth and final step in the planning process, plan
selection. Though these steps are presented in separate and discrete chapters, the
conduct of the steps in actual practice is anything but separate and discrete. In practice
the planning steps entail a great deal of overlap, iteration, and even ambiguity.

The last three chapters address topics of special interest to Corps planners.
Chapter Twelve deals with some problems and constraints that planners frequently
encounter in the planning process. Chapter Thirteen is devoted to a discussion of
planning teams and public involvement. The final chapter describes the art of
documenting the planning process by simply telling your story. Appendix I presents
a list of planning publications that planners may want to include in their working
library.

3
 FIGURE 1: ORGANIZATION OF MANUAL
PREFACE CHAPTER 9: STEP - FOUR
TABLE OF CONTENTS EVALUATING
DIRECTORY OF ACRONYMS ALTERNATIVE PLANS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 10: STEP FIVE -
CHAPTER 2 : PLANNING DEFINED COMPARING ALTERNATIVE
CHAPTER 3: HISTORY OF CORPS PLANS
PLANNING PROCESSS CHAPTER 11: STEP SIX -
CHAPTER 4: PLANNING SELECTING RECOMMENDED
GUIDANCE PLAN
CHAPTER 5: CHARACTERISTICS CHAPTER 12: PRACTICAL
OF THE CORPS PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS
PROCESS CHAPTER 13: PUBLIC
CHAPTER 6: STEP ONE - INVOLVEMENT AND
IDENTIFYING PROBLEMS TEAMWORK
CHAPTER 7: STEP TWO - CHAPTER 14: TELLING YOUR
INVENTORYING AND STORY
FORECASTIONG RESOURCES
CHAPTER 8: STEP - THREE REFERENCES
FORMULATING ALTERNATIVE APPENDIX I: PLANNERS LIBRARY
PLANS INDEX

4
 As noted above, the manual has been written so that it can be read selectively.
The only loss of continuity is likely to be an occasionally unfamiliar term or phrase.
To assist readers who find themselves in this situation an index
is provided at the back of the report along with
a list of references. Quotation boxes, in which ...the six-step planning
parts of the text are excerpted, are used to process...offers a
highlight some important ideas in the chapter
rational, systematic,
and to aid “skimmers”. In addition, liberal use
of italics is made to further direct the selective and flexible approach to
reader’s attention to important ideas of the planning that can be
chapters. Sidebar boxes are used to introduce used for any planning
details and explanations that supplement the activity in the Corps’
general flow of the material. organization.

SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD

This manual provides an introduction to planning in the Army Corps of
Engineers. The following chapter defines planning in general terms and then introduces
the six-step planning process the Corps uses, which is essential knowledge for all
Corps planners. It offers a rational, systematic, and flexible approach to planning that
can be used for any planning activity in the Corps’ organization.

5
6
CHAPTER TWO: PLANNING DEFINED
“We should all be concerned about the future because we will
have to spend the rest of our lives there.” Charles F. Kettering
(1876-1958) American engineer and inventor.

INTRODUCTION
P&G and the Corps
Planning is a creative process. Like many
Over the Nation’s first two creative processes, it can tend to be unstructured
centuries U.S. water resource development and ad hoc, at times bordering on chaotic. It
policy has evolved to what it is now. requires unequal measures of experience,
analysis, intuition, and inspiration. There are
Currently, and since 1983, the principles,
many ways to add structure to this process.
standards, and procedures that guide water
The one used by the Corps has been
resource development at the national level
promulgated by the Federal government in the
are articulated in the Principles and
Principles and Guidelines. Inasmuch as this
Guidelines. The P&G were “...developed
planning process has been adopted by the
to guide the formulation and evaluation Corps, it is referred to simply as the Corps’
studies of the major water resource planning process throughout this manual. It
development agencies.” In prior years, each provides a flexible, systematic, rational
water resource development agency had framework from which planners can work and
developed its own formulation and to which they can return when chaos threatens.
evaluation procedures. The P&G is the It provides general guidance on how to
most recent effort to standardize these proceed and a logical means of describing the
practices. thought processes that might otherwise remain
opaque to others. This chapter offers several
Consequently, to characterize the definitions of planning, then introduces the
P&G’s six-step planning process as the Corps’ planning framework. That framework
Corps’ planning process could be is described at length in subsequent chapters.
misleading. It is indeed the Corps’ process
in that it is the process the Corps follows. Three questions are the focus of this
However, it was neither developed by the chapter. The chapter begins by answering the
Corps nor restricted to the Corps’ use. question, “what is planning”? It then answers
Other agencies use the P&G’s planning the “how is it done” question with an overview
process to varying extents. of the Corps’ planning process and a brief look
at some types of planning and planners. It next
turns to the question, “where do plans come
from?” by introducing some basic notions of
plan formulation, a significant step in the planning process.

7
 WHAT IS PLANNING?
What is planning? That
seems a simple enough starting Table 1: Planning Defined
point for our discussion, but a
review of the literature reveals a C Basic human activity
wide range of opinion and very C Rational choice
little consensus on what planning C Control of future action
is.1 The following paragraphs C Special kind of problem solving
offer several definitions of C What planners do
planning. They are summarized
in Table 1.

Though we’ll offer a working definition, it is not important that you

agree. Pick the definition that most appeals to you. It is far more important
to have a sense of the big picture of what planning is about than that you
agree with any one of the definitions offered here.

PLANNING AS A BASIC HUMAN ACTIVITY

Some see planning as a basic human activity that pervades our behavior at
every level of society. In this view, planning is a process of human thought
followed by action based upon that thought. This makes planning a very
general human activity.

You plan what to wear to work, the route to take to the office and
what to have for lunch. This makes planning very ordinary. At the same
time, it does not preclude the notion of expertise. Many people run. Few of
them devote themselves to running to the point they become Olympic
athletes. Likewise, though everyone plans, few do it as well as the
professional planners.

If planning pervades human activity then surely it

...important to pervades the development and use of water and related land
have a sense of the resources and the performance of the Corps’ various missions.
big picture of what We, as a society, think about water resources, then take actions
planning is based on those thoughts. These activities are complex enough,
about... however, to require the services of experts.

1
The material in this section is adapted largely from Ernest R. Alexander’s article, “Planning Theory,” found
in Introduction to Urban Planning edited by Anthony J. Catanese and James C. Snyder.

8
PLANNING AS RATIONAL CHOICE

This view of planning is confined to matters of deliberate choice. It

emphasizes the link between planning and rationality. Planning thus becomes
a process for determining appropriate future actions through a sequence of choices.
It is a structured rational approach to achieving desired ends.

As subsequent chapters will reveal, water resources planning is

nothing if it is not a rational decision-making process. The rationality of the
six-step planning process used by Corps planners is undeniable.

PLANNING AS CONTROL OF FUTURE CONSEQUENCES

Planning may be seen as an attempt to control future consequences through

present actions. This view fuses planning and action together, for if we do not
implement a plan, there can be no control exerted over the future. Some
would measure the success of planning by the future consequences we are
able to control.

The Corps’ planning framework relies extensively on the

consideration of future consequences. The comparison of future scenarios
without and with a project in place is central to the Corps’ planning process.

PLANNING AS A SPECIAL KIND OF PROBLEM SOLVING

Another line of thought is that planning is problem solving that is

aimed at very particular kinds of problems. Planning theorists have defined
the problems they deal with as “wicked” problems. A wicked problem is one
with no clear answers; solutions are only better or worse. The data available to
solve these problems are usually messy. There are no rules for approaching
wicked problems and no clear tests to formulate or judge their solutions.
Water resource problems are always wicked problems, as are most of the planning
problems the Corps faces.

PLANNING IS WHAT PLANNERS DO

Planners help decision-makers identify their problems, conceive solutions to

them, and compare the importance of the inevitable conflicting values inherent in any
solution. This is a simple and intuitive definition with which many Corps
planners can identify. The job is unique; and it differs so from day-to-day that
it defies a more precise definition.

9
 The definitions offered here are not mutually exclusive. They are
overlapping and somewhat imprecise, but taken together they provide a
fairly reasonable picture of what planning is. To further sharpen that picture,
let’s consider what planning is not.

WHAT PLANNING IS NOT

Though brief, this review of what planning is makes several points

clear. First, there is no consensus on what planning is. Second, it is easy to
see the

Plan

“Plan” is both a noun and a verb:

“. . . n. 1. Any detailed scheme, program, or method worked out

beforehand for the accomplishment of an objective . . .”

“. . . v. 1. To formulate a scheme or program for the accomplishment

or attainment of . . .”

This manual focuses on the verb rather than the noun.

elements of what the Corps planner does in each of the definitions. It may be
helpful at this point to consider a few things that planning is not.

The little “p” planning used in this manual is not the same as Planning
Division. Planning Division does little “p” planning but it also does big “P”
Planning. Big “P” Planning entails a great deal more than does little “p”
planning. This manual is concerned with little “p” planning, no matter who
does it or where it is done. The planning process is not the same as the report
review process, the budget process, or any of the many regulatory review and
consultation processes. These processes are important to successful planning;
but they are not substitutes for it.

Planning is not report writing or the technical work done by experts working
on a planning study. Good story telling is essential - Chapter Fourteen is
devoted to it - but it only describes how, what, and why you planned.
Planning requires sound scientific and engineering input from many
disciplines, but the science is only part of the story. Great hydrology, great
economics, great biology, or great anything alone is not planning. Great
planning weaves these inputs into a successful solution.

10
 Planning is not a purely
individual activity. It is done by Planning is...the deliberate
individuals in a team environment social or organizational
intended to affect groups of people. activity of developing an
While there may be personal planning,
optimal strategy for
that is not the concern of this manual.
Additionally, planning is not present
solving problems and
oriented. Planning is primarily achieving a desired set of
concerned with the future. Future goals.
actions and their consequences involve
substantial uncertainty.

Planning cannot be routinized. Problems that are unique can be

approached with existing solutions or problem-solving algorithms, such as
standard operating procedures, rules, or programs. These problems,
however, are not the wicked problems that planners confront. Let this serve
as fair warning to the reader; there will be no standard operating procedures
for planning found in this manual!

Planning is not a trial-and-error process. It is not experimental. It is

a focused, thoughtful, and rational process. The plans themselves may
involve feedback loops, monitoring, evaluation, and adjustment. Such
adaptive management is a concept the Corps encourages for ecosystem
restoration plans. The point is that while it may be reasonable for the plans
themselves to be experimental, the planning process should never be.

Neither is planning just the imagining of desirable futures. While

specifying objectives and creating alternative plans to achieve them are
extremely important parts of the planning process, they are not sufficient for
planning. Planning is more than utopian thinking. The intention to implement
plans and the power to do so are essential elements of planning. Planning is not
done for planning’s sake. Do not confuse the planning process with the
report writing or the review process. Planning goes well beyond completing
a report.

If planning is not an individual action, not routinized, not trial-and-

error, not academic or utopian, then what is planning? Planning is societal,
future-oriented, non-routinized, deliberate, and action oriented. Planning is
here defined as the deliberate social or organizational activity of developing an
optimal strategy for solving problems and achieving a desired set of objectives.

11
 HOW IS PLANNING DONE?
Planning is done by people. It’s done in a sequential, multi-staged process
in which many of the stages are linked to their predecessors by feedback loops. It can
be done in an hour, a day, a week, or a year. Conclusions reached at a later
stage of the planning process may lead to revisions of an earlier stage or
another iteration of the entire process. The specific sequence and stages of a
planning process vary with the type of planning and the institutional setting
in which the planning is done. Generalizations about how planning is done
are reflected in the two planning models that follow. The first is a generic
model of the planning process, the second introduces the planning model
used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in its Civil Works activities.

A GENERIC PLANNING MODEL

There is no such thing as “the” planning model. Planning models

abound in the literature. Sometime in your education, way back in
elementary school, you probably encountered the “scientific method.” It told
you how to learn things. You observe a condition and form a hypothesis.
You test your hypothesis in an experiment and compare the results to your
hypothesis. You either confirm your hypothesis or repeat the process with
a revised hypothesis. It was probably your first step-by-step, iterative,
problem-solving process. Well, that same time-tested method has been
dressed up, modified, and recycled as a planning process. The major
components in Table 2 can be found in most of the planning models in
general use.

Table 2: Two Planning Models

Generic Model Corps Model

1. Problem diagnosis 1. Identify problems & opportunities

2. Goal articulation 2. Inventory & forecast resources
3. Prediction and projections 3. Formulate alternative plans
4. Alternative development 4. Evaluate plan effects
5. Feasibility analysis 5. Compare effects of
alternative plans
6. Evaluation 6. Select best plan
7. Implementation

12
 Planning often begins with some notion that we are dissatisfied with
the status quo. If there is no problem, there is no reason for plans or actions.
Diagnosis of the problem requires an image of a desired state.

Goals relate to problem definitions. Translating vague, incoherent or

conflicting goals into operational objectives is one of the toughest jobs a
planner faces.

Solving problems and achieving goals always involves moving from

where we are now to some different place in the future. Prediction is
essential for evaluating and selecting alternatives and for moving to future
places. We need to make some guesses about the future to formulate and
evaluate plans.

The development of alternative plans has a profound effect on the

quality of the final decision. As Lichfield 2 has said:

“The ability of an evaluation exercise to demonstrate the

comparative merits of possible courses of action is limited,
ultimately, by the quality of the plans put forward for
assessment. A “good” plan cannot be chosen from a “poor”
set of alternatives.”

Where do alternatives come from? They must be generated by people from

some mix of experience, analysis, inspiration, and creative invention.

Feasibility analysis asks, can the alternatives be done given known

constraints and available resources? Evaluation begins when planners have
a number of alternatives they know can be implemented. Which alternative
do you like most? What does it do for you? The answers to these questions
depend on the evaluation criteria you use: benefit-cost analysis, cost-
effectiveness, environmental quality, other social effects, program output
indices, and so on.

Implementable plans seem to require a strong political

commitment, though that is not a sufficient condition. Plans that
can be implemented within existing organizational frameworks
...alternatives...must be
are more likely to succeed than complex plans that require new
generated by people from institutional structures and relationships.
some mix of experience,
analysis, inspiration, There are any number of ways to include these basic tasks
and creative invention. in a planning process. The Corps of Engineers’ planning process

2
Lichfield, Nathaniel, Peter Kettle, and Michael Whitebread. Evaluation in the Planning Process. Oxford:
Pergamon, 1973, p. 13.

13
 is but one of many possible planning models. It is one of obvious interest
here, however, for it is the focus of this manual.

THE CORPS’ PLANNING MODEL

The direct correspondence of the generic planning model with the

Corps’ six-step planning process is also shown in Table 2. The language used
in the generic model differs somewhat; however, the elements of the steps
indicate a clear correspondence in concept and theory. The two models
together show the Corps’ planning process is consistent with good planning
theory.

Though the Corps’ process is presented as if it is a simple sequence of six

rational steps, it is not that easy. No clean lines can be drawn among the steps
in the Corps’ planning process. Problem definition, goal setting, devising
alternative solutions, etc. are more simultaneous activities that wax and wane
throughout the process with the relative importance of each step varying
from time-to-time, often in an unpredictable manner. The steps do, however,
suggest that the emphasis in the planning process will occasionally change to
one of these activities as shown in Figure 2.

In the beginning, the emphasis will be on step one, identification of

problems and opportunities, even though work may be proceeding on the
other steps. There may even be several iterations or passes through the steps
in which step one is emphasized. But, in time, the emphasis will shift to step
two, as the second large rectangle indicates. At this stage in the planning
study there may again be one or more iterations through the various steps but
the emphasis is clearly focused on the second step. This process of iterating
through the steps continues with a continually shifting emphasis on the next
step.

The steps are presented in a linear fashion in the P&G, but the
planning process is anything but linear. At times it borders on chaotic. But
always it comes back to the order imposed by the rational
framework present in the steps. There is a chapter on each of
...the planning process is these steps later in the manual. For now, we simply list the steps.
It is easy to see the relationship of the Corps’ specific model to the
anything but linear.
generic planning model. The generic steps have in essence been
restated in a water resources context.

The six-step planning process is described in the P&G as follows:

1) Specification of the water and related land resource

problems and opportunities (relevant to the planning

14
 setting) associated with the Federal objective and specific
State and local concerns.

2) Inventory, forecast, and analysis of water and related land

resource conditions within the planning area relevant to
the identified problems and opportunities.

3) Formulation of alternative plans.

4) Evaluation of the effects of the alternative plans.

5) Comparison of alternative plans.

6) Selection of a recommended plan based upon the

comparison of alternative plans.3

This process makes use of several tools, including criteria,

goals, objectives, constraints, solutions, and effects. The success of
the process depends on the involvement of the right people at
the right time; in other words, interdisciplinary planning and
public involvement. These tools will be highlighted
throughout the discussions of the planning process that
follow.

EXAMPLES OF PLANNING IN THE CORPS

On the verge of the 21st century, in a world of

changing missions and tight budgets, planning is needed
more than ever. At the highest levels of the organization
where the future of the agency and new missions are
discussed there is a role for planning. The need for planning
pervades the functional levels of the Corps as suggested in
Table 3.

3
Section III paragraph 1.3.2(a) of Economic and Environmental Principles and Guidelines for Water and Related Land
Resources Implementation Studies.

15
16
 Operations
Table 3: Planning in the Corps and maintenance
personnel are forced
Water resources development planning by tight budgets to
flood and storm damage reduction plan their O&M
ecosystem restoration work. Construction
navigation o p e r a t i o n s
Watershed planning personnel must
Planning assistance to states choose from among
Operations and maintenance planning options to correct
major rehabilitation design deficiencies
maintenance dredging and compare them
master planning to continued
Regulatory permits planning maintenance,
special area management plans choosing the option
mitigation banking planning that best meets
Environmental infrastructure planning public and agency
Drought preparation planning needs. Military
construction
Military planning
branches are
master planning
formulating
military construction planning
alternatives and
logistics
recommending the
project validation assessment
best course of action.
mobilization planning
R e s o u r c e
Restoration planning management
formerly used defense sites planning personnel evaluate
installation restoration program planning and compare
Support for others planning options for getting
Strategic planning the Corps’ essential
support work done.

Planning is problem solving and there is no shortage

of problems. Planning offers a structured, rational approach to
solving problems of all types. If planning can improve agency
performance through problem solving and informed, rational
decision-making, it is essential to accomplish the agency’s
missions.

The bread and butter of Corps planning has been the

traditional civil works water resources development
planning. Such Corps planning currently is:

C Authority based, relying on various

public laws and Congressional

17
 Committee resolutions to provide the
authority to study and implement
projects. This includes the Corps’
Continuing Authorities Program.

C Phased, with an initial 100% Federally

financed, 6-12 month reconnaissance
study, followed by a feasibility study
that is 50/50 cost shared with a non-
Federal sponsor and targeted for
completion in three years.

C Oriented toward the Federal objective

of national economic development
consistent with protecting the nation’s
environment. Planning in other Corps
programs may be directed at other
national goals.

C Oriented toward specific types of

water-related problems and
opportunities. Today’s water
resources program focuses on flood
and storm damage reduction,
commercial navigation, and ecosystem
restoration as priority outputs. Table
4 lists historic project purposes.

The Corps’
Table 4: Types of Project Purposes
expanded environmental
mission has brought
C Navigation
about something of a
C Flood damage reduction
revived interest in
C Shore protection
watershed planning.
C Hydroelectric power
Watershed planning
C Recreation
resembles the basin level
C Water supply
planning studies of the
C Fish & Wildlife enhancement
past.
C Ecosystem restoration
Section 22 of
Public Law 93-251
authorized the Corps to cooperate with the states and Native
American Tribes in the preparation of comprehensive plans
for the development, utilization and conservation of the water
and related land resources of drainage basins located within

18
 the boundaries of the state. This program is often called
“Planning Assistance to States.”

Several drought preparation study (DPS) prototypes

were conducted as part of the recent National Drought Study.
Such studies recommend actions to be taken by government
and community in advance for the purpose of preparing for
the occurrence of droughts, coordinating a proper response to
drought, managing water supply and water use during
drought, and otherwise mitigating the effects of the impacts
associated with droughts.

In 1982, the Operation and Maintenance, General,

portion of the Corps’ budget exceeded $1 billion for the first
time. By 1985, the O&M portion of the budget exceeded
Construction, General, for the first time. Little “p” planning
is becoming increasingly important as this function grows
ever larger and more complex. Dredged material placement
plans, beneficial uses of dredged material, project master
planning, and major rehabilitations are some examples of
O&M functions in which planning is already used.

While water resources related

planning remains the bread and butter of
Table 5: Examples of Other Planning most Corps’ planning, other Corps
Functions missions can and do benefit from good
planning, as Table 5 indicates. The Corps
C Master planning has a substantial military program. In the
C Military construction 1980s, planners became actively involved
C Mobilization planning in mobilization master planning. More
C Logistics planning generic master planning is basically the
C Disaster preparedness & emergency development of long-term plans for the
response optimal usage of lands and facilities at
C Operations & maintenance budgeting reservoirs and military installations.
C Facilities management Military installation master planning
C Formerly used defense sites might involve housing, office space,
C Installation restoration program production and research facilities, health
C Work for others care, signage, and infrastructure including
C Strategic planning water, sewage, street lighting, roads,
C Special studies energy, and the like. In other words, it
includes anything and everything needed
to make the installation effective and
efficient in performing its missions.

19
What’s a Continuing Authority?

Once all Corps projects required a specific act of Congress to

authorize their construction. In other words, if Congress did not
specifically mention its desire to construct a project in a piece of legislation
the project would not be built. Typically, all projects were bundled
together into an omnibus bill that included all water resource development
projects. Initially, flood damage reduction projects were included in Flood
Control Acts and navigation projects in Rivers and Harbors Acts. The
current omnibus acts are called Water Resource Development Acts (also
known as WRDA, pronounced “word-uh”).

Congress has decided to give the Secretary of the Army the

authority to approve and construct certain size and type projects. This can
be done on a continuing basis. Thus, we have the so-called continuing
authority programs (CAP). Congress establishes the type of projects that
can be built without specific Congressional authorization in the language
that creates the authority. These authorities are generally found in one of
the omnibus acts. The Federal cost share of the projects is established by
dollar limits periodically set by Congress. The programs include the
following:

- Section 14: Emergency Streambank & Shoreline Erosion

- Section 103: Beach Erosion Control
- Section 107: Navigation
- Section 111: Mitigation of Shore Damage
- Section 204: Beneficial Uses of Dredged Material
- Section 205: Flood Damage Reduction
- Section 206: Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration
- Section 208: Snagging & Clearing (Flood)
- Section 1135: Environmental Improvement

The number of projects constructed is established through the joint

interaction of Congress and the Administration in the budget process. Each
continuing authority program has a separate authorization, spending limit,
and budget. See ER 1105-2-100, Chapter Three for more information.

Planning has also been used to assist the military construction

projects program. In these projects a few objectives are established,

20
an estimate of the cost of accomplishing these objectives under a
status quo situation is prepared, then one or more alternative ways of
accomplishing the objectives are formulated and costed out for the
purpose of identifying the best option for attaining the objectives.

This type of planning has been done for child care facilities,
family housing, barracks, communications centers, wastewater
treatment, training facilities, research facilities, parking garages,
laundry facilities, and many other functions and facilities. A variation
of this type of planning is the project validation assessment. This is
a planning process used to obtain funding for projects that have not
been appropriated funds. It usually entails a cashflow or pay-back
analysis.

Logistics planning is another area in which planning has

made significant contributions. Moving materials and people in the
most effective manner that meets the objectives of the move is a
natural for planning. Planners have been involved with the military
traffic management command to help plan movements of Army
Reserve and National Guard units at a number of locations
throughout the country.

Corps offices are occasionally asked to become involved in

planning efforts that do not fit neatly into any of the above categories.
Special studies are
authorized by Congress from time-to-time. Support for others
planning involves work for other Federal agencies. This has included
planning for embassies, wastewater treatment facilities, prisons,
roads, and other infrastructure. In addition to these special studies,
strategic planning has become more widely used by Corps offices.
Strategic planning highlights the significance of devoting more
attention to analyzing operating environments and formulating
strategies that relate directly to environmental conditions. The
ultimate purpose of strategic planning is to help the organization, be
it the agency, a district, or an

21
Environmental Planning

“Environmental planning,” though an expanding Corps mission, is nothing new. In

fact, a case could be made that the Corps has always been involved in environmental planning,
it’s just that the desired adjustments to the environment have evolved and changed over time.

There are different types of planning activities Corps planners do that relate to the
environment. First, there is the evaluation of environmental effects of alternative plans. This
is sometimes referred to as environmental impact assessment. Environmental impact
assessment became a formal necessity for the Corps with the promulgation of the Council on
Environmental Quality regulations following the passage of the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) in 1969. Under NEPA, the environmental assessment (EA) may lead to a finding
of no significant impact (FONSI) or an environmental impact statement (EIS). This type of
environmental planning has been done for over two decades and the methods are well defined
and well executed.

The Corps has also done extensive planning for environmental mitigation. Section 661
of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1958 provided that fish and wildlife conservation
receive equal consideration with other project purposes. Section 906(a) of WRDA 1986
authorized mitigation of unavoidable damages to fish and wildlife that result from construction
of a project.

Finally, ecosystem restoration is now a priority output for the Corps. Restoration of
degraded ecosystem structure, function, and dynamic processes represents a new challenge for
Corps planners. For example, Section 1135 of WRDA 1986 makes restoration of fish and
wildlife habitat possible and it authorizes the Secretary of the Army to modify Corps projects for
the purpose of improving the quality of the environment in the public interest.

Although there are environmental planning objectives and new environmental programs
and authorities, the simple truth is that planning for and about these values is exactly the same
planning process described in this manual. The only difference is a focus on nonmonetary
outputs rather than the traditional economic outputs.

office, to increase performance through improved effectiveness,

efficiency, and flexibility.

The important point to make here is that no matter whether the

planning responsibility is in water resources or other areas, whether it is
formal or informal, the Corps’ six-step planning process is equally
applicable. It is a robust, rational planning framework that is
sufficiently flexible for any and all types of planning encountered by
Corps personnel. That is not to suggest that it is or should be pursued
with equal resources, detail, or rigor in every situation. As mentioned

22
 earlier, the entire planning process can be completed in an
hour, a day, a week, a month, a year or a decade. The level of
...the entire planning
detail and quality of the results can be expected to vary with
process can be completed
the time and resources devoted to planning. But, no matter
in an hour, a day, a what the time frame, it is inevitable that a planning decision
week, a month, a year, made based on a planning process is going to be better than a
or a decade. decision made without one. Budgets, schedules, the
significance of the work, knowledge of the planning process
and other factors will dictate the extent to which a structured
planning process is pursued. The basic approach to problem solving
embodied in these steps is, however, sound and proven and can be
used in all planning situations.

Planning can contribute to agency performance wherever

problems are encountered. When those problems are wicked,
planning is indispensable.

TYPES OF PLANNING AND PLANNERS

Planning is best done by planners. In this section, we consider
some of the planning specialties and who planners are.

GENERIC TYPES OF PLANNING

The present-day planning profession has emerged in response

to the growth, changing values and critical
problems of 20th century urban
Table 6: Selected Planning Specialities development. Though planning theory
may have developed around the needs of
C Land Use Planning cities, there are many different types of
C Policy Planning & Management planning, water resources development
C Transportation Planning planning and military master planning
C Housing & Community Development being but two examples.
Planning
C Human Services Planning Based on the variety of definitions
C Historic Preservation Planning of planning offered above, we are able to
C Economic & Resource Development Planning identify a rather lengthy list of different
C Environmental Policies Planning planning specialties. Table 6 shows the
C International Development Planning areas of specialty recognized by the
C Urban Design and Physical Planning Association of Collegiate Schools of
C Computers in Planning Planning. Interestingly, the typical Corps
planner may find herself involved in
Source: Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning

23
 A Planner’s Best Friends

C The newspaper(s) and telephone book(s) that cover the area

under study.
C The alphabet and chronology; two organizing tools that just
about everyone understands and can agree to.
C Lists of everything and anything, such as telephone numbers,
reasons why Plan 7 won’t work, what to talk about at the
next team meeting, etc.
C Questions, particularly: “Why?”, “How do you know that?”,
“Who cares?”, and “What will happen if we don’t?”
C The abilities to tell the story (spoken and written), and to
listen.

virtually all of these specialty areas at one time or another.

PLANNERS

Within the Corps, you will find planners and other people
who plan. A planner is “a generalist with a specialty.” Planning
requires men and women with knowledge, imagination, and skills,
and a commitment to critically examine and act on objectives
concerned with the improvement of the human condition. Planners
must respond to complex and interrelated processes of social,
economic, cultural, environmental and political change at every scale
from the local to the global. Their specialized expertise derives from
their ability to relate scientific and technical knowledge to action in
the public domain. No one discipline prepares a person to be a
planner. Planning is intrinsically an interdisciplinary process.

The skills of a planner, which should be considered “in

addition to” their specialty skill, are shown in Table 7. The skills,
ranked in order based on a somewhat dated (1976) survey of
Massachusetts Institute of Technology planning graduates might
show a different order today (computer skills would surely rank
higher and more communication skills would be prominently
ranked), but the array of skills is still relevant.

Planners come from many backgrounds, including urban studies,

environmental studies, architecture, political science, engineering,
economics, sociology, law, the natural sciences, management,
geography, and public administration among others. The Corps’
study team would reflect this same mix of skills, adding some

24
particularly useful in water resources problems. Chapter Thirteen
discusses the planning team in more detail.
In addition to planners there are the other people who plan. These are the

Table 7: Planner’s Skills

C Writing C Original Information Getting

C Synthesis C Management
C Interaction C Economic Analysis
C Consulting C Spatial Design
C Research Design C Evaluation
C Community Organizing C Site Planning
C Information Retrieval C Computer Skills
C Environmental Analysis C Operations Research
C Data Analysis C Recording
C Teaching

specialists who may not recognize the work they do as planning.

They may be found in operations and maintenance, engineering, or
construction divisions, the front office or virtually anywhere else in
the organization. Helping other people who plan to do their job
better is one of the greatest values of the Corps’ planning process.

WHERE DO PLANS COME FROM?

Where do plans come from? They come from people. There comes
a time in every planning model when alternatives are designed to
address the problems that motivated the planning process in the first
place. Alternatives are solutions to problems that contribute to stated
planning objectives. In the Corps’ planning process the emphasis shifts
to identifying and designing alternatives that solve a problem in step
three, plan formulation. Thus, plans emerge from the plan
formulation process, a subject addressed at length in Chapter Eight.
For now, we content ourselves with the “big picture” and how this
formulation activity fits into it.

25
Yes, There Really Are “Planners”

Planners have been called generalists with a specialty. Planners are

often civil engineers, architects, or from other professional disciplines. But
some people are truly “planners” and their specialty is planning.

C There are about 90 graduate and post-graduate university planning

programs in the United States.
C Most planners work in government agencies. Some are consultants, and
some are academics.
C Many planners work for local governments. Common products in local
planning are comprehensive plans, zoning regulations, and subdivision
regulations.
C The Federal government’s personnel series GS-0020 Community Planner
recognizes the unique specialty of planners.
C The American Planning Association is the nation’s largest professional
society for planners.

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING

It’s fair to say that not everything Corps planners do during

the course of a day can be called plan formulation or even planning.
Thus, we find it necessary to invent terminology that makes
distinctions among the types of work Corps planners do. Their work
can be considered one of four different types: project development, study
management, planning, and plan formulation. The relationship of
these tasks to one another is shown in Figure 3. The two larger tasks
are part of what we call big “P” Planning, practiced more in Project
Management and Planning offices. The last two tasks are little “p”
planning that can be done anywhere in the organization.

Project Development Process

Planning and plan formulation can be separated from the

milieu in which they take place. To facilitate that distinction, we
define the most inclusive concept to be project development, i.e., all the
activities from initiation of a study through construction. This is done to
allow the separation of the planning process from implementation
activities as well as from the institutional setting in which planning is
done.

26
 Figure 3: Relational Terminology

Project Development

Study Management

Planning

Plan
Formulation

The Corps’ way of doing business has evolved over time. This “way”
includes the financial, administrative, organizational and management styles; the
requirements of the agency; and the multitude of institutional relationships they have
developed. Some of this culture is clearly related to the planning process. Other
tasks may be necessary to the planning process, but they are not part of it.

Study Management

This subset of project development includes all the planning process tasks plus
activities that include study management. Study management activities include the
activities that support the planning process that may not be directly involved with
the problem solving aspects of planning. These activities include: contracting; budget
work; inter-agency transfers of funds and personnel; other personnel issues; report
preparation, printing, and distribution; shepherding the report through the review process;
and so on.

Planning

Planning, of course, comprises all the work associated with the six-step planning
process. More details on this are provided in subsequent chapters.

27
 Plan Formulation

Study Levels This is the point in

the planning process
Sometimes you need a lot of information “where plans come from.”
to make a decision and other times you only need How that bit of magic
a little. There are different levels of detail happens is considered at
required for different decisions. We gather less greater length in Chapter
information when buying a candy bar than when Eight.
we buy a car. The consequences of the decision
are substantially different.

Just as the Corps has different project

SUMMARY AND
purposes and different types of reports, there are LOOK FORWARD
different levels of studies. Since the Water
Resources Development Act of 1986 there have Lesson One.
been reconnaissance and feasibility studies. Planning is what Corps
The feasibility study is the more detailed of the planners do. There is a
two. In reconnaissance efforts there may be less process, a set of steps, a
detail or emphasis at some points in the planning way to do planning.
process than there would be in a feasibility study,
but the differences are of degree, not in Lesson Two.
approach. The Corps’ six-step planning process There is no single “right”
can be used for all types of planning studies at all process but some steps
are universal among all
processes.

Lesson Three. The Corps uses a six-step planning process.

Little “p” planning has been defined here as the deliberate social or
organizational activity of developing an optimal strategy for solving problems and
achieving a desired set of objectives. It will take the remainder of this manual to
detail some of the nuances of this process. That detailing begins in the next chapter
with brief histories of water resources development in the United States and the
evaluation of water resources planning by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING

For a nice introduction to planning theory we suggest Introduction to Urban
Planning, Anthony J. Catanese and James C. Snyder, editors. It has a collection of
informative articles that are easy to read. More recent books that provide some nice

28
overview concepts are Ernest R. Alexander’s Approaches to Planning, Introducing
Current Planning Theories, Concepts and Issues; Jay M. Stein’s (editor) Classic Readings
in Urban Planning; Edward J. Kaiser, et al in Urban Land Use Planning, and Planning
in the Public domain: From Knowledge to Action, by John Friedman.

A fair number of books have been written specifically about water resources
planning. Some of the better ones were written during the 1970s and 1980s including
the following:

Alvin Goodman’s Principles of Water Resources Planning

Otto Helweg’s Water Resources Planning and Management
David Major’s Multi Objective Water Resources Planning
Jim Mulder, et al’s Integrating Water Resources and Land Use Planning
Margaret Petersen’s Water Resources Planning and Development.

You can’t go wrong with these for starters. For something more recent we suggest
Jim Heaney’s article, “New Directions in Water Resources Planning and
Management,” which appeared in the Autumn 1993 edition of Water Resources.

29
30
CHAPTER THREE: HISTORY OF WATER
RESOURCES PLANNING
“The past is only the present become invisible and mute; and
because it is invisible and mute, its memorized glances and its
murmurs are infinitely precious. We are tomorrow’s past.”
Mary Webb(1881-1927) English novelist.

INTRODUCTION
The Principles and Guidelines (P&G) is only the latest version
of a planning process that has been evolving for 200 years. It is not
likely to be the last version of a planning process to be used by the
Corps of Engineers. The nation’s water resources planning
framework has evolved gradually, reflecting the changing political
and social values of the day. The current P&G have persisted for 13
years at this writing, a modern record for longevity among planning
principles.

Knowledge of the historical background of Federal policies for

water and related land resource planning is indispensable to an
understanding of the present-day situation and its future prospects.
In this chapter, we provide a brief review of some events and
circumstances of the past 200 years that are still shaping problems
and issues in the controversial field of water resource development
and, consequently, water resource planning. Examined without
perspective, current policy may look contradictory, arbitrary, and
confusing. In historical perspective it makes sense, embodying
constitutional traditions, political convictions, institutional
developments, and changing national values to be reckoned with now
and into the future.

The values of a society are reflected in its public policy goals.

Different mixes of values will appear in different historical epochs.
As a result, policy goals will shift and evolve over time. Corps
personnel recognize the present as a time of significant changes. The
advent of changes in the cost-sharing formulas and an expanded role
for non-Federal partners befitting their expanded financial
responsibilities marks a serious change in the Corps’ programs.

When the history of the Federal government’s role in water

resource development and planning is recounted, however, we see

31
 wave after wave of significant change. Even in relatively stable
periods during which “business as usual” had enough time to take on
meaning, we see the seeds of change sown in the Nation’s political
and public landscapes. With remarkable regularity, these seeds
would blossom into periods of upheaval and major reorientations in
water resource development. Only the passage of time and the
change of personnel mask the significance of these upheavals to the
programs and those executing them. If nothing else, recent history
shows the resiliency of the planning process as it has repeatedly
adapted to changing priorities and circumstances.

While there are many excellent, detailed writings on the

history of Federal water resource planning,4 there are none concisely
focused on the evolution of the planning process. There is a great
deal of historical and institutional knowledge in danger of being lost
in the absence of this work. This chapter does not pretend to be such
a work. It is, however, an attempt to document some of the more
important events and circumstances in the evolution of Federal water
resources planning in the U.S. as related to the greater focus of this
planning manual, so that interested students of this subject can begin
their own study.

...seeds of change
would blossom into A BRIEF HISTORY OF WATER
periods of upheaval RESOURCE PLANNING IN THE U.S.
and major
THE BEGINNINGS OF WATER RESOURCE PLANNING
reorientations in water
resource development. The purpose of this section is to provide a sense of
the evolution and change that has shaped and continues to
shape Federal water resource programs. Water resource
planning is as old as civilization itself. Navigation began when
people learned wood floated. Irrigation accompanied agriculture.
Parts of one of the earliest water supply systems, the Roman
aqueducts, are still in use.

4
Reference to several of these writings can be found in the bibliography of this manual. Nonetheless, two
authors merit special recognition. Beatrice Hort Holmes has done an extraordinary job of documenting the history of
water resource policy through 1970. The many works of Henry P. Caulfield, Jr., present one of the most thoughtful
and farsighted analysis of Federal water policy available in the literature. This chapter owes a great debt to the work of
Henry P. Caulfield, Jr. Much of the history of water resource development given here has been taken directly from his
works.

32
EARLY WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT IN AMERICA

Look at the United State’s first major urban centers: Baltimore,

Philadelphia, New York, Boston. All are port cities. Find the oldest
towns in the original states and they are generally nestled along the
rivers and coasts as ports, mill towns, or fishing villages, all
dependent on water.

One of the first acts of the Congress of the newly formed United
States was, on August 7, 1789, to authorize construction of a lighthouse at
Cape Henry, Virginia. This was the first public works project
undertaken by the Federal government. It was built in recognition of
the fact that coastal and foreign shipping was the lifeblood of the
nation’s economy.

Before the advent of the railroad in the 1820s, water

transport on rivers, lakes and canals - although largely
undeveloped - was by far the cheapest means of internal bulk
transport. The interest in internal improvements was so great
that, in 1807, the Senate directed
Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin to
make a thorough investigation of Water
waterways, canals, and roads. Apologizing resources
planning is as
for the “lateness” of his report, Gallatin in
old as
1808 presented a foresighted summary guide civilization
to future development of a system of roads and
inland water routes that would unite the states
and provide access to the interior of the continent. The objectives of
the Gallatin report were economic development of the
West, political unity, and national defense. Gallatin
believed these improvements were of little value unless they
were all undertaken at once.

During the period 1817 to 1838, state and city

governments took the lead in the development of inland
waterway projects in cooperation with private enterprise.
Most of these canals failed to pay back the substantial
investments required for their construction, the Erie Canal
being a notable exception. State and private enterprise lacked
the financial resources and the technical personnel required
to make these projects economically viable, despite the fact

33
 that the Federal government provided some land grants and
army surveying personnel to assist the canal-building efforts.

The failures of the great canal era are significant because they
opened the door for Federal assumption of responsibility for planning,
financing, constructing, operating, and maintaining inland
navigation.

There were many milestones in the evolution

...support for Federal of water resource development in the U.S. during the
navigation development 19th century. The 1824 landmark case of Gibbons
grew stronger because of vs. Ogden that gave Congress power over “...
popular disenchantment
navigation within the limits of every state in the
with railroad rates and
union” was based on the Supreme Court’s
interpretation of the Commerce Clause. That same
year, the first Rivers and Harbors Act was passed.
It provided for $75,000 worth of improvements to navigation
on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.

The Swamp Acts of 1849 and 1850 turned lands

over to the states to be sold, with the revenues being used for
flood control, drainage and reclamation. In these actions, we
find the beginnings of a national flood control function,
although it was initially linked with navigation.

After the Civil War, support for Federal navigation

development grew stronger because of popular
disenchantment with railroad rates and discrimination.
Waterways were seen as a way to regulate rail rates through
competition.

A catastrophic flood on the Mississippi in 1874 led to

a Congressional report and the 1879 establishment of the
Mississippi River Commission (MRC). The MRC was
empowered to survey the river and prepare plans to improve
navigation and prevent floods. Flood control was still tied to
navigation improvements. Despite the introduction of flood
control, drainage, irrigation, and water power as new water
development purposes, the century ended as it had begun with
navigation for the purpose of uniting the expanding nation for

34
economic development as the major force in water resource
development.

The Reclamation Act of 1902 introduced a new major

water resource purpose, irrigation. This act enabled the
government to make use of its proprietary powers over public
lands in the West to build irrigation reservoirs to supply
water for family farm settlement. By the late 19th century,
Congress could see that Federal resources would be required
to settle the West. Large water projects were expensive and
required more expertise in planning, development and
management than was locally available.

The Conservation Movement

One of the political reactions to the rise of

industrialism and large cities after the Civil War was an elite
reformist drive favoring government action to “preserve”
natural resources. At the turn of the century, natural
scientists had become established in some of the new and
important Federal government agencies. They and their
professional colleagues in academia developed the knowledge
of the natural environment that, combined with ethical and
aesthetic concerns, provided the intellectual basis for the
Conservation Movement. The future of the world’s energy
resources was a particular concern of this movement.

“Development and wise use”

may stand as an odd philosophy of ...basin flood
conservation today but it was a control evolved from
water resource policy philosophy a local concern to a
formulated during the Roosevelt national interest...
years that prevailed into the
1960s. The trend toward planning
and developing multi-purpose projects fit nicely into the
traditions of the 19th century that included pork barrel politics,
nearly semi-annual omnibus bills, an expanding concept of national
interest, a rapidly advancing state-of-the-art for engineering and
other sciences, a growing base of political and public support, and an

35
intangible sense of adventure in the great engineering projects of that
age. Multi-purpose projects in the early 20th century meant
navigation, irrigation, hydroelectric power, water power, and,
soon, flood control.

Flood Control

The 1927 flood resulted in the 1928 Flood Control

Act in which Congress adopted a project for the control of
floods on the Mississippi because of the large local
expenditures in the past and the failure of these works to
contain the flooding. As the magnitude of the national flood
problem grew, basin flood control evolved from a local
concern to a national interest as expressed in the Flood
Control Act of 1936. Flood control became a Federal policy
with this act.

The River and Harbor Act of 1925 authorized the

Corps of Engineers to estimate the costs of conducting
comprehensive multi-purpose planning studies for all the
major river basins of the U.S. That cost estimate was
submitted to Congress in House Document No. 308 in
1926. In the decades that followed, the Corps completed
reports on some 200 rivers. The resulting “308 Reports” were
the most complete and comprehensive studies of the river basins of the
U.S. ever undertaken to that point in time.

Although the plans did not set forth recommendations,

they did include specific plans of improvements and projects.
The plans addressed problems with and potential for
navigation, flood control, power, and irrigation throughout
the U.S.

During the 1940s, Congress gave the Corps the

continuing authority to conduct studies and implement
projects for clearing and snagging (Section 3 of River and
Harbor Act of 1945), emergency bank protection (Section
14 of Flood Control Act of 1946), and small flood control
projects (Section 205 of Flood Control Act of 1948).
With these authorities, it was no longer necessary for the

36
 Corps to receive explicit authorization and appropriations for
small-scale projects. The Flood Control Act of 1944 further
authorized the Corps to develop recreation facilities at its
projects.

Section 107 of the River and Harbor and Flood

Control Act of 1960 established a continuing authority for
the construction of small navigation projects. Over the years
the annual program and individual project limits for the
various continuing authorities have changed with the budget
imperatives of the day.

Looking back on the history of water resource

development, particularly as it relates to the Corps of
Engineers, we see, beginning with the River and Harbor Act
of 1875, a series of omnibus bills defining, expanding and
changing the Corps’ programs, authorities and responsibilities in
managing the nation’s water resources. The River and Harbor
Acts were generally omnibus bills dealing with navigation
improvements. The last of 24 River and Harbor Acts was in
1958. Omnibus flood control laws began with the Flood
Control Act of 1917. The ninth and final Flood Control
Act was passed in 1948.

Beginning in 1960, the omnibus bills were combined

in a series of five River and Harbor and Flood Control
Acts. The last act was in 1970. Since that time, the omnibus
bills have been called Water Resources Development Acts
(WRDA). The first was in 1974.

In addition to these omnibus bills there have been many

significant pieces of legislation that have affected Corps programs.
These are discussed in more detail in the Corps’ Policy
Digest (1996).

The environmental The environmental movement of the 1960s through

movement of the the present was built upon the nature preservation principles
1960s...was built that the conservation movement of Pinchot-Roosevelt rejected in
upon... favor of multi-purpose project development. Gradually the word
nature preservation “environment” was used officially in policy considerations in
place of the earlier “natural resources” which, at the time,
principles.
implied economic development and use of the resources. The

37
word, “natural,” did not seem to encompass the interest in
preservation of historic buildings, landscape architecture, job health
and safety protection, control of highway billboards, screening of
junkyards, anti-littering campaigns and other means of enhancing
environmental quality.

The animus that seemed to guide the development of the

official objective of environmental quality was concern for the
aesthetic and the ethical, in the tradition of Emerson, Thoreau, and the
19th century Naturalists. Congressional response to the growing
concern for environmental quality was positive, strong, and manifest
in many acts of Congress.

PLANNING PRINCIPLES THROUGH THE YEARS

The Early Years

Little is known about the planning principles employed

during the first 150 years of our nation’s water resource development.
For most of our national history, water resources planning has been
oriented toward understanding the physical and natural systems at
work in order to harness or modify them to preserve and enhance
human values.

What has changed most about the planning process has been
its level of sophistication, made possible by advances in our
understanding of the complex natural, environmental, economic,
social, and political systems involved. The P&G planning framework
in use today reflects decades of evolution in thought about and in
experience with methods of water resources planning in the United
States. It also reflects the current balance of politically determined
national values. Though that evolution is far from complete and the
framework is far from perfect, it is currently considered better than
any other framework available. The P&G planning framework can be
better appreciated from a historical perspective.

First Half of the 20th Century

Prior to 1900 and for some years thereafter, investigative,

planning, and reporting procedures used by the Corps were largely
those developed in consideration of navigation improvements. The
Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors was created by the Act
of June 13, 1902.

38
 The Federal government in 1917 prescribed that all
examinations and surveys for flood control should include a
comprehensive study of the watershed. This would include water
power and “other such uses as may be properly related to or
coordinated with the project.”

The River and

Harbor Act of June 5, 1920 District offices developed
provided that all reports their
“Shall contain a statement own methods of engineering
of special or local benefit
and economic analysis.
which will accrue to
localities affected by such
improvement and
statement of general or national benefits, with recommendations as
to what local cooperation should be required, if any, on account of
such local benefit.”

Experience gained and procedures used to prepare some 200

comprehensive 308 Reports were to exert a strong influence over
subsequent planning activities of the Corps. In preparing the 308
reports, district offices developed their own methods of engineering
and economic analysis. These methods were widely exchanged
among the field offices. Planning remained very much focused on the
engineering aspects of solutions to problems. In the 1930s, planning
guidance began to appear in the form of Circular Letters and
Engineer Bulletins, precursors to the modern ERs, ECs, and similar
guidance.

One of the first and most significant developments in the

articulation of a Federal water resource planning framework occurred
with the Flood Control Act of 1936. Section 1 declared that flood
control is a proper Federal activity, that improvements for flood
control purposes are in the interest of the general welfare, and that the
Federal government should improve or participate in the improvement of
navigable waters or their tributaries for flood control “if the benefits to
whomsoever they may accrue are in excess of the estimated costs, and if the
lives and social security of people are otherwise not adversely affected” (49
Stat. 1570, 33 U.S.C. 701a).

Planning Studies

The actual study process, as it evolved near the middle of this

century, tended to comprise two steps. A preliminary examination
was done first. This is clearly akin to the modern reconnaissance
study.

39
 If the preliminary report was favorable it was followed by a
more detailed “survey”. The survey report was to determine:

“the most suitable plan for improvement and whether such

improvement is economically justified...If...the improvement
appears to be justified, engineering and economic data are
developed to the extent necessary for project formulation and
evaluation.”5

The “Report on the Federal Civil Works Program as Administered by

the Corps of Engineers U.S. Army: Appendix D Policies and Procedures for
Investigating and Planning Civil Works” describes the “Procedures for
Project Formulation and Evaluation” circa the early 1950s. These, in a sense,
were the major steps in the planning process. The procedures must: (1)
establish the need for the project; (2) select the proper scope, type, and details
of design; (3) demonstrate its economic value; and, (4) provide for allocation
of costs when a sharing of cost between various interests is involved.

Though a comparison of benefits and costs was required only for flood control
projects the Corps applied the benefit-cost analysis test to all its projects. Thus,
economic analysis of projects has been essential to the planning process for
well over half a century. The with- and without-project condition analysis
framework was introduced during this time.

Bureau of the Budget Circular A-47

By the middle of the century, several familiar elements of the planning

process were well established. What was missing was a Federal policy that would
assure uniformity of planning among all water resource agencies. There were
several agencies involved in water resource development including the
Corps, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Soil Conservation Service. In
December 1952, the Bureau of the Budget issued Circular A-47 to water
resource agency heads to inform them of the standards it intended to use to
accept or reject agency evaluations of water resource projects.

The Green Book

In 1950, a report of the Subcommittee on Benefits and Costs was

circulated among the agencies. This document was revised and published in
May 1958 as a comprehensive and objective approach to project formulation
and evaluation called “Proposed Practices for Economic Analysis of River

5
Ibid, pp. 238-241.

40
 Basin Projects.” This document came to be known as “the Green Book6” like
its 1950 predecessor, because of the color of its cover. The report covers the
basic principles and concepts of benefit-cost analysis; principles and procedures
for project and program formulation; standards, problems and procedures in benefit
and cost measurement; analysis of various project purposes; and, cost allocation.

The Green Book clearly established the principle of maximizing net

benefits. The major planning steps appear to include an analysis of needs
and available resources and the consideration of alternative means of
accomplishing project purposes.

The discussion of the formulation process describes a “nucleus of

development” that is identified. Then alternative scales of development
greater and lesser than the nucleus are considered. The optimum scale is that
which maximizes net benefits. The consideration of alternative plans
concentrates on assuring that there is no cheaper means of accomplishing the
same purpose. It is recognized that “in theory, the broadest range of
alternatives...should be considered,” but the emphasis is clearly on a severely
limited range of objectives.

A project is “...properly formulated and economically justified if: (1)

project benefits exceed project costs; (2) each separable segment or purpose
provides benefits at least equal to its costs; (3) the scale of development is
such as to provide the maximum net benefits; and (4) there are no more
economical means of accomplishing the same purpose...” There is no explicit
mention of any criteria other than economics.

Though the document was never formally adopted by the Federal

Inter-Agency River Basin Committee or its successor, many of its principles
were embodied in Circular A-47 and others were followed by the water
resource agencies. These principles and Circular A-47 were mandating one
objective for water resources projects, national economic efficiency. This was
contrary to the history of American water resource development, which had
always included a strong regional economic development component. This
and other possible water resource objectives, like unity, national defense,
environment, and other human satisfactions, were effectively being denied
a role in the planning process.

Plan Formulation in 1959

A statement prepared for the Appropriations Committee of the first

session of the 86th Congress entitled “Laws and Procedures Governing

6
The Green Book was originally issued in 1950 and was revised in 1958. The final, 1958 version is
generally what is meant by the Green Book.

41
 Conduct of the Civil Works Program” dated April 1959 contains one of the
earliest and most concise descriptions of the planning process. Section IV of
this statement describes plan formulation as follows:

“Project formulation is the process of designing water resource

improvement projects and programs to serve specific needs
efficiently and economically.”

The four “principal phases of study” were:

C Determination of the nature and scope of the

problems for which solution is sought;

C Identification of all alternative measures and

combinations of measures which reasonably might be
applied in the solution of these problems;

C Determination of the benefits and costs or, more

broadly, the determinate effects, beneficial or adverse,
tangible or intangible, of the alternative projects and
programs which have been identified; and,

C Selection of the best solution from the array of

alternative solutions which have been considered.

Formulation is described as, from beginning to end, largely a matter of

weighing and comparing alternatives to determine their relative efficiency in
doing the desired water resources improvement job. Subsequent
articulations of the planning steps clearly show the debt they owe in spirit to
these earlier versions of the plan formulation process.

Senate Document Number 97

President Kennedy, on May 15, 1962, “...approved a statement of

policies, standards and procedures to be used...in the formulation, evaluation,
and review of plans for the use and development of water and related land
resources.”7 This was “Policies, Standards, and Procedures in the
Formulation, Evaluation, and Review of Plans for Use and Development of
Water and Related Land Resources” contained in Senate Document Number
97 (SD 97), the name by which these policies are better known.

7
From a letter dated May 15, 1962 by Director of the Bureau of the Budget, David G. Bell to the heads of
all executive agencies, rescinding Circular A-47.

42
 SD 97, an interdepartmental agreement that was never formally
approved by Congress, was in response to the President’s request for a
review of existing standards for formulating and evaluating water resource
projects. These changes superseded Circular A-47 (the Green Book was never
officially adopted) and were to enable Congress and the President to make
informed judgments about the desirability of water projects. The changes,
like all the changes before them, reflected the evolving values of the Nation
and moved the decision process away from the consideration of a single
planning objective.

SD 97 identifies three objectives of planning that are each to receive full

consideration. They are (1) Development, i.e., national economic development
and development of each region within the country (comprising what today
would be considered two objectives); (2) Preservation, i.e., proper
stewardship in the long-term interest of the Nation’s natural bounty; and (3)
Well-being of people. Significantly, the document says “Well-being of all
people shall be the overriding determinant in considering the best use of
water and related land resources.”

For the first time, preservation of resources is added as an objective that is

distinct from the development of resources. This was a significant step in the
evolution of environmental planning objectives that was due to the
growing strength of the environmental movement. Also for the
first time, policies, procedures, and standards for plan formulation
River basins were to be the were put forth in a single document. It was directed that all
preferred planning area... viewpoints - national, regional, State, and local - be taken into
account, although the national viewpoint is clearly preeminent.
River basins were to be the preferred planning area, and multi-
purpose planning was to be used.

The Water Resources Council began its review of the principles and
standards for planning water and related land resource projects mandated by
the Water Resources Planning Act of 1965 in 1968, amidst much controversy.
The Council had to respond to the imperatives of the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA). A Special Task Force to the Council prepared reports on
“Principles” and “Standards.” A third report on “Procedures” was to be
completed later. These two reports known as “the Orange Books” suggested
major changes from the SD 97 planning framework. Four objectives for
planning were proposed. They were (1) to enhance national economic
development; (2) to enhance the quality of the environment; (3) to enhance
social well-being; and (4) to enhance regional development. No one of any of
the four objectives was to be considered more important than any other.

43
 “Principles and Standards”

Section 209 of the Flood Control Act of 1970 expressed Congress’

intent that all four objectives be equal. Nonetheless, the Orange Books were
never adopted. Instead, the Water
Resources Council in December 1971
Four Accounts issued its own “Proposed Principles
and Standards for Planning Water
In the 1970 Flood Control Act, and Related Land Resources” (italics
Congress identified four equal national added for emphasis). The major
objectives for use in water resources changes from the Orange Books were
development planning. They were: national that (1) social well-being was
economic development; regional economic dropped as an objective; (2) using
development; environmental quality; and regional development as an objective
social well-being. During the 1970s two of in plan formulation would require
these, NED and EQ, were actually national advance approval; (3) a plan
objectives. Now only NED remains a national maximizing contributions to national
objective. However, these four categories of economic development was now
required; (4) a plan contributing to
plan effects remain important considerations of
environmental quality was now
water resource projects.
required; and (5) the discount rate
would not be that used by OMB.
All significant effects of a plan should
be accounted for in the planning process. In
Two years of extensive
order to facilitate an orderly display of project review and debate ensued. On
effects it has been suggested they be grouped September 10, 1973, “Principles and
into one of four accounts. Those effects Standards for Planning Water and
resulting in changes in national economic Related Land Resources” (P&S) were
development would be included in the NED published in the Federal Register,
account, those affecting environmental quality finally replacing SD 97. The major
would be in the EQ account, etc. The four change in the final P&S was that
accounts remain an effective way to organize environmental concerns were placed on
and present plan effects for the consideration an equal basis with national economic
of decision-makers and the public. development. There were two objectives
for water resource planning. First, to
enhance national economic
development by increasing the value of the nation’s output of goods and
services and improving national economic
efficiency. Second, to enhance the quality of
the environment by the management, ...environmental
conservation, preservation, creation, concerns were placed
restoration, or improvement of the quality of on an equal basis
certain natural and cultural resources and
with national
ecological systems.
economic
development.

44
 In addition to the two objectives, there would be four accounts: national
economic development (NED); environmental quality (EQ); regional development
(RD); and social well-being (SWB). Plan impacts on the different accounts were
to be evaluated and displayed in a system of accounts. The obligation to
formulate an EQ plan was eliminated from the final rules. A six-step planning
process was provided. The major steps of the evolving planning process were
(1) Specify components of the objectives relevant to the planning setting; (2)
Evaluate resource capabilities and expected conditions without any plan; (3)
Formulate alternative plans to achieve varying levels of contributions to the
specified components of the objectives; (4) Analyze the differences among
alternative plans which reflect different emphasis among the specified
components of the objectives; (5) Review and reconsider, if necessary, the
specified components for the planning setting and formulate additional
alternative plans as appropriate; and (6) Select a recommended plan from
among the alternative plans based upon an evaluation of the trade-offs
between the objectives of national economic development and environmental
quality and considering, where appropriate, the effects of the plans on
regional development and social well-being.

The Carter Administration issued its “Water Policy Initiatives” in

1978, challenging the then-current way of doing business. Proposed changes
in cost-sharing formulas also began to be publicly debated. Following a very
controversial “Hit List” in which numerous authorized projects in various
stages of planning or construction were threatened with being halted, another
round of changes in water policy resulted. Chief among these may have been
the development of the Procedures for Evaluation of National Economic
Development (NED) Benefits and Costs in Water Resources Planning (Level C) and
Proposed Revisions to the Standards for Planning Water and Related Land
Resources. The NED procedures standardized the estimation of benefits and
costs for Federal projects for the first time. The P&S were revised effective
September 29, 1980.

The language describing the national objectives of planning studies

was modified to make the status of the two objectives clearer:

“Two coequal objectives provide the basis for water and

related land resources planning. These objectives are
protection and enhancement of national economic
development (NED) and protection and enhancement of
environmental quality (EQ).”

More generally, the language of the P&S was considerably changed with
relatively little change in substance.

The six major steps of the revised P&S planning process were
essentially the same, but they are more clearly described as follows:

45
 1) Specification of the water and related land resources
problems and opportunities (relevant to the planning
setting) associated with the NED and EQ objectives.

2) Inventory, forecast, and analysis of water and related

land resource conditions within the planning area
relevant to the identified problems and opportunities.

3) Formulation of alternative plans.

4) Evaluation of the effects of the alternative plans.

5) Comparison of alternative plans.

6) Selection of a recommended plan based upon the

comparison of alternative plans.

The revised P&S go on in §711.101(b) to say:

“Plan formulation is a dynamic process with various steps

that should be iterated one or more times. This iteration
process, which may occur at any step, may sharpen the
planning focus or change its emphasis as new data are
obtained or as the specification of problems or opportunities
changes or becomes more clearly defined.”

The new P&S required that alternative plans be formulated in consideration

of the four tests of completeness, effectiveness, efficiency, and acceptability.
The major changes in the formulation of plans were (1) the requirement to include
a primarily non-structural plan whenever structural projects were considered and
(2) the requirement to establish water conservation as a new national priority to
be fully integrated into project and program planning. The alternative plans were
now to include an NED plan and an EQ plan, a notion proposed by the Orange
Books but rejected in the original P&S. Plans were to be formulated without
regard to which level of government had the authority to implement them.

The effects of the plans on the four accounts were still to be displayed
and traded-off in the selection process. The name of the Social Well-Being
account was changed to Other Social Effects (OSE). Environmental planning
procedures were formally added at this time as well. Though not actually
part of the P&S, a significant addition to planning guidance was the
“Environmental Quality Evaluation Procedures for Level C Water Resources
Planning: Final Rule” which accompanied the P&S. The relationship
between the planning process and the EQ evaluation phases and stages was
detailed here.

46
“Principles and Guidelines”

The new P&S were in effect for about two years. The Reagan
Administration repealed the Principles and Standards in September 1982, replacing
them

with proposed “Principles and Guidelines.” The new Principles were approved
by the President in February 1983, and the new Standards and Procedures
were approved March 10, 1983, in the “Economic and Environmental
Principles and Guidelines for Water and Related Land Resources
Implementation Studies” better known as Principles and Guidelines or P&G.

The “Principles” changed the focus

from two coequal national objectives back to a
single Federal objective. “The Federal The only required plan
objective of water and related land was
resources project planning is to contribute the NED plan.
to national economic development
consistent with protecting the nation’s
environment, pursuant to national
environmental statutes, applicable executive orders, and other Federal
planning requirements.” The only required plan was the NED plan.

The only change in the major steps of the planning process in the P&G
was a minor modification of the first step, shown below with the changes
italicized:
1) Specification of the water and related land resources
problems and opportunities (relevant to the planning
setting) associated with the Federal objective and specific
State and local concerns.

The intent of the P&G was clearly to give economic development a higher
standing than environmental quality as a criteria for Federal water project
planning. The requirements to formulate EQ and nonstructural plans were
eliminated.

The new guidelines make mandatory only the NED account. The other
three accounts are to be used when they contain information that may bear
on the decision-making process. They are no longer required in the sense
they once were. The detailed procedures for evaluation of NED benefits and
costs, published by the Carter Administration in 1979 as rules, were included
in the P&G as administrative guidelines. The EQ evaluation procedures of
1980 were also included in the P&G.

47
 The major change with the P&G was to focus on a single economic
development objective. Some had argued that multi-objective planning had
become too time consuming, complicated, and costly. Environmental groups
objected vigorously to the elimination of an EQ objective. Many considered
this in conflict with the expressed intent of the National Environmental Policy
Act. Also significant was the downgrading of this material from rules to
guidelines. Changes to the Guidelines can be made by agency heads if they
have the approval of the Cabinet Council on Natural Resources and the
Environment.

WRDA 1986

The Water Resources Act of 1986 (WRDA’86), Public Law 99-662, was one
of the most significant pieces of water resources legislation in recent history. It
marked the first omnibus water act in a decade, a decade in which many
policy changes had taken place. Section 101 of the Act established new
project cost-sharing percentages that required non-Federal interests to
contribute a greater share of project costs than they had been accustomed to
in the past. Section 105 required non-Federal interests to contribute 50% of
feasibility study costs. Raising the costs of Federal projects in these ways is
believed to have reduced the demand for Federal projects as well as increased
the role of the non-Federal partner in the study process.

Among the other significant impacts of this law were the creation of
an Inland Waterways Users Board to direct Inland Waterways Trust Fund
expenditures; the authorization of fish and wildlife enhancement; legislation
of the assumption that the benefits of environmental measures at least equal
the costs of creating them; and the establishment of a continuing authority
program to modify projects to improve the environment.

Subsequent WRDA’s have continued the evolution of Federal water

resources development policy. None have had the same impact as WRDA
’86, however.

CONTINUING EVOLUTION
The Corps’ water resource programs continue to be revised - expanding in
some areas, contracting in others - by Water Resource Development Acts and a
planning process that continues to develop. Increased cost-sharing
responsibilities for the non-Federal partner (WRDA ’86) highlight the need to
quantify and assess the importance of regional and local economic impacts
of plans. These are often of far more importance to local partners than are
NED benefits. Burgeoning interest in environmental investments, ecosystem

48
restoration (WRDA ’86), and environmental impacts argue for an enhanced
role for environmental quality.

Some would suggest that the P&G are ill-suited to meet water
planning needs today. History has shown the opposite. Despite the swing to
and from emphasis on NED, only the planning process itself and the four-
account framework remain remarkably robust and resilient. An iterative six-
step planning process that assesses plan impacts in a multiple-account
framework offers planners an organized, comprehensive, and rational
approach to assessing and evaluating plans.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER READING

The reader interested in the historical background of water resource
development in the U.S. has many options. The single best source for
comprehensive detail are the works of Beatrice Holmes, a former Department
of Agriculture employee. The shame is that she did not continue her work
beyond 1970.

Holmes, Beatrice Hart. A History of Federal Water Resource Programs, 1800-

1960. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Holmes, Beatrice Hart. History of Federal Water Resource Programs and Policies,
1961-1970. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1979.

One of the best sources for insight and understanding of the

underlying historical and political themes are the works of Henry P.
Caulfield. His works tend to papers that can be a little difficult to find without
the assistance of a good interlibrary loan librarian to help you. A few
suggestions follow, but you’ll be rewarded by any of his works. The
following works were used extensively in this chapter.

Caulfield, Henry P., Jr. “History of U.S. Water Policy.” Colorado Agribusiness
Roundup. Fall/Winter 1980-1981. Colorado State University. 1981.

Caulfield, Henry P., Jr. “Let’s Dismantle (Largely but not Fully) the Federal
Water Resource Development Establishment, or the Apostasy of a
Longstanding Water Resource Development Federalist.” Denver
Journal of International Law in Policy. Volume 6. Special Issue 1976.

Caulfield, Henry P., Jr. “The Living Past in Federal Power Policy.” Resources
for the Future 1959 Annual Report. Washington, D.C. 1959.

49
Caulfield, Henry P., Jr. “Perspectives on Instream Flow Needs.” Paper
delivered at Instream Flow Needs Conference. Boise, Idaho. May 4,
1976.

Caulfield, Henry P., Jr. “Planning Programs and Water Problems: Do They
Match?” Paper delivered at 1977 National Conference on Water. St.
Louis, Missouri. May 24, 1977.

The most serious students will want to make use of the extensive
public record. Committee reports on the major legislative actions can be
revealing sources of information obscured from the public eye by time or the
rigidity of the act’s language. Likewise, testimony before the committees
considering the acts can be rich sources of information. Want a glimpse
behind the scenes? Only the most serious students will want to review the
one-of-a-kind documents of the Rivers and Harbors Congress, now part of the
library collections of Tulane University in New Orleans.

The evolution of the P&S and P&G is well documented in a series of

documents available from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS),
U.S. Department of Commerce. The working files of the Water Resources
Council are another source of valuable information. Some documents of
possible interest are listed below with their NTIS order numbers.

The “Green Book” of 1958. Order # PB-209 180.

Senate Document Number 97. Order # PB-209 171.

Report to the Water Resources Council by the Special Task Force, Procedures
for Evaluation of Water and Related Land Resource Projects, June
1969 (“Blue Book”). Order # PB-209 171.

Summary: Federal Agency Technical Comments on the Special Task Force

Report Entitled “Projects for Evaluation of Water and Related Land
Resource Projects,” July 1970. (“T.F. Report” - Vol. I). Order # PB-209
172.

Summary and Index: Public Response to the Special Task Force Report
entitled “Projects for Evaluation of Water and Related Land Resource
Projects,” July 1970. (“T.F. Report” - Vol. II). Order # PB-209 173.

Report to the Water Resources Council by the Special Task Force: Findings
and Recommendations, July 1970. (“T.F. Report” - Vol. III). Order #
PB-209 174.

50
Report to the Water Resources Council by the Special Task Force: Principles
for Planning Water and Land Resources, July 1970. (“T.F. Report” -
Vol. IV). Order # PB-209 175.

Report to the Water Resources Council by the Special Task Force: Standards
for Planning Water and Land Resources, July 1970. (“T.F. Report” -
Vol. V). Order # PB-209 176.

Report to the Water Resources Council by the Special Task Force: A Summary
Analysis of Nineteen Tests of Proposed Evaluation Procedures on
Selected Water and Land Resource Projects, July 1970. (“T.F. Report”
- Vol. VI). Order # PB-209 177.

Interested in a history of the agency? Many of the districts have

commissioned their own histories. A nice history of the Corps has also been
prepared. But if you read the official history, you owe it to yourself to read
the Maass book, which is another view of the Corps, a scathing one that must
be read by any serious student of history.

Maass, Arthur. Muddy Waters. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1951.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The History of the US Army Corps of Engineers.
EP 360-1-21. Washington, D.C. January 1986.

A somewhat prophetic study is a study published by Colorado State

University. It provides some statistical analysis of then-developing trends in
the Corps’ program.

Yoe, Charles. The Declining Role of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the
Development of the Nation’s Water Resources. Colorado Water Resources
Research Institute, Fort Collins. 1981.

To round out your reading list with a few more current titles you
might find some of the following of interest.

Arnold, Joseph L. The Evolution of the 1936 Flood Control Act. Office of History,
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alexandria, Virginia. 1988.

Moore, Jamie W. And Dorothy P. Moore. The Army Corps of Engineers and the
Evolution of Federal Flood Plain Management Policy. Institute of
Behavioral Science, University of Colorado. 1989.

Reus, Martin. Reshaping National Water Politics: The Emergence of the Water
Resources Development Act of 1986. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Institute for Water Resources. IWR Policy Study 91-PS-1. October
1991.

51
Rosen, Howard and Martin Reus, ed’s. The Flood Control Challenge: Past,
Present, and Future. Proceedings of a National Symposium, New
Orleans, Louisiana, September 26, 1986.

National Academy of Sciences. “Alternatives in Water Management.”

National Research Council, Washington, D.C. 1966.

SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD

Lesson One. Today’s planning process has evolved from a rich history
of changing policies, practices, and national priorities. It will continue to
evolve.

Lesson Two. The fundamental principles of a step-by-step planning

process, driven by national objectives and evaluations across different
accounts, have endured through this history of change.

This chapter provides an overview of water resource development

and planning in the United States over two centuries. It describes in general
terms how the planning process evolved to the current Principles and
Guidelines. The next chapter picks up where this one has left off and goes on
to describe in a bit more detail the current state of planning guidance.

52
53
CHAPTER FOUR: PLANNING GUIDANCE
“If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun.” Katharine
Hepburn (1909- ) American actress.

INTRODUCTION
The Corps’ planning guidance comes from different places. National
policy is expressed by the Congress and the Administration in legislation,
Federal rules and regulations, and Executive Orders as well as in the
Principles and Guidelines. The Corps itself has generated a great deal of
guidance in the form of engineering regulations, circulars, etc. Though only
the planning guidance is of interest here, the Corps is subject to guidance that
covers a wide variety of topics and functions.

The Corps of Engineers’ planning guidance can be found in five

primary sources. The first and most important of these is the Economic and
Environmental Principles and Guidelines for Water and Related Land Resources
Implementation Studies, also known as the Principles and Guidelines or the
P&G. The second most important source is Engineering Regulation 1105-2-
100 Guidance for Conducting Civil Works Planning Studies. In no particular
order the remaining sources of information are the Digest of Water Resources
Policies and Authorities,; Guidance Letters series, and, a series of engineering
regulations (ERs) and engineering circulars (ECs) in addition to ER 1105-2-
100.

Planning policy and guidance are dynamic things. If

past is prologue to the future, the previous chapter would
...sooner or later the suggest that sooner or later the P&G will be changed in
P&G will be changed... another evolutionary leap forward. Policy will likewise
continue to evolve as national priorities change. As a
result, it’s not possible to provide you with a timeless and
unchanging handbook to planning guidance. Though current at the time of this
writing, the materials discussed in this chapter are subject to regular revision
and change.

To function effectively as a planner, one must read these documents

and have a working knowledge and understanding of their contents. Those
who would like to understand what Corps planners do would be well
advised to browse through the P&G and ER 1105-2-100.

This chapter presents an overview and introduction to these and other

selected planning documents. The original documents should be consulted

54
 for a more detailed explanation of the topics found in this chapter. Appendix
I contains a list of relevant Corps planning documents.

THE PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES

The P&G is currently the Corps planner’s bible. It is the philosophical
source document. Established March 10, 1983, the most significant aspects of
the P&G are as follows: (1) They marked a departure from their predecessor
Principles and Standards’ reliance on multi-objective planning; (2) They
established national economic development as the
one and only Federal objective for water resources
planning; and (3) The P&G were intended to serve
Table 8: Content of P&G as guidance that is recommended, rather than as
rules that are required. The structure of the P&G is
C Principles shown in Table 8.
- 13 principles
C Guidelines
- Chapter I - Standards PRINCIPLES
- Chapter II - National Economic
Development (NED) Benefit The Principles comprise a two-page statement
Evaluation Procedures that ensures proper and consistent planning by Federal
- Chapter III - Environmental agencies that formulate and evaluate water resource
Quality (EQ) Evaluation implementation studies. Because they represent a
Procedures philosophical statement for Federal agency
planning they are reproduced in their entirety
inside the front cover of this manual.

GUIDELINES

Table 8 also shows the Table 9: Standards

structure of the Guidelines. Each
of the three components is C Introduction
discussed in turn. C The Federal Objective
C Summary of the Planning Process
C General Planning Considerations
Standards C Inventory and Forecast of
Conditions Without a Plan
In Chapter I of the C Alternative Plans
Guidelines, the Standards C Accounts
establish the criteria upon which C Displays
plans will be formulated, C Cost Allocation
evaluated, and weighed. They C Plan Selection
are shown in Table 9. The C Risk and Uncertainty

55
 standards establish the basic process for Federal agencies to follow in their
planning activities. The six-step planning process is presented in this section
of the P&G. Many of the principles identified in the two pages of the
Principles are explained in more detail in the Standards. The four accounts
are addressed at some length in the Standards.

NED Benefit Evaluation Procedures

The general approach to NED benefit evaluation is to estimate changes in

national economic development that occur as a result of differences in project outputs
with a plan, as opposed to national economic development without a plan. Only
project-related changes in levels of national economic development are
estimated. These values are to be expressed in average
annual equivalent dollars. Specific procedures have
Table 10: NED Benefit been developed to estimate NED benefits of the types
Evaluation shown in Table 10.

1. M&I Water Supply Chapter II of the Guidelines presents detailed

2. Agriculture procedures for estimating national economic
development benefits for most of the Corps’ water
3. Urban Flood Damages
resource planning purposes like flood damages,
4. Hydropower
navigation, hydropower, and the like. Most of these
5. Inland Navigation
benefit procedures have been supplemented by a series
6. Deep Draft Navigation
of National Economic Development Procedures
7. Recreation
Manuals produced by the U.S. Army Corps of
8. Commercial Fishing
Engineers’ Institute for Water Resources. Thus, anyone
9. Other Direct Benefits interested in how the Corps of Engineers estimates
10. Unemployed or Under- benefits for its traditional planning projects should begin
employed Labor Resources by consulting the procedures in the P&G. For more
11. NED Costs detailed explanations and examples, the procedures
manuals are the next logical step. A list of procedures
manuals is provided in Appendix I.

EQ Evaluation Procedures

A sometimes overlooked part of the P&G is Chapter III, which

presents environmental quality procedures. The definitions, general
evaluation requirements, and processes of this chapter provide the basis for
environmental impact assessment analyses at which the Corps has become
so proficient.

The purpose of the EQ evaluation process is not to identify plans that

meet planning objectives. Rather, EQ evaluation is used to identify significant
beneficial and adverse effects of alternative plans on significant EQ resources. Just

56
 as the NED benefit evaluation procedures are used in the planning process,
so, too the EQ evaluation process is used.

The EQ impact evaluation process proceeds in the four phases and 10

activities shown in Table 11. Phases are shown at the first level of detail,
activities at the second. These phases and activities are natural, integral parts
of the six-step planning process.

Table 11: EQ Evaluation Process: Phases and Activities

Phases Activities

Define resources Identify resources

Develop evaluation framework

Inventory resources Survey existing conditions

Forecast without-plans condition
Forecast with-plan condition

Assess effects Identify effects

Describe effects
Determine significant effects

Appraise effects Appraise significant effects

Judge net EQ effects

E
R 1105-2-100
PLANNING GUIDANCE Table 12: Contents of ER 1105-2-
100
Prior to the publication of ER
1105-2-100, planning guidance was 1. Introduction
provided in a series of engineering 2. Planning Programs
regulations (ERs). Now, all planning 3. Continuing Authorities Program
guidance is collected and presented 4. Project Purposes
5. Planning Principles
in ER 1105-2-100 Guidance for
6. Economic Considerations
Conducting Civil Works Planning
7. Environmental Planning &
Studies. The ER is alternately
Evaluation
known as ER 100, the Planning
Considerations
Guidance Notebook, or PGN
8. Washington Level Review
(pronounced “pigeon”). The
9. Seventeen Topical Appendices

57
contents of the 28 December 1990 version of the ER are summarized in Table 12.

This ER provides guidance that is specific to the Corps’ conduct of planning

studies. In essence, it puts the Corps’ spin on the P&G, fleshes out the P&G, and fills
the voids the P&G fail to address. The first task of any new planner should be to read
this regulation from cover to cover. How can we recommend this over the P&G?
Not to worry, the P&G comprises most of Chapters 5, 6, and 7 of the ER.

Chapter 2 of the ER provides the best summary of the types of studies,

reports, and study procedures available. Planning assistance to states as well as
other planning assistance is also described there. Chapter 2 is recommended reading
for anyone who will be intimately involved in the Corps’ planning study process.

The third chapter of the ER describes the Corps’ continuing authority

programs (CAP). The CAP are a set of legislative authorities that allows the
Secretary of the Army acting through the Chief of Engineers to plan, design, and
construct certain projects without specific Congressional authorization. These CAP
projects are usually smaller scale, limited scope, single purpose projects with
periodically adjusted Federal funding limits. Chapter 3 is recommended reading for
anyone pursuing a project through one of the Corps’ continuing authority programs.

Chapter 4 of the ER provides a detailed introduction to important aspects of

the Corps’ traditional project purposes. Important terminology and policy issues are
presented in this chapter. It is recommended reading for anyone involved in a Corps
study.

Chapters 5, 6, and 7 basically present the P&G. The chapters begin with a
verbatim reproduction of part of the P&G. The ends of each chapter add relevant
additional material to the P&G Standards (in Chapter 5, beginning on p. 5-34), P&G
Economic Evaluation Procedures (in Chapter 6, beginning on p. 6-141), and
Environmental Evaluation (in Chapter 7, beginning on p. 7-37). The report submittal,
assessment and processing procedures of the Corps are described in Chapter 8,
“Washington Level Review.” A set of 17 appendices provide technical details on a
number of subjects, sample documents, and examples.

ER 1105-2-100 is a lengthy document. It is not a compendium of all planning

guidance, however. Additional materials can be found in a series of related ER’s and
other Corps guidance. Nonetheless, it is the best single source of planning guidance.
It’s currently under revision. Though it is updated periodically, updating is a major
undertaking and it is not done on a routine basis. Thus, it may be necessary to look
to other sources for the most up-to-date policy.

58
Guidance Letters GUIDANCE LETTERS
CGL Counsel Guidance Letter The Guidance Letters are an effective
DGL Dredging Guidance Letter vehicle for providing guidance on issues
PGL Planning Guidance Letter needing clarification or on changing priorities.
PGL Policy Guidance Letter Guidance Letters are issued by the Planning,
PM Policy Guidance Policy, and other offices of Headquarters. They
Memorandum are an important source of information that
RGL Regulatory Guidance Letter Corps planners should not overlook. A selected
list of Guidance Letters is included in Appendix
I.

POLICY DIGEST
The “Digest of Water Resources Policies and Authorities” is a periodically
updated compilation of existing administrative and legislative water resource
policies and authorities pertinent to the Civil Works activities of the Corps of
Engineers. The most recent version of the digest at the time of this writing was dated
1996. The reader must beware that as the digest becomes more dated, it will contain
no information about more recent initiatives. Insofar as more recent initiatives are the
ones planners most need information about, the digest may be of limited use in
describing the most recent policy initiatives.

The 1996 Digest provides a comprehensive

overview of policy considerations, as opposed to
Table 13: Corps Guidance the planning or procedural considerations. This is
a technical and detailed document that is very
AR Army Regulation faithful to the legislative and administrative history
EC Engineer Circular
of the Corps’ activities.
EM Engineer Manual
EP Engineer Pamphlet
ER Engineer Regulation
ETL Technical Letter OTHER CORPS GUIDANCE
OM Office Memorandum
It’s difficult to stay abreast of Corps policy
because it is contained in so many documents. If
1105 Planning you want to be familiar with the Corps’ guidance,
1110 Engineering read the materials referenced above. Once you
1120 Construction - Operations have done that, you are ready to tackle the Army
1130 Construction - Operations regulations (ARs), engineering regulations (ERs),
1140 Construction - Operations engineering circulars (ECs), engineering pamphlets
1165 Policy (EPs), engineering technical letters (ETLs),

59
engineering manuals (EMs), and office memorandums (OM) that have accumulated
over the years. Table 13 provides a guide to the various types of guidance and the
numbering system commonly used by the Corps. The guidance identification system
begins with the type of guidance, AR, ER, EC, EP, and soon followed by a four-digit
number from Table 13 that indicates the subject of the guidance.

There is an Index of Publications EP 25-1-1 that has been updated from time-
to-time. Though it is a logical place to start, it must be used with caution because of
frequent changes in the listed guidance.

Another important source of guidance is the annual budget guidance found in

the Annual Program and Budget Request for Civil Works Activities Corps of
Engineers, Fiscal Year 199X. Additional guidance helpful in the planning process can
be found piecemeal in the ER’s and EC’s of Corps functions other than Planning. The
reports of the Institute for Water Resources and the Waterways Experiment Station,
such as the NED Manuals and reports from the Evaluation of Environmental
Investments Research Program (EEIRP), are additional resources for Corps planners.

SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD

Lesson One. To understand the Corps’ planning process, read ER 1105-2-
100.

Lesson Two. If you want to be an expert on the Corps’ planning process,

read all the materials mentioned in this chapter then do planning for a few decades.

How do you do planning? That question is addressed (notice we did not say
answered) in the next seven chapters that describe a couple of characteristics of the
Corps’ planning process and its six steps. We begin with a consideration of several
very important and somewhat unique characteristics that pervade the Corps’ planning
process.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING

The reader is encouraged to read and become familiar with the documents
described in this chapter. For more detailed or specific information, consult the
documents listed in Appendix I.

60
61
CHAPTER FIVE: CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
CORPS PLANNING PROCESS
“Let all things be done decently and in order.”
Corinthians 14:40.

INTRODUCTION
Each of the following six chapters addresses one of the six planning
steps. Though the sequence of presentation is a simple linear progression, the
practice of planning is anything but simple or linear. There are some
characteristics of the Corps’ planning process that pervade and even pre-exist
the six-step planning process and that warrant consideration before we begin
to consider the steps. The iterative planning process; screening as a tool for
making on-going, criteria-based decisions throughout the planning process;
scoping, a special kind of screening; and the general planning context are
some of these characteristics that form the basis for this chapter.

PLANNING IS AN ITERATIVE PROCESS

Planning has six steps, but it is not a nice, neat, sequential process.
It is more marble cake than layer cake. Understanding the iterative nature of
the planning process is one of the more difficult things for new planners to
grasp. You do a step and then you do it over
and you keep on doing it until it is done. All
the steps will be finished when planning is Planning is...more
done well. But, along the way, they may be marble cake than
started in any order and addressed a different layer cake.
number of times to varying extents before they
are finished. The discussion that follows
begins with what we imagine might be some
frequently asked questions about the iterative process.

62
SOME FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What Is An Iterative Process?

Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines iterate as reiterate.

Reiterate is defined as: to say or do over again or repeatedly sometimes with
wearying effect. This latter part of the definition conveys a nuance many
experienced planners can identify with easily. An iterative process, then, is
one that is repeated, at times over and over.

What Is Iterated?

The six steps of the planning process are the things that are repeated.
A planning iteration is essentially a pass through some or all of the six steps
of the planning process. Or, it could be simply returning to a single step in the
process to elaborate, refine, correct, or complete what was done before.

Why Is The Planning Process Iterative?

It’s impossible to anticipate, execute, and revise each of the six steps
of the planning process in one run through the steps. Typically, each iteration
has a different emphasis. In the early iterations, problem identification and
resource inventories and forecasts receive more emphasis than in later
iterations, when the other steps are emphasized.

You learn as you plan. Information becomes available, our

understanding improves and it is often necessary to go back over something.
The process is designed to be iterative, and so it is.

How Do Iterations Differ From One Another?

Iterations typically differ in the emphasis placed on the different

planning steps. The six steps describe a logical and sequential thought
process. The emphasis in the various iterations shifts at a varying rate from
one step to the next in general accordance with the step sequence. That is,
step one is generally emphasized before step two, which is generally
emphasized before step three, and so on.

Iterations may also differ in their duration. It can take an hour, a

day, a week, or longer. It is quite possible the study team may make an

63
Purists and Philistines Among Planners
entire iteration during their initial
Does each iteration start at step one? site visit. None of the steps will
Does each iteration include all the steps? have been very detailed, but each
These are some of the questions planning
step would have been preliminarily
purists and Philistines might debate in the
considered. As the sidebar on
locker room after a long day of planning. They
differ little if at all over the reality of what
purists and Philistines indicates,
planners do, it is more their philosophical some steps may be virtually
views of what is done that digress. instantaneously processed, while
others can be long and laborious.
The non-Federal partner walks in on
day one of a study with a plan. Is the Corps’
study team “starting” at step three? The How Many Iterations Are
Philistine says who cares. The purist says the Required?
author of the plan has already done steps one
and two. If you’re trying to count
iterations you’re missing the big
On the initial site visit, the study team’s picture. There is no prize for either
senior member sizes up the situation and the most or the fewest iterations.
announces that dredged material from the You do as many iterations as it
channel can be used to create wetlands along takes to arrive at the best plan.
the west bank of the river. There is already a Iterations, like the six steps
front runner for the recommended plan. Has
themselves, willrarely have a
the planning process begun at step six? Again
discrete beginning or ending other
the Philistine says who cares. In the purist’s
than the start and end of the study.
view steps one through five have been done
implicitly. They may have been private mental
The big picture view is that the
exercises, possibly done in the blink of an eye. steps are repeated. You do
Almost certainly there is no record of what the something then you do it again.
planner’s assumptions were or why they were The initial iteration of a step may be
made. little more than an educated guess.
Subsequent iterations may be
There appear to be differing views on because you have more definitive
this aspect of the Corps’ planning process. data or they may be simple fine
Some hold it is impossible to take the steps out tunings of an earlier result.
of sequence. The preceding steps are always
accomplished, albeit sometimes in implicit,
undocumented, even snap judgment ways. When Do You Stop the
Others believe the process is a bit more chaotic, Iterations?
can begin anywhere, and proceeds at times in
an almost random order. When all of the planning
steps have been completed as fully
Both would agree, however, the
and as well as they are going to be
done in your study effort, the
iterations can stop. That could be

64
after a day or after a year. The culmination of the iterative process is the
identification of a recommended plan.

THE ITERATIVE PROCESS

What would the ideal iterative planning process look like? It’s easier
to describe what it is not, so let’s begin there. Though the planning process
is sequential, it is not done by beginning only with step one and completing it
before moving to step two, then once that step is complete, proceeding to step
three, and so on. That is a sequential step process devoid of iterations. Good
planning cannot be done that way.

Iterations are
necessary because the Levels of Iterations
planning process is a fluid,
Though there is no ideal or
dynamic, evolving process
recommended number of iterations it is
that relies on feedback
possible to identify different levels of
loops of every stripe and
iterations. Each level may require a
variety. Information variable number of iterations but
becomes available over generally the planning process can be
time and our understanding recognized as passing through different
is adjusted to reflect the levels. We’ve identified three.
increased understanding
that comes from additional The first level of iterations is
knowledge. devoted to identifying possibilities. The
second level of iterations is the screening
The identification level. Possibilities are whittled down and
of problems and evaluated. The third level of iterations is
opportunities is the focus the optimization level. At this level plan
of the first iteration of the dimensions are fine-tuned. This level
planning process. The culminates in the selection of a plan.
study’s early emphasis is
on this first step. The basic theme running through
However, experienced these levels is an increasing sense of
purpose and quality of information.
personnel know that
Level 1 iterations can be likened to
certain data are going to be
turning on a TV set. Level two is
needed. Mapping or
scanning the channels for possibilities.
hydraulics and hydrology, Level 3 is watching candidates for awhile
for example, will be and fine tuning the pictures and sound.
required for many water When all levels are completed you select
resource studies regardless a show and watch. Or, you turn the TV
of the specific details of the off.

65
problems. Efforts to obtain these data can begin simultaneously. This is
important to the resource inventory and description of the without- project
condition. Thus, we have two steps beginning simultaneously, though the
emphasis is on step one, problem identification.

In initial site visits, study team members will see situations that
connect with some of their past experiences and begin to suggest measures
that may work here or that won’t work here. This kind of thought process is
the embryo of plan formulation (step three). As soon as a team member
begins to think about measures, she applies some preliminary, often intuitive,
evaluation, assessment, comparison, and selection criteria. These are the first
iterations of the later planning steps (four, five and six) and is a form of
screening, discussed later in the chapter.

As the problems and opportunities become well defined and give way
to planning objectives (a process explained in the next chapter) the study team
is better prepared to identify the data required to inventory relevant resources
and to complete the existing and without-project future condition scenarios.
This represents a move away from the first step and an increasing focus on the
second. What iteration are we in at this point? It doesn’t matter. Problem
identification may be completed in a single comprehensive iteration or it may
be revisited dozens of times throughout the study. The number of iterations
is not important; that the step is completed and done well is.

During this time, people continue to make progress on tasks that

contribute to the other steps. Team members talk and compare notes, and
preliminary project sites may be identified along with the preliminary list of
appropriate measures. When step one is essentially complete and planning
objectives have been identified, people can begin to think about potential
measures and their possible effects more explicitly. This can aid the
evaluation, comparison, and selection steps in this and subsequent iterations.

As the existing conditions become defined and a forecast of the most

likely future without a project comes into focus, it is easier to begin to
identify specific plans that can address the planning objectives and the creation
of alternative futures. None of this precludes the fact that as the study
progresses, it may be necessary to go back and revise the problem definitions,
the planning objectives, or any other supposedly completed step in the
planning process.

In subsequent iterations, when specific plans are identified, precise

evaluations of the plans can be made. When the evaluations have progressed
to a sufficient point, comparisons of the assessed effects of the plans will be

66
 made. All the while, revisions to previous steps may be on-going, and
subsequent steps will be anticipated.

Generally, the ideal iterative process is one in which the current step
is being executed; previous steps are being revised, and subsequent steps are
being anticipated. A good iterative process continues to move the planning
process forward. It is not an endless loop that repeats forever. The number
of iterations in each stage is purely arbitrary. Do as many iterations as it takes
to do the job well.

It is fairly safe to say that the iterations end when the selection of a
plan has been completed. At this point, there is nothing more to do in the
planning process. The Corps’ planning process diverges from the generic
model of Chapter Two because implementation of the plan is often considered
an integral step in the generic planning process. Implementation is more
appropriately considered part of project development, the larger process that
encompasses the planning process. This distinction is more a matter of
semantics than substance, however, because implementation is clearly the
primary reason for planning for the
Corps of Engineers.
Criteria for Screening

criCteCriCon, n.: pl. criCteCriCa, a test, means SCREENING

of judging, a standard of judging; any
established law, rule, principle or fact by Screening is a
which a correct judgment may be formed. discriminating thought process
during which we examine “things”
Screening is not an arbitrary methodically and separate them into
process. Criteria are used to decide what groups of “drop” and “consider
data, measures, scenarios, plans, and the further.”
like pass through the screening process to
the next iteration. Some criteria are It is a form of decision-making based
absolutes (i.e., pass/fail, like a toggle on criteria. Screening is a tool that
switch), but most are not (they are more or can be applied to any little “p”
less, like a fader switch). Some of the planning task. It comes to the fore at
criteria, such as the P&G criteria of three points in a typical planning
completeness, effectiveness, efficiency, and process: first, during scoping.
acceptability (discussed in Chapter Nine), Scoping is a special step in the
are given for all planning studies. Other planning process during which
criteria are derived from the specific significant issues are identified; it’s
planning study, based on the planning discussed at greater length in the
objectives and the opportunities and next section. Second, screening is
problems of the affected communities. emphasized whenever the four

67
criteria of effectiveness, efficiency, completeness, and acceptability are
applied. These criteria are discussed in Chapter Nine. Third, screening
emerges in the plan selection process, the subject of Chapter Eleven.

Screening is the process of separating what is important from what

is not. It distinguishes what is valuable from what is worthless. It is the
process of systematically eliminating options from the choice set. Planners
screen a lot of things. They use screening criteria to separate the good from
the bad: eliminating what is no longer of interest and extracting what is good
and worth keeping from all that is available. This is the purpose of the
screening process.

Any aspect of the study can be screened.

Planners screen problems, opportunities, ...use screening
objectives, constraints, data, forecasts, scenarios, criteria to separate
measures, plans, effects, and so on. Screening is the good from the
only applied to those things that have been bad...
considered to some extent. Screening is selecting
the good parts of the work the planner has done,
based on planning criteria, and considering them further.

Screening is necessary because as the study progresses, the data,

measures, alternatives, and the like can multiply. In order to maintain the
problem-solving and opportunity-seizing focus of the study, it is essential that
the planner discern what is worth considering further and what is worth
eliminating. It’s the only way to get from the many to the few to the one.

Screening is more than eliminating plans. It’s more than executing

steps four (evaluation), five (comparison), and six (selection). These are the
specific steps used to select good plans from all possible plans, better plans
from good plans, and the best plan from among the better plans. Indeed,
taken together, these steps comprise a screening process. Evaluating,
comparing and selecting plans is the most visible type of screening in the six-
step planning process. However, screening is not limited to the screening of
alternatives.

Data are screened. Measures are screened. You name it and there’s
a good chance you can screen it. The evaluation and assessment of data and
measures, however, are not to be confused with the evaluation, comparison,
and selection of alternative plans. They are two different types of screening.
The process by which an analyst decides which population forecasts are best
may be more or less formal. It may be as simple as considering the credibility
of the organization that prepared the forecast or it may involve a more

68
 detailed examination of how well the forecasts have predicted actual
populations.

The exception to this flexibility is encountered in the screening of

alternative plans. Here the process is prescribed by the planning process; you
apply steps four, five and six. The alternatives are evaluated, compared, and
the good ones are selected in the early iterations. In later iterations, the better
ones are kept. In the final iteration, the best plan is selected.

Screening is an essential part of each iteration of the planning steps.

In a sense, screening defines the beginning or end of an iteration. If the
iterations are devoid of screening we run the risk of entering an endless loop
in which the same alternatives are considered over and over with no progress
toward identification of a recommended plan. Screening ideas and plans over
a number of iterations is the essence of how a best plan emerges from a sea
of potential plans.

Some amount of screening is required by law. One required screening

is called scoping.

SCOPING
Scoping is a special
Scoping is a special kind of screening. It’s an
kind of screening.
early planning activity that is required by both the P&G
and the regulations implementing the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Scoping identifies
the most important issues raised by the proposed action. All public and
private organizations that may be affected should be involved in the scoping
process.

Scoping is defined in the Federal regulations for implementing the

procedural provisions of the NEPA as “...an early and open process for
determining the scope of issues to be addressed and for identifying the
significant issues related to a proposed action.”8 Initiating a scoping process
as soon as practicable is a requirement with the force of law.

The accompanying sidebar details the requirements of the NEPA

scoping process. The P&G in section 1.4.8 detail a scoping process to be
used by Federal water resource planning agencies that is complementary to

8
From 40 CFR Parts 1500-1508 § 1501.7.

69
the NEPA scoping process. The P&G have the following to say about
scoping:

(b) As part of the scoping process, the agency should:

(1) Determine the extent to which the likely significant issues

will be analyzed.

(2) Define the planning area based on the problems and

opportunities and the geographic areas likely to be
affected by alternative plans.

(3) Identify and eliminate from detailed study any issues that
are not significant or that have been adequately covered by
prior study. However, important issues, even though
covered by other studies, should still be considered in the
analysis.

(4) Identify any current or future planning that is related to

but not part of the study under consideration.

(5) Identify review and consultation requirements so that

cooperating agencies (as defined in 40 CFR 1508.5) may
prepare required analyses and studies concurrently with
the study under consideration.

(6) Indicate the tentative planning and decision-making

schedule.

(7) The scoping process should be integrated with other early

planning activities.

The NEPA scoping requirements along with the P&G scoping

requirements constitute decisions that planners are obligated to make as early
in the planning process as possible. Making incremental decisions that move
the planning effort toward a decision is what the screening process is all
about. Scoping is, in this sense, the regulatory screening process. These are
the things you must do. If you’re following the six-step planning process and
doing good planning, these are things that would naturally be done anyway.

70
NEPA Scoping Process

Section 1501.7 of the Council on Environmental Quality’s NEPA regulations describes

the tasks of the scoping process beginning at paragraph (a).

(a) As part of the scoping process the lead agency shall:

(1) Invite the participation of affected Federal, State, and local agencies, any affected Indian
tribe, the proponent of the action, and other interested persons (including those who might not
be in accord with the action on environmental grounds), unless there is a limited exception
under §1506.6.

(2) Determine the scope (§1508.25) and the significant issues to be analyzed in depth in the
environmental impact statement.

(3) Identify and eliminate from detailed study the issues which are not significant or which
have been covered by prior environmental review (§1506.3) narrowing the discussion of these
issues in the statement to a brief presentation of why they will not have a significant effect on
the human environment or providing a reference to their coverage elsewhere.

(4) Allocate assignments for preparation of the environmental impact statement among the
lead and cooperating agencies, with the lead agency retaining responsibility for the statement.

(5) Indicate any public environmental assessments and other environmental impact statements
which are being or will be prepared that are related to but are not part of the scope of the
impact statement under consideration.

(6) Identify other environmental review and consultation requirements so the lead and
cooperating agencies may prepare other required analyses and studies concurrently with, and
integrated with, the environmental impact statement as provided in §1502.25.

(7) Indicate the relationship between the timing of the preparation of environmental analyses
and the agency’s tentative planning and decision-making schedule.

PLANNING SETTING
Water resources planning takes place in a context or setting. This
setting is determined by national values, goals, objectives, policies, programs
and constraints. It exists in a political, economic and social context that is
unique to the time during which the planning is undertaken. We call that
context the planning setting and some of its elements are described below.

71
PARTNERSHIP

The P&G (paragraph IV.1.4.1(a)) mandate that the planning process be a

“coordinated planning effort.” The Corps of Engineers has gone substantially beyond
this mandate to create a Federal/non-Federal partnership in water resources
planning. The planning jurisdiction for the nation’s water resources is clearly
Federalist in structure, with both the Federal and state/local levels of government
involved.

Borrowing from the language of the

private sector, a partnership can be defined as The partnership
a business co-owned by two or more partners. exists...to
They share in the profits and the debts of their serve the interest of the
enterprises. The sharing of profits and debts partners by meeting the
need not be equal; the terms of the partnership
needs of their customers.
may vary from case-to-case. The partnership
exists, however, for one primary purpose: to
serve the interests of the partners by meeting
the needs of their customers.

Corps planners often see the “non-Federal sponsor” as their customer, i.e., the
entity whose needs are to be met. In a partnership, one’s partner is not the customer.
One’s partner is the party relied on to help meet the needs of the customer.

It is easy for some planners to think their job is to complete planning studies.
In this mode of thinking the customer would appear to be the one who makes the plan
possible. That could be the non-Federal partner who signs a Feasibility Cost-Sharing
Agreement (FCSA) or Project Cooperation Agreement (PCA). Or, it could be the
decision-makers in the chain of command, without whose support there is unlikely to
be Federal involvement in a plan. Without these parties there is no one to share study
costs or to provide evidence of a significant need for the study.

This is not the proper view of a planner’s job. Meeting human wants and
needs is perhaps the simplest statement of a planner’s job. Solving problems and
taking advantage of opportunities to improve the quality of life for present and future
generations is another way to describe it. The customer is the community. The people
of the study area specifically and the people of the United States more generally are the
partnership’s customers.

Thus, the planner participating in the new partnership must keep a clear focus
on who the customer is. Obviously, all partners have to be satisfied in order for a
partnership to work. However, the customers’ needs must come first or there is no
reason for a partnership to even exist. Once the basis for the partnership is understood,
the needs of the customers must come before the agendas of the individual partners.

72
PLANNING AREA

What geographic area should we take into consideration when formulating

plans? The area we end up considering is called the planning area. Related concepts
include the study area, project area, and affected area. Though related in meaning,
each has its different nuances. When planning, the planning area best describes the
area of interest. The terms, however, are essentially interchangeable.

Planning areas may encompass administrative regions, political jurisdictions,

states, or watersheds. River basin planning has long been recognized as the most
logical basis for planning the development and preservation of water resources.
Though basin level planning is beginning to enjoy a resurgence, many Corps planning
studies are still implementation studies that affect an area that does not encompass an
entire river basin.

The P&G (1.4.7) define the planning area as a geographic space that includes
the following (bold emphasis has been added):

“(a) The area defined in the study’s authorizing document; (b) The
locations of alternative plans, often called “project areas”; and (c)
The locations of resources that would be directly, indirectly, or
cumulatively affected by alternative plans, often called the “affected
area.”

PERIOD OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

How long a time period should we use when considering the impacts of plans?
We should consider only the time it makes sense for us to consider. This time frame
is called the period of economic analysis, also known as the period of analysis. It’s
the period of time over which we think it is important to extend our analysis of plan
impacts. This time period is frequently confused with the planning horizon, which is
a longer and more encompassing concept. Figure 4 shows the period of analysis is part
of the planning horizon.

73
Planning Area Examples

A storm damage reduction project may require upland borrow sites several
counties removed from an eroding shoreline. The planning area should include the
area that includes the shoreline and the borrow sites. If the shoreline is a significant
recreation resource, the planning area should include the region from which
significant numbers of tourists come.

A deep water port improvement study need not include the entire United
States and all the foreign countries from/to which commodities move. It would be
sufficient to define the planning area as the hinterland of the port. That is, the area
from which most exports arise and the area to which most imports are destined. This
is the area that encompasses the bulk of the economic, social, and political impacts of
the port and port-related activities. It is not uncommon for such areas to encompass
numerous counties and several states.

A local flood control project may be confined to a single community, for

example, in the case of a Section 205 study. It is common practice to use the political
jurisdiction(s) or economic area encompassing the flood plain as the planning area. In
instances where goods and services produced in the flood plain have a significant
impact on other areas, they should also be included.

Few studies explicitly consider the source of construction materials when

defining planning areas. When unique resources are required for implementation,
like sand borrow, large rocks for jetties, and so on, the impact of the project on the
source areas should be considered when defining the planning area.

The time it takes to conduct the study and implement the plan is not part of the
period of analysis even though it is part of the planning horizon. The project may last
longer than the period of analysis. The period of analysis is the subset of the planning
horizon over which we consider plan effects.

The first rule for choosing a period of analysis is, you must use the same
period of analysis for each plan considered in a study. To do otherwise would mean
that we are considering different time streams of plan impacts, and that would render
any comparisons of plans invalid. The period of analysis is usually 50 years and is
never over 100 years. Forecasting conditions and impacts beyond 100 years is pure
guessing, even if some structural projects may last more than 100 years.

If significant impacts do not last 50 years, the period of analysis should be

restricted to the duration of the significant impacts. Significance can be measured in
many ways. One of the most common measures has to do with the time value of
money. Future dollar values, whether benefits or costs, are worth less than current
dollar values. Discounting is the process used to place dollar values

74
 Period of Analysis

Planning Guidance Letter 96-01 in paragraph 10 defines the

period of economic analysis as follows:

C The period of time over which any alternative plan would have
significant beneficial or adverse effects; or

C A period not to exceed 50-years except for major multiple

purpose reservoir projects; or

C A period not to exceed 100-years for major multiple purpose

reservoir projects.

This does not negate the P&G requirement that appropriate

consideration should be given to environmental factors that may
extend beyond the period of analysis.

incurred at different times on an equivalent time basis. After 50 years the discount
factor alone reduces monetary values to a mere fraction of their former value9. Unless
the future dollar values being discounted are large there is no apparent point to continue
to include these values among project impacts.

INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM

Chapter Thirteen is devoted largely to the planning team. Nonetheless, team

planning is essential to the modern planning context. As a result of the proliferation of
goals and objectives that must be addressed by water resources planning studies, it is
impossible for any single discipline to adequately address the more complex issues that
arise in a world that is multi-objective in its outlook. Many disciplines are needed for
planning. In addition to a diversity of disciplines, the planning team should include
a diversity of interests including other government agencies.

STAKEHOLDERS

Stakeholder is a word used in water resources planning that has come to

mean a person or group of persons who can stop you or whose support is necessary
for success. As members of the public, stakeholders are also addressed in more detail

9
For example, if the discount rate is 10%, one dollar 50 years from now is worth only $0.0085. At 7% the
same dollar is worth $0.0339.

75
in Chapter Thirteen. The Federal and non-Federal partners are two obvious
stakeholders in a study. Government agencies at all levels of government are frequent
stakeholders. Organizations and individuals that have an interest in the project should
be actively included in the planning process, as should public interest groups with a
particular point of view that bears on the project. They go a long way toward forming
the specific planning context of a study.

SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD

Lesson One. The iterative nature of the Corps’ planning process is one of its
most distinguishing features. It is through the process of repeating the planning steps
and screening elements of the planning study that the recommended plan eventually
emerges.

Lesson Two. Screening is the ongoing process of eliminating, based on

planning criteria, what is no longer important or interesting from further consideration.
Alternatively, screening is the process of preserving what is important. Scoping is a
special kind of screening process. All of these tasks and those yet to be described are
carried out in a planning context.

Absent from our conversation to this point are the details of what the planning
steps are. That description begins with step one in the next chapter.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING

Most of the material presented in this chapter is rather original. Some unique
discussion of the iterative nature of planning and the screening process can be found
in the water resources planning books referenced at the end of Chapter Two. The
interested reader should read about scoping in its original contexts found in 40 CFR
Parts 1500-1508 and the P&G beginning at section 1.4.8. The planning setting is a
mosaic that can be pieced together from ER 1105-2-100 and evolving policy guidance
such as guidance letters and sources like those described in Chapter Four.

76
77
CHAPTER SIX: STEP 1 - IDENTIFYING PROBLEMS
AND OPPORTUNITIES
Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to walk from
here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get
to,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care where --” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you walk,” said the Cat.
From Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Step One: "Specification of the water and related land

resources problems and opportunities (relevant to the planning
setting) associated with the Federal objective and State and
local concerns." (P&G Standards, Section III paragraph 1.3.2
(a)(1))

INTRODUCTION
As the conversation between Alice and the Cat points out, if you don't know
where you're going, it doesn't matter which way you go. In water resource planning it
is essential that planners have a sense of the direction in which they want to head. That
sense of direction is obtained in the first step of the planning process.

Historically the nation’s goals and objectives in water resource planning and
development have reflected national values. These national values have evolved and
changed over our two centuries as a nation as new problems, challenges and
opportunities have emerged. Water resource projects have been planned and
implemented to solve those problems, meet those challenges, and seize those
opportunities. If they did not, they would serve no purpose.

Without a clear statement of the problems to be solved or the opportunities

to be seized, there is no rationale, no reason for planning. As the first step,
identification and specification of the problems and opportunities to be addressed is the
most important step in the planning process that follows. This first step produces what
is essentially the mission statement of the Federal/non-Federal partnership. It is an
enduring statement of purpose that distinguishes this partnership from all others.

The identification of problems and opportunities ensures unanimity of purpose

within the partnership. Solving these problems and taking advantage of these
opportunities provides a basis for motivating and allocating the partners’ pooled
resources. This step provides a focal point for all stakeholders in the planning process.
It says, “This is why we are undertaking this study.”

78
 Identifying problems and opportunities facilitates translation of
Two Sheets of Paper the partnership’s purposes into appropriate planning objectives.
The concerns of both the Federal and non-Federal partners are
Every planning study, identified in this step. Ultimately, plans to meet these
from the multi-million dollar objectives will be produced. The culmination of the planning
multiple purpose study to the process depends critically on the success of this first step.
several thousand dollar military
study and everything in between, There are five basic concepts in this chapter:
should produce two sheets of problems, opportunities, goals, objectives, and constraints.
paper early in the study. One of Understanding these concepts is critical to the success of the
them lists the problems and planning process.
opportunities, the other the
planning objectives and
constraints. The first sheet says
this is what is wrong here, the
PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES
second says this is what we intend
Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines a
to do about it. Together, these
problem as a question raised for inquiry, consideration, or
two sheets of paper make the solution; or an intricate unsettled question, a source of
most informative summary of perplexity or vexation. We can think of it as an undesirable
your study’s purpose that is condition. Not everything is a problem and problem solving is
possible. only part of the planning story. The other part of the story are
the opportunities. Webster defines an opportunity to be a
favorable juncture of circumstances; a good chance for
advancement or progress. Water resource projects often provide those chances.

Problems and opportunities are conditions that exist in every community. They
are the first things you seek to identify in step one of the planning process. Through
this first step in the planning process, some problems and opportunities will evolve into
planning objectives.

In practice, opportunities are sometimes treated as less important than

problems in the planning process. Capitalizing on opportunities, however, is every bit
as important as solving problems.

Is there really a difference between a problem and an opportunity? That

depends. In many cases it may come down to whether you see the glass of water as half
empty or half full. In general, problems tend to be both negative and current
conditions. Something is broken, something is missing, and the like. Opportunities
tend to focus on positive and future conditions. Something can be made better. Other
ways to think about the differences between problems and opportunities are suggested
in Table 14. If problems differ from opportunities in some ways, they are similar in
others. Some similarities are presented in Table 15. There are no absolutes in these
comparisons. The rule of thumb is to be flexible in defining problems and
opportunities.

79
Table 14: Differences Between Problems and Opportunities

Characteristic Problem Opportunity

FOCUS Existing undesirable condition; Future desirable condition; description

Description of what is. of what could or should be.

MESSAGE Negative; objection. Positive; desire.

OCCURRENCE C Past - Usually occurred C Past - Usually didn’t occur.

C Existing - Usually occurs. C Existing - May or may not occur.
C Future “without” - Usually expected C Future “without” - May or may not
to occur. be expected to occur.

RELATIONSHIP C Existing condition may adversely C Existing condition does not affect
TO OTHER affect other resources other resources.
RESOURCES C Survival may be an issue. C Survival not an issue.

IMPLICIT C Return to a past condition that was not C Create a future condition considered
OBJECTIVES OF considered objectionable (example: to be desirable (example: develop
ACTION restore a degraded habitat). new wetlands).
C Create a future condition that would C Return to a previous condition
not be objectionable (example: stabilize considered to be desirable (example:
an eroding shoreline). rehabilitate an historic structure).

CONSEQUENCES OF Usually direct, immediate, and adverse. Usually indirect and long-term due to
DOING NOTHING benefits foregone.

Problem definition is the detailed description of a problem. It begins with a

problem statement; a simple, usually one sentence, assertion of what the basic
problem is. Pick up any Corps planning study and you'll find a section entitled
“Problems and Opportunities.” Read it, and you'll usually have a good idea what
problems the study is going to address. It is rare, however, to find a clear and concise
statement of these problems. It is far more common to find a problem described and
defined in a piecemeal fashion over several paragraphs of text than it is to find a direct
statement of a problem, like “The problem is loss of coastal wetlands along Utopian
Point.” It may require many paragraphs to properly characterize the nature, cause,
location, dimensions, origin, and importance of this problem, but it is important to be
able to clearly state it. If a planner can't finish the sentence, "The problem is . . ."
clearly and concisely, then nothing else that follows in the study is likely to be very
clear either. Every study should include a problem statement.

Problem definition can be expanded to identify the nature, cause, location, dimensions,
origin, time frame, and importance of the problem, as well as an indicationof who
considers this a problem. An opportunity can be defined the same way. A

80
 Table 15: Similarities Among Problems and Opportunities

Characteristic Similarity

NUMBER Variable; few to many.

HOW STATED In practical, meaningful, operational terms

in a single statement.

SOURCE Developed; from people, observation,

analysis, and documentation.

SPECIFICITY Specific; narrow; essentially limited.

SPECIFIC SUBJECT Usually limited to a specific resource.

SPECIFIC LOCATION Usually found in a particular place or locale

(example: “study area”).

SPECIFIC MEASURABILITY Moderate to high; usually measurable or

easy to recognize change that would result
in a “better” or “worse” condition.

ABILITY TO ACHIEVE High; problems can be solved, opportunities

can be realized.

“IDEAL” C An “ideal” usually exists and can be

identified.
C The “ideal” is not the same as the existing
condition.
C The “ideal” is not the same as the long-
term “without”
condition.

detailed profile outline that may be handy to use in thinking about and describing your
study’s problems and opportunities can be found in the sidebar.

An important aspect of problem definition is describing its cause. If the

underlying causes of a problem are not identified, the solutions can end up being
superficial and unsuccessful. People usually complain about problem conditions long
before the underlying causes are known. People know the fish are disappearing from
a creek long before they know why. The solutions to the problem can vary considerably
depending on whether the cause is overfishing, loss of habitat, disease, or declining
water quality due to increasing urbanization.

81
A Simple Problem Statement

A problem statement need not be elaborate. It can be as simple

as the following example.

Franklin Creek Basin Problem Statement

The problems in the Franklin Creek Basin are:

1) Loss of fish habitat in Franklin Creek due to urbanization;

2) Flood damages in the industrial section of Central City;
3) Streambank erosion along Campus Park;
4) Saltwater intrusion in the Franklin Bay estuary;
5) Loss of coastal wetlands along the South Ditch section of Franklin
Bay.

The definition of these problems will take considerably more

. There are criteria that characterize good and bad statements of problems and
opportunities. For example, good problem statements never include solutions or the
suggestion of a specific solution. “The problem is we don't have a floodwall” is not a
good problem statement. As a matter of fact, it skips the entire planning process and
jumps to the selected plan. All the planner has to do is figure out the details; where the
wall should go, how high should it be, and so on. The problem is not that someone
does not have a floodwall. The problem may be that the watershed is developing
without thought being given to the effects on runoff and streamflow, thus expanding
the flood plain and exacerbating floods. The problem may be unrestrained
development of the flood plain itself. The problem may be the catastrophic damages

A Simple Opportunity Statement

An opportunity statement need not be elaborate. It can be as

simple as the following example.

Franklin Creek Basin Opportunity Statement

There are opportunities in the Franklin Creek Basin to:

1) Increase wildlife habitat along Campus Park.

2) Restore indigenous fish species in the upper basin.
3) Provide increased recreational opportunities along
the waterfront.

82
that occur with infrequent flooding. Or, it could be the minor nuisance associated with
frequent floods. The problem is not what the customer wants but doesn't have. The
problem is usually far more complex than that.

Problem/Opportunity Profile

1. Source. What source first identified the problem or opportunity?

Examples: study authority, local
master plan, conversation with city mayor, Corps experts based on
field observations.

2. Public Concerns
a. Advocate - Who is the spokesperson for the problem or
opportunity? Identify specific groups,
agencies, and individuals.
b. Basis - What is the advocate’s basis for the problem or
opportunity? Examples: homeowners who
have experienced flooding, state agency legally mandated to
oversee wildlife resources.
c. Background - In the advocate’s view, what is the problem or
opportunity, and what are the causes
and effects?
d. Other Stakeholders - Who else believes the problem or
opportunity does or does not exist? Why
or why not? Identify specific groups, agencies, and individuals.

3. Technical Analysis
a. Subject - Describe the subject of the problem or opportunity.
b. Location - Describe the location of the problem or opportunity;
map it if possible.
c. Measurement - Identify one (or more) measurable indicator that
is used to measure change in the problem or opportunity.
d. Conditions - Describe past, present and future conditions related
to the problem or opportunity:

(I) Historic condition

(ii) Existing condition
(iii) Future “without project” condition

e. Decision Criteria - Identify any standard, target or other criteria

that may be used to define the magnitude of a problem or
opportunity. For example: state water quality standards, design
vessel dimensions, and so on.

83
 Plans are formulated to achieve planning objectives. Planning objectives
and constraints are inexorably linked to problems and opportunities. Thus, clearly
articulated problem and opportunity statements are essential to the success of any
planning process. Planning objectives
provide a clear statement of the purpose
of a study. There is no study without
What’s the Problem? planning objectives and there are no
objectives without carefully defined
When you read a planning report, problems and opportunities. These simple
you should be able to deduce the problem facts and this simple linkage between
and opportunity statements from a good set problems and objectives make this step the
of planning objectives and constraints. The most important in the planning process.
linkage between “problems and
opportunities” and “objectives and
constraints” is a critical one.
See if you get a feel for the problems to
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
which
these objectives refer: To understand planning objectives
and constraints, we return to the basic
concepts of this planning step. In a perfect
C Increase habitat heterogeneity.
world, the logical sequence for
encountering these ideas over the life of a
C Reduce flood damages on Seminole and
planning study is:
Miccosukee tribal lands.
C Goals, which are given to us;
followed by
C Problems and opportunities, which we identify; followed by
C Objectives and constraints, which we base on the problems and
opportunities.

Will we always encounter them in this order? Probably not. But by the time a final
plan is selected, we will have struggled with each, and it is important to understand
their individual and complementary roles in getting us to a selected plan.

One thing these five concepts have in common is that each can and should be
expressed in a simple and clear statement - a sentence. It may require paragraphs,
pages, or volumes of backup documentation to fully explain their various technical
dimensions, complexities, interrelationships, public opinions, and other factors; but
they must also exist as short summary statements that can be read and understood by
everyone with a stake in the outcome.

Problems and opportunities have already been defined. Now we backtrack a

little to consider goals and objectives. A subsequent section will take up a comparison
of objectives and constraints.

84
 Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines a goal as the end
or final purpose. An objective is defined as something aimed at or striven for. Both
convey the same basic intent; in short, “do good.” And the definitions establish a
hierarchical structure that suggests we set goals first then establish objectives that will
help us attain our goals. A goal says “do good broadly;” an objective says “do good
specifically.” Other ways to think about similarities and differences between goals and
objectives are suggested in Table 16.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ILLUSTRATED

An example can help define these terms. Let's say that you and some friends
agree that you should all be happy. Your common goal is “happiness.” Everyone will
individually define what “happiness” means for themselves. These individual
statements will be their personal objectives to achieve “happiness.” Perhaps the results
look like this:

C Goal: Happiness

C Your Objectives:

Go on vacation next month.

Get a promotion.
Finish reading the Planning Manual.

C Friend 1's Objectives:

Double my salary.
Spend more time with my family.

C Friend 2's Objectives:

Get a motorcycle.
Go camping this summer.
Lose 10 pounds.

The group has a common goal. Some individuals' objectives are similar and
others differ among the group. Collectively, they are all consistent with the message
of the goal. The objectives follow from the goal. With this simple framework in mind,
we can understand the relationship between the NED Federal objective and planning
objectives. It begins with another important distinction between goals and objectives.

85
 Table 16: Goals and Objectives

Characteristic Goal Objective

NUMBER Few in any given study. Variable; few to many.

HOW STARTED In idealistic terms. In practical, meaningful, operational

terms.

SOURCE Given. Developed from problems and

opportunities

SPECIFICITY General; broad; conceptual; Specific; narrow; essentially limited.

Essentially unlimited.

SPECIFICITY: Covers a wide variety of subjects, Usually limited to a single subject,

SUBJECT resources, or issues. resource, or issue.

SPECIFICITY: Timeless; undated; intended for Dated; time-phased; can or intended

to
DURATION the long-term. be achieved within a particular time
frame.

SPECIFICITY: Applicable to large areas; Applicable to a particular place or

LOCATION international, national, or locale (“study area”); regional or local.
regional.

SPECIFICITY: Moderate to low; not necessarily Moderate to high; usually

measurable
MEASURABILITY measurable or easy to recognize or easy to recognize achievement.
achievement.

ACCEPTABILITY High; generally acceptable to all; Low to high; may be conflicts;

Agreement. Consensus may be lacking.

CHANGEABILITY None (in the near-term) to low; Variable; low to high.

stable.

ABILITY TO Low to moderate; not realistic to High; can be achieved, in whole or

ACHIEVE expect one solution to fully part, by a single solution.
achieve all aspects.

MESSAGE Do good (“motherhood and Do good.

apple pie”) and do not do bad
(“Thou shalt not...”).

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FEDERAL GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Suppose for the sake of simplicity that we take “life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness” as some of our nation's goals. These are ultimate destinations for the
citizens of this country, and provide a broad and enduring direction for the nation's
government. The goal statements do not suggest a way to achieve these goals,
however.

Further suppose that freedom of the press, equal protection under the law, and
economic development are some of the objectives that could help us attain our national
goals. Now, suppose national economic development (NED) can be achieved through
a variety of missions and programs of various Federal government agencies, like
monetary policy, job training, education, and public works projects. In turn, public
works projects could consist of highways, airports, and water resource projects.

At the national level we have described the hierarchy shown in Figure 5. From
the perspective of the President, the Congress, and the general populace of the United
States, our national goals - life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, and others - are further
defined through a complex set of national objectives, such as national economic
development, that flow from and support the intent of the goals. Thus, we have
national economic development as a true national, or “Federal,” objective.

Figure 5: N ational Goals and O bjectives

Goals
Life, liberty,
pursuit of happiness

O bjectives
Freedom of press, equal protection under the law,
national economic development

Programs
Public works projects--highways, airports, water resource projects

Beware. Perspectives change. What is a goal and what is an objective change

when you move from the national level to your local planning level. The Federal
objective becomes a goal for Corps' planners in each of their planning studies.

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PLANNING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Because this is an instructional manual, let's not worry about the goals and
objectives of the Corps or its planning partners for now. Instead let's think about a
specific planning partnership, i.e., a specific study. Where do the planning goals come
from? Generally, the planning goals are the objectives of some organization higher up
in the hierarchy. For example, the P&G make it clear that national economic
development is the Federal objective. National economic development, from the
Federal perspective, is the primary purpose of a water resource project. It is not
something that water resources projects try to do a little of, it is the entire reason the
Federal government is involved in water resource development in the first place. Plans
are not formulated specifically for national economic development; that is understood
to be the reason for the program's existence.

The Federal NED objective is a goal for the planning partnership. One of the
planning team's first responsibilities is to develop planning objectives that will help the
partnership contribute to that goal.

There can be other goals as well. Goals are the broad, over-arching purposes
for a study. They may be defined by the non-Federal partner or any other stakeholder,
and will be unique to each study. In Corps' planning under the requirements of the
P&G, the NED goal (“Federal objective”) is always a given that you will start with.

Thus, for a planning partnership, Federal and non-Federal objectives become

planning goals. One person's objective is another person's goal. The objectives of the
organizations higher in the hierarchy become the goals of the planning partnership.
The planning partners must then develop planning objectives to help attain these goals.
Although the terminology may seem confusing, do not be confused about their roles in
doing planning. Goals will be given to you; you will develop objectives.

PLANNING OBJECTIVES AND CONSTRAINTS

An objective is a statement of the intended purposes of the planning process;
it is a statement of what an alternative plan should try to achieve. More specific than
goals, a set of objectives will effectively constitute the mission statement of the
Federal/non-Federal planning partnership.

Our planning partnerships exist in a world of scarcity where it is not possible

to do everything. Our choices are constrained by a number of factors. Planning is no
exception. An essential element of any planning study is the set of constraints
confronting the planners. A constraint is basically a restriction that limits the extent
of the planning process. Constraints, like objectives, are unique to each planning
study.

Two distinctly different categories of constraints can be identified. First, there

are resource constraints on the planning process. These include limits to our

88
knowledge, expertise, experience, ability, data, information, money, and time. These
constraints limit the scope of a study in significant ways. Resource constraints are
considered again in Chapter Twelve. Here we need to focus on a second category of
constraints - planning constraints that restrict plan formulation. These can be divided
into universal constraints and study-specific constraints.

Universal planning constraints are the legal and policy constraints that need
to be included in every planning study. They may vary from study type to study type,
but for a given type of study, there are some predictable constraints. For example, you
don't formulate plans that intentionally adversely affect threatened or endangered
species. The Corps of Engineers will not formulate flood damage reduction plans for
streams where the 10 percent discharge is less than 800 cubic feet per second. The
Corps' guidance, regulations, policies, and authorities define some of these constraints.
Others are defined by the laws and regulations of the Federal government and the
applicable laws and regulations of the State and local governments.

Study-specific planning constraints are statements of things unique to a

specific planning study that alternative plans should avoid. While universal constraints
are applicable from one study to another, study-specific constraints are not. Examples
of study-specific constraints include the following:

Do not induce salinity intrusion into freshwater aquifers.

No loss of flood protection from an existing levee system.
No increase in shoreline erosion related to navigation.

The significance of both types of constraints is that they can limit choices. The
presumption is that constraints limit choices in socially desirable ways.

Planning objectives are the things we want to accomplish with a plan. They
are the desired changes between the without- and with-project conditions. In contrast,
study specific planning constraints are things we want to avoid doing. Constraints
are designed to avoid undesirable changes between without- and with-plan conditions.
They are things we don't want to “mess up” with our plans.

While plans are formulated to achieve planning objectives they are also
formulated to avoid violating the constraints. The simplest difference between the two
concepts can be summarized as follows: Objective--do good; Constraint--don’t do bad.
Some other similarities and differences between objectives and constraints are
suggested in Tables 17 and 18.

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 Table 17: Similarities Between Objectives and Constraints

Characteristic Similarities

NUMBER Variable; few to many.

HOW STATED In practical, meaningful, operational terms and in a single

statement.

SPECIFICITY Specific; narrow; essentially limited.

SPECIFICITY: Usually limited to a single subject, resource, or issue.

SUBJECT

SPECIFICITY: Moderate to high; usually measurable or easy to recognize

achievement.
MEASURABILITY

ACCEPTABILITY Low to high; may be conflicts; consensus may be lacking.

CHANGEABILITY Variable; low to high.

ABILITY TO High; can be achieved, in whole or part, by a single solution.

ACHIEVE

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 Planning objectives and constraints are indications of what is important to
people. Planning by objectives, i.e., formulating plans to meet valid social,
environmental, economic, and engineering objectives and to avoid undesirable
consequences, is what the planning team is supposed to do. This is very different from
planning to maximize NED benefits. When specifying planning objectives and
constraints is an exercise to be checked off a planning team's “to do” list, we see the
latter form of planning.

The planning objectives and constraints are in reality a statement of the

reasons for the planning effort. The objectives and constraints should reflect the views
of the public regarding the problems and opportunities of the planning area. They are
a list of results that are desired from a project. The planning objectives and constraints
are the reason for the Federal/non-Federal partnership. They are, in a sense, the
partners' mission statement - that enduring statement of purpose that distinguishes this
partnership from all others. Plans are formulated to meet the planning objectives and
to avoid the constraints; there can be no other reason for a plan.

PROFILE FOR AN OBJECTIVE OR CONSTRAINT

Objectives, as well as constraints, are written statements -- simple sentences --

that should generally include the following four types of information: effect, subject,
location, and timing and duration. The detailed profile in the sidebar can be helpful
in developing objectives and constraints.

Table 18: Differences Between Objectives and Constraints

Characteristic Objective Constraint

SOURCE Developed from problems Given (example: some legal

and opportunities. design constraints); or
developed based on area-
specific conditions (i.e., public
views, resource limitations).

SPECIFICITY: Dated; time-phased; can be or Variable; may be dated and time-

DURATION are intended to be achieved phased, or intended for the long-
within a particular time frame. term.

SPECIFICITY: Applicable to a particular Variable, depending on the subject

LOCATION place or locale (“study area”); being constrained.
regional or local.

MESSAGE Do good. Don’t do bad.

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 The effect is the verb part of the statement that expresses the intent to “do
good” in an objective and “don't do bad” in a constraint. It describes the type of effect
that alternative plans should cause. Table 19 lists some verbs commonly used in
objectives and constraints. Many of them have specific regulatory meanings and in
certain situations carry policy implications, i.e., cost sharing for “mitigation” or
“restoration.” Others might invoke personal biases. Exercise caution and care in
choosing and using these terms or others.

The subject part of the statement tells us what

Table 19: Objective is to be changed for the better through meeting the
& Constraint Verbs objective, or not changed through avoiding a constraint.
This part of the statement is the link to a problem or
abate preserve opportunity. It captures the problem or opportunity in
advance prevent a phrase.
avoid produce
compensate for prohibit The location defines where the objective is to
conserve promote be achieved, or where the constraint is to be avoided. It
contribute to protect is often the planning area.
control provide
create reclaim Time and duration define when and for how
long the objective is to be achieved or the constraint is
destroy reconstruct
to be avoided. Oftentimes, “timing and duration” will
develop recover
be the “period of analysis” and it will be the same for
eliminate recreate the study's objectives and constraints. Such similar
enforce rectify conditions don't have to be repeated in each statement,
enhance reduce but could be described once as applicable to all the
establish rehabilitate objectives and constraints.
exchange repair
harmonize replace CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD OBJECTIVES
improve restore AND CONSTRAINTS
maintain retire
manage stabilize There are few hard and fast universal rules that
minimize substitute must apply to all objectives. However, the following
mitigate characteristics that apply generally to both objectives
and constraints are helpful to keep in mind.

Specific. Specific objectives provide useful guidance

for plan formulation. The more specific the objective, the easier it is to identify
measures or to formulate plans necessary for attaining it. Non-specific objectives
cannot be effectively pursued or attained and are to be avoided. “Improve the
environment” is a non-specific objective that does little to aid planners or decision-
makers. “Increase tidal wetlands in the King River vicinity” is specific enough to guide
planners in the formulation process.

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Objective/Constraint Profile

1. Problem/Opportunity Statement. Provide a clear and brief description of the problem

or opportunity that is the basis for the objective/constraint.

2. Analysis.
a. Effect - Describe the type of effect to be achieved. This is the
objective’s/constraint’s “verb”.
b. Subject - Describe what is to be changed by meeting the objective, or not changed
by meeting the constraint. This is the objective’s/constraint’s “subject”.
c. Location - Describe the location where the objective is to be achieved, or the
constraint is to be avoided.
d. Timing and Duration - Describe when and for how long the objective is to be
achieved or the constraint is to be avoided.
e. Measurement
(I) Output - Identify one (or more) indicator that will be used to measure
change. For each indicator, identify one (or more):
(1) Measurement Unit - Identify the unit to be used to measure change.
(2) Measurement Technique - Identify the procedure that will be used to
measure change in the specified unit.
(ii) Thresholds - If applicable, identify output thresholds:
(1) Minimum - Is there a minimum level of output, such that amounts of
output less than the minimum are not useful, are not reasonable, or
otherwise don’t make sense?
(2) Maximum - Is there a maximum level of output, such that amounts of
output greater than the maximum are not useful, are not reasonable, or
otherwise don’t make sense?
f. Decision Criteria - Identify any standard, target or other criteria that will be used
to judge how well or poorly the objective/constraint would be achieved. Identify
the source (law, regulation, master plan, etc.), responsible entity (agency,
organization, etc.), penalties for noncompliance, and other characteristics of each
decision criterion.
g. Sponsor - Identify an objective’s “sponsor” - what entity would potentially share
the cost of a solution that would achieve the objective? Identify a constraint’s
proponent.
h. Other Stakeholders - List any other stakeholders in the objective/constraint - what
other entities have an interest in seeing that the objective/constraint is achieved or
not achieved? Briefly describe the nature of each stakeholder’s interest.
I. Sources of Information - List sources of information about the objective/constraint
and its characteristics.
j. Studies needed - Briefly describe the types of additional studies needed in further
planning for the objective/constraint.

3. Statement. State the objective or constraint.

4. Potential Solutions. List any potential solutions that may meet, at some level, the
objective or constraint.

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 Flexible. Objectives should be flexible enough to accommodate alternative
ways for achieving them as well as to allow alternative levels of results. “Build a
floodwall that provides 100-year protection” is the worst kind of objective. First, it
states a solution rather than focusing on a problem or opportunity, thereby eliminating
any flexibility in choice of measures to reduce flood damages. Second, it does not
allow for any flexibility in determining the level of flood damage reduction. Planners
must be cautioned that flexibility in objectives may come at the expense of specificity
and the relative merits of the two must be assessed by the planner in light of customer
feedback.

Measurable. A good, specific objective can also be measured. To be

measurable an objective must be stated in terms that can be assessed or quantified.
Though it is not necessarily always desirable for the objective to specify the actual
measure, the objective should be measurable in some appropriate units. An exception
is where there are thresholds or legal mandates that make specific levels of output
necessary. An objective to “Enhance community cohesion” is not easily measured, but
“Increase the number of protected structures” gets at the same objective in a
measurable manner.

A measurable objective is useful to decision-making. If we can measure a

plan's contribution to increasing open space we can more easily evaluate its value.
Measurability allows us to observe exactly what a plan contributes.

Attainable. Objectives should provide a challenge to planners, but they must

also be realistic and attainable. “Restoring the Minnow Creek ecosystem to its
natural condition” is an admirable objective that may be popular with the public, but
it is not realistic in an urban environment, hence it cannot be attained. “Increasing
dissolved oxygen in Minnow Creek” is a more attainable objective. Unattainable
objectives may do little more than frustrate people because they are unable to meet
them. Once such a situation arises, it may be very difficult to motivate people.
Specificity can often make an objective more attainable.

Congruent. Ideally, objectives will be congruent with each other. Congruency

means the objectives fit together. More specifically, attainment of one objective would
not preclude the attainment of another. This is not likely to be the case, however, when
the problems and opportunities involve any complexity at all. The variety of different
and, at times, conflicting viewpoints on the planning area's problems and opportunities
virtually assures some incongruencies among objectives.

Incongruent objectives can lead to conflict within the planning process.

Conscious or unconscious efforts to minimize conflict by eliminating incongruencies
among objectives are to be avoided when the incongruent objectives represent
legitimate, conflicting problems and opportunities. Incongruencies should be avoided
whenever they add nothing to the planning process. For example, there is no point to
specifying the objectives: “decrease flood damages” and “hold flood damages
constant.” These conflict for no apparent purpose. On the other hand it may be wholly
appropriate to specify the local objectives: “increase open space” and “increase
regional tax base.” In this latter case, there may be an incongruency if the former

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objective would be served by relocating structures from the flood plain, and the latter
is served by developing the flood plain. Different plans can be formulated to meet
incongruent objectives. Conflicting objectives provide a good reason for different
alternative plans.

Acceptable. Good objectives have to be acceptable to those responsible for

achieving them - that is, the planning partners. They must also be acceptable to the
partners' customers and major stakeholders. Not every objective must be acceptable
to all stakeholders, but the set of objectives should be acceptable in principle to all
study interests. The acceptability of objectives is founded in their responsiveness to
stakeholders' problems and opportunities. There is no better investment in a plan's
credibility than paying attention to people's problems and opportunities.

WHAT A GOOD OBJECTIVE IS NOT

Just as the aforementioned qualities will lead to good objectives, the following
characteristics are warning flags for objectives and constraints that could lead you
astray.

Absolute Target. Though specific, an objective should not specify an absolute

target as the only level of the desired result. It needs to be flexible. For example,
“Increase tidal wetlands in the King River vicinity by 2,000 acres” is not an appropriate
objective. Outputs vary with the nature and size of the alternative plan and are
therefore a product of the formulation process. While a target may be useful, or even
necessary, in later plan selection, objectives should generally not contain targets.

Solution. As mentioned earlier, objectives should not include solutions, i.e.,

neither individual management measures, alternative plans, nor programs. If we are to
seek optimal solutions that meet as many of the objectives as possible, we cannot begin
by ignoring the full range of measures available to us. Objectives should not specify
the measures or plans that can be used to meet the objective. Thus, unlike a for-profit
business, objectives should not specify a precise level of attainment or a specific means
for attaining it.

Federal Objective. National economic development is not a planning objective.

The Federal objective specified in the P&G is a goal. This goal, like other goals
supported by other study stakeholders, provides the reason for the study rather than a
reason to formulate alternative plans. Good objectives are not goals.

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 Account. The P&G define four categories (or “accounts”) of effects to
facilitate evaluation and comparison of alternative plans. They are discussed in more
detail in Chapter Nine. One account, national economic development (NED), includes
the effects that can be counted in demonstrating progress toward the Federal objective.
The other three accounts, environmental quality (EQ), regional economic development
(RED), and other social effects (OSE), are neither goals (“Federal objectives”) nor
planning objectives. Good objectives are not account entries.

Study tasks and study resource constraints. Study task objectives describe the
day-to-day activities that must be accomplished in planning. They are not planning
objectives. Similarly, study resource constraints define limits on resources like
knowledge, expertise, experience, ability, data, information, money, and time. They are
not planning constraints.

WHERE DO OBJECTIVES
COME FROM?

There is no one way to identify planning objectives. It’s a task easier

prescribed than accomplished. If your method works, it's a good one. Bearing in mind
who does it, why they do it, what a good one is, and so on, there are a few activities that
would appear to be a necessary part of any effort to identify objectives. They're listed
in an idealized process outlined in Figure 6.

Good Planning Objectives... or Not?

Which of the following are good planning objectives?

1. Reduce flood damages in the City of Maccaville through the

year 2020.

2. Provide a levee to prevent flooding in the City of Maccaville.

3. Contribute to National Economic Development in the City of

Maccaville consistent with protecting the Nation's
environment.

4. Assess the impacts of a flood control project in the City of

Maccaville through the year 2020.

5. Minimize disturbance of riparian habitat used by the

endangered Ferocies along the Macca River.

Answers: 1). Yes; 2). No, includes solution; 3). No, this is a goal; 4). No, this is a study
task; 5). No, this is a constraint.

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 Begin at the beginning. What clues does the “study authority” provide about
planning objectives? A study authority (see sidebar) usually lists major categories of
problems and opportunities, i.e., navigation, flood damage reduction, ecosystem
restoration, and others, that are the reasons for the study. The authority also usually
includes a short verbal description of the “study area.” Always begin by squeezing the
clues from your authority.

The next step in identifying objectives and

Study Authority constraints is to ask, “What does the public say?”
Given that your study authority points to one or
In Corps reconnaissance and feasibility more problems and opportunities, the next step
planning studies conducted under the general should be to verify them and see whether there are
investigations program, a study authority is any others. You can do this rather simply. First,
usually a one-paragraph statement from a ask the public. What are the problems and
committee of the U.S. Congress (i.e., “study opportunities they think should be investigated?
resolution”) or the full Congress (i.e., section in How do they know about those problems and
a public law) that requests a senior Army or opportunities; have they experienced them? How
Corps official to investigate a specified would they know if the problems were “solved” or
problem or opportunity, and report the results the opportunities “realized”? To whom else should
back to the Congress. For example: you talk?

“Resolved by the Committee on Whom in the public should you ask? Ask
everyone who may have something to offer. Ask
Transportation and Infrastructure of
the potential local sponsor. Ask officials and
the United States House of
representatives of local, State, and Federal
Representatives, that the Secretary of
agencies. Ask people in local businesses, interest
the Army is hereby requested to review
groups, and homeowners' associations. Ask them
the report of the Chief of Engineers on
in whatever format makes the best sense --
the Big Blue River and Tributaries... individual conversations, single-interest meetings,
with a view to determining if further open public meetings. The means of asking the
improvements for flood control, public must be tailored to suit each individual
navigation, erosion, sedimentation, planning situation; the point is to ask. See Chapter
water quality and other related water Thirteen for additional discussion of public
resources needs are advisable at this involvement.
time.”
Frequently the public will only be able to
What does this tell you about the study area? describe their problems and needs in a general
What types of problems and opportunities are form. For example, residents may be capable of
identified? Notice that the door to other defining flooding from a stream as a problem, but
problems and opportunities beyond those the study team will have to do some analysis to
explicitly listed is opened through the determine the extent of the flood plain, the
recognition that there may be “other related frequency and depths of flooding, the properties
water resource needs.” affected, and the expected annual damages under
existing conditions. The study team will have to
put a technical face on the community's problems
and needs.

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 Figure 6: Where O bjectives and
Constraints Come From

Study
Authority

Continuum of Values, Ideas, Concerns, Facts, Data, etc.

"Is It So?" TECHNICAL

P U BLIC
EXPERTS
"Does Anyone Care?"

Problems
& Opportunities

Criteria:
- Federal Interest
- Corps Mission
- Budget Priority
- Others

Planning Planning
O b jectives C o n straints

The second source of information about problems and opportunities is

technical experts. Relying on technical experts is a traditional approach to this step of
the planning process. The technical studies conducted to establish the scientific basis
for problems and opportunities are generally well known (see sidebar). The resulting
descriptions of technical concerns will look much different from the public's concerns.
Typically, they are included in great detail in report appendices for hydrology,
economics, real estate, and other specialty areas. Where brief statements are usually
adequate to convey public concerns, technical concerns often include maps, drawings,
tabular and graphic displays of data, and technical text.

Like the general public, experts include people from many backgrounds,
including hydrologists, engineers, environmental scientists, economists, and many
others. They can refer you to previous studies, identify other experts, and provide their
professional judgment about the situation. Your initial contacts will undoubtedly be
with the experts on your study team and elsewhere in your District office. Beyond them
are experts in other agencies, universities, consulting firms, and the general public.
This is where the line between “the public” and “technical experts” blurs but it doesn't

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Key Factors

Although the study team actually specifies the planning

objectives, they must do so while taking several key factors into
account.

! External Environment. The partnership's external

environment often exerts considerable influence on the objectives. The
external environment comprises all those factors that the partnership
cannot control. External stakeholders can influence the planning
process by social norms, specific constraints, pressure campaigns, court
challenges, direct controls (e.g., resource agencies sometimes have
effective veto powers), and so on. Thus, setting planning objectives is,
in part, a process of establishing a favorable balance of power between
the partnership and its external environmental factors.

! Resource Constraints. The partnership's resources influence

the nature of the objectives. Studies hampered by severe time and
money constraints will not be able to address as complete a range of
objectives. Plans will consequently be less comprehensive in scope.
Non-Federal partners who contribute databases and work in-kind may
constrain a study from considering a broader range of objectives. Better
funded studies can set more objectives.

! Internal Relationships. The partnership's internal politics and

power relationships will influence planning objectives. Planning teams
with more overall support of the partners can set more ambitious
planning objectives. Innovative planning objectives that do not enjoy
the support of higher elements on either side of the partnership may
have a more difficult time gaining support.

! Decision-Makers' Values. The value system of top decision-

makers in the partnership affect the specification of planning objectives.
In the Corps, annual budget guidance identifies the agencies’ priorities
for the year. Many planners will see no point in deviating from this
guidance in setting planning objectives, and in so doing, they may miss
the chance to solve other problems or to capitalize on opportunities.

! Iterative Process. Defining objectives is an iterative process.

Though specifying objectives early in a study is essential in order for
planning to proceed, the final set of objectives may not be available
until rather late in the planning process. Objectives, like plans, may
require clarification and refinement as additional information comes to
light or when it becomes clear some objectives cannot be addressed by
the study.

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 really matter. What does
matter is that you get the Examples of Technical Problem Definition
problems and
opportunities identified The Corps knows exactly how to
and described. technically “define a problem” for flood
control and navigation. They know who has
Once the public to do what and in what order. Defining
and your technical experts other problems is not as straightforward.
have become involved in The point, however, is that there is a set of
the problem identification technical tasks that have to be performed by
process, the time has come a group of people in order to define the
to compare, verify and parameters of any problem the public might
reconcile what you've surface. Following are some sample tasks
heard about problems and required to define a few selected problems:
opportunities. This may be
the first truly difficult task Flood Damage Reduction
in planning, but the floods of record - hydrologist
difficulty is often more in cross-sections - survey engineer
perception than reality. discharges - hydraulic engineer
Some basic questions can
property inventory - economist, real estate
be used to guide this task.
specialist
“ANSWER” = damages for selected
On the one
events
hand, the
technical
“Is that so?”... experts should Commercial Navigation
“Who cares?” examine the bathymetry - surveyor
problems and sedimentation studies - coastal engineer
opportunities channel geometry - design engineer
identified by the public, disposal area - design engineers and
and ask “Is that so? What environmentalists
evidence do we have that commodity and fleet forecasts - economist
supports or refutes these “ANSWER” = costs of moving
concerns?” For example, commodities
what damages resulted on commercial vessels
from the last flood? Or,
how many ships have Ecosystem Restoration
grounded in the channel? habitat suitability index models -
Have fish populations environmentalist
actually declined over the hydrology - hydrologist
last 10 years? Similarly, “ANSWER” = environmental outputs
the public should have an
opportunity to review
problems and
opportunities identified by the experts to determine “Who cares?” While there may be
scientific evidence of a problem condition, it may not be important enough to the public
to warrant further attention.

100
 At this point you’re ready to write statements of problems and opportunities.
Problems and opportunities that pass both the “Is that so?” and “Who cares?” tests
are good candidates for your planning objectives. The information you developed
from contacts with the public and technical experts should be presented, and
summarized in a brief statement, preferably a simple declarative sentence.

If you look, and not even very hard, you will probably find an abundance of
problems and opportunities in your study area. The Corps cannot hope to solve them
all, and, indeed, is neither expected nor authorized to. The business of sorting out
which problems and opportunities your study will address and which it won't, is in
some respects very straightforward. There are many criteria that can give you a sense
of whether or not, or to what extent, the Corps will be likely to study and implement a
solution for a problem or opportunity. Some of them include the following:

Is there a “Federal interest” in the situation?

Does the language of the study authority cover the situation?
Is the situation related to a Corps “mission”?
Are traditional project purposes involved?
Is the situation related to current “priority budget outputs”?
Is the situation within the scope of the Federal objective?
Can the outcomes be described in terms of NED benefit categories?
Does the situation involve significant environmental resources?
Is the situation covered by other Administration policies related to the Corps'
program?

These are not pass-fail criteria. There is much room for interpretation in arriving at
answers. The questions may lead to different answers at different times and among
different studies. Answers may even depend on whom you ask. However, these
questions are effective screens for focusing limited Corps resources on specific
problems and opportunities.

The more questions you answer with “no,” the more you will have to work to
make the case for addressing a particular problem or opportunity. You may need more
information to be convincing. Or you may have to do an excellent job of telling the
story of a problem or opportunity. At the very least, you should recognize that policy
criteria will arise on the road that leads to your objectives. Good problem definition
will address these questions as a routine part of the job.

What is to be done about problems and opportunities that exceed the current
policies and authorities of the partners, especially the Corps? High crime rates near the
river, for example, may be a significant issue, but it's unlikely this problem can be
addressed by the Corps. When another entity has an established responsibility for the
problem identified, it may be possible to involve them in the study process. For
example, although crime is well beyond the authority of the Corps' programs, it may
be possible to solicit police and other public safety agencies' input in the design of
floodwalls to assure that access through the wall, visibility of pedestrians, and
minimization of potential hiding places are considered in project design.

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 Federal Interest

What is in the “Federal interest”? Although there is no single,

enduring answer to that question, you can get some idea of the
breadth and depth of the “Federal interest” from the following:

C Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. Superintendent of

Documents, Government Printing Office. Library of Congress No.
73-600118 (revised quarterly). The Catalog lists all Federal
programs, including the Corps' programs. A recent catalog
included over 1300 listings.

C National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Implementation

Procedures; Appendices I, II and III; Final Rule. Council on
Environmental Quality. 40 CFR Chapter V (Federal Register,
Friday, December 21, 1984, pages 49750-49782). Appendix II
includes a listing of Federal and Federal-State agencies with
jurisdiction by law or special expertise on environmental quality
issues, including the Corps.

In other cases, information about problems or opportunities may be passed on

to the appropriate authorities. Suppose, for example, a traffic flow problem is
identified during this stage of the study. Even if it is beyond the scope of the water
resource study, this information can be passed along to the appropriate agency for
attention, rather than be ignored because it is beyond the Corps' authority.

In some instances, problems may be water-related but beyond the current

Corps' authorities and policies. There are two schools of thought on this. One is to
decline involvement in any activities that are beyond the Corps' authority. The other
is to look for a way to blend these water resources needs into existing authorities,
perhaps stretching and extending them a little. Acid mine drainage is an example of
a problem over which the Corps has no current authority. New environmental
programs and a renewed interest in watershed planning have provided the impetus for
at least one district to address this problem. One aspect of watershed planning is to
identify issues like these that might require a broader partnership. Bringing other
Federal, State, and local agencies with an interest in these “new” issues into the
partnership can be an effective way to developp more comprehensive planes.

If the public believes there is a problem or opportunity and the technical

experts agree, or vice versa, and the situation seems to fall within the bounds of current
policies, you can write your study’s planning objectives and constraints. The results
become your mission statement. Agreement with and general support of this mission
statement by all of your study stakeholders is critical to the study’s success.

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 Planning Objectives and Constraints

In this example, adapted from a Corps study, the objectives

and constraints are directly associated with a problem or opportunity
statement. The report text that follows a statement like this can then
expand on each objective or constraint as necessary.

Problem 1: Declining extent of wetlands ecosystem.

Objective 1: Increase the total spatial extent of wetlands.
Objective 2: Reestablish relative balance among lost historic plant,
fish, and wildlife communities.
Constraint 1: Protect threatened and endangered species.

Problem 2: Continuing flood damages.

Objective 3: Reduce flood damages on tribal lands.
Constraint 2: No loss of flood protection from existing flood damage
reduction projects.

Opportunity 1: Improve water supply.

Objective 4: Restore more natural water quality.
Constraint 3: Meet state water quality standards.

Are you done? Yes, for a while, but keep in mind that the process is iterative.
Objectives and constraints will change or even drop out and new ones may arise as
planning progresses. The steps to identify
planning objectives are presented sequentially
because an orderly approach to the discussion
Multi-Objective Planning is needed. The actual identification of planning
objectives is not so orderly. The study team
Multi-objective planning is a may begin specifying objectives when they first
confusing term. It has been used to mean see the study area. We want the planning
both multiple Federal objectives and professionals to have ideas and reactions from
multiple planning objectives. day one. We don't want those ideas to become
crystallized and finalized, however, until all the
The Principles and Guidelines work is done.
officially commit the Nation's water
resource agencies to a single Federal Nonetheless, the team will begin with
objective, national economic development some very preliminary notions of planning
subject to certain environmental constraints. objectives. As problem identification proceeds
When people talk about multi-objective these objectives will change. When public
planning, they are usually referring to the past feedback about problems and opportunities is
practice of planning for more than one Federal sought, more refinement and clarification will
objective. Federal policy is currently single follow. As technical analysis begins to give
objective in nature. dimension to the problems, more specific
objectives can be fashioned. As the study

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progresses through the various iterations of the steps of the planning process, further
refinements may be necessary. If your notion of specifying planning objectives is a
team meeting where the doors are closed and the objectives are set once and for all,
dispel that notion. That exercise may be a very useful starting point, but specifying
objectives is an iterative and participatory process.

Early in the planning study, objectives may be very general in nature. As

planning progresses and becomes more refined, the objectives should be continuously
reexamined so that a limited number of very specific objectives are identified and used
to develop alternative plans.

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH OBJECTIVES?

Use them. Use them to let people know what your study is all about.

In step 2, use them as guides to the information you gather. Collect

information that will enable you to convincingly tell the story behind your objectives
and constraints.

In step 3, use them as reasons for identifying management measures and

formulating plans. What can you do to meet the objectives and avoid the constraints?

In step 4, use your objectives and constraints to identify plan effects to be

evaluated. They can help you identify the plans that qualify for further consideration.

In step 5, use them to compare the relative effectiveness of your qualifying

plans. How well do the various plans do in meeting the objectives and avoiding the
constraints?

In step 6, use the objectives and constraints as reasons for selecting a plan. All
other things equal, the recommended plan should be the one that best satisfies your
objectives and constraints.

SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD

Lesson One. The study begins with an identification of an area's problems and
opportunities. The partners, their customers and publics provide the information
needed to develop a consensus agreement on the problems and opportunities to be
considered in a study.

Lesson Two. Planning objectives and constraints may be a whole lot more
important than you ever imagined. The objectives specify what the planning team and
its plans intend to do. Constraints describe what the plans shouldn't do. Together, they
are, in a sense, the mission statement of the partnership. If you get the planning

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 Multi-Purpose Planning

The purpose of a plan may be thought of as its primary output.

Traditional purposes of Corps projects include: flood damage
reduction, navigation, hydroelectric power, municipal and industrial
water supply, agricultural water supply, recreation, hurricane and
storm damage protection, aquatic plant control, water quality
improvement, fish and wildlife mitigation and enhancement. Water
resource plans may be single-purpose or multi-purpose. A single-
purpose plan serves one of these purposes; a multi-purpose project
serves two or more of these purposes. In recent years, multi-purpose
projects have tended to be primarily for one purpose with some
ancillary inclusion of other purposes. There is nothing in the
Principles and Guidelines that precludes multi-purpose planning.

Planners are often faced with a dilemma. On the one hand,

authorizations and the Principles and Guidelines challenge them to
develop plans that fully address a community's problems and needs.
On the other hand, Administration policy tells them some problems
and opportunities may not be considered a priority in the budget
request. When walking through such political ground, planners must
tread with sensitivity. The sum total of the current situation is that
planners are limited in what they can do but there is some flexibility. True
comprehensive multi-purpose planning is not currently practical, but
some multi-purpose planning is possible. The Corps’ currently
evolving program for watershed planning and management is an
avenue for multi-purpose problem solving. Perhaps the best practice
is for planners to be positive and capitalize on what policy and
circumstance permit.

objectives wrong, the formulation, evaluation and selection will be wrong. The choice
of planning objectives determines to a significant degree the success of a planning
study.

Lesson Three. Planning objectives are used in every step of the planning
process.

The next chapter describes the second step of the planning process, the
inventory of resources and the without-project condition description. This step
establishes a benchmark for comparison of all alternative plan effects.

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 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING
There is relatively little to read about the individual steps in the literature.
That is one of the primary reasons for this manual. Generally speaking, the water
resource planning references in Chapter Two and others like them are going to be the
best sources of additional discussion on these subjects. The National Technical
Information Service publications relating to the Principles and Standards listed in the
References section of this report provide an additional source of material that may be
of some limited interest.

Problem identification is a subject of many books in business management and

it is a recurring theme in many planning texts. These books can provide refreshing
insights from time-to-time, albeit from a different perspective.

106
107
CHAPTER SEVEN: STEP TWO - INVENTORYING AND
FORECASTING RESOURCES
Future, n. That period of time in which our affairs prosper,
our friends are true and our happiness is assured. Ambrose
Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary.

Step Two: “Inventory, forecast, and analysis of water and

related land resource conditions within the planning area
relevant to the identified problems and opportunities.” (P&G
Standards Section III paragraph 1.3.2 (a)(2))

INTRODUCTION
Information gathering is one of the principal tasks of any planning effort.
Information is needed to identify and quantify problems and opportunities. It’s needed
to measure plan effects. Information is essential to making good decisions.

Information gathering is divided into two basic types by the P&G: inventory
and forecast. Gathering existing information, current and historical, is the inventory
type of data collection. Gathering information that describes potential future conditions
is the forecast type of information gathering.

Information gathering is distinguished from data

gathering by the quality of its content. For present purposes,
data are considered to be facts or figures from which
Information is data put conclusions can be inferred. Information implies that data have
to purposeful use. been considered, and conclusions useful to the planning process
have been inferred. Information is data put to purposeful use.

Information is used to define relevant conditions in the planning area under

various scenarios. These conditions include historic conditions, existing conditions,
base year conditions, most likely future conditions without a project, and most
likely future conditions with a project. The last three of these are forecasts of
conditions. Differences among these various conditions are evaluated and compared,
and provide a major basis for plan selection.

The gathering of useful information almost certainly will have begun long
before the planning effort. It will continue throughout the planning effort. Last-minute
revisions to relevant information have both vexed and saved many planning efforts.
Information gathering is one of the planning steps that is continued relentlessly,
although not necessarily by the planning team, even after the planning study is
completed.

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 Information gathering is usually the most time-
With and Without is not Before and consuming and expensive part of the planning
After process.

“Before storm protection was built This chapter explores the dimensions of
in the coastal town of Amity in 1960 there information gathering. It begins by defining the
was little economic activity. Now there is a scenarios that plans require information to describe.
$1 billion tourist industry,” says the mayor From there it proceeds to a consideration of some of
in a tribute to the artificial dunes. The the types of data that may be collected to describe the
implication is clear. The dunes have caused scenarios and to complete the study.
a tremendous economic growth. But did
they?
PLANNING CONDITIONS
Suppose the mayor forgot to
mention that a bridge replaced the five-car To choose the best course of action from
ferry in 1965. Population within two-hours among the alternatives available to us, we need to
of the town has more than doubled and know what difference any given course of action will
personal income has tripled. In addition, a make. A “difference” implies that some sort of
very successful advertising campaign comparison has been made. A future oriented
attracts visitors from 15 states. Would it activity like planning requires the comparison of
different conditions at different points in time. Let’s
still be fair to attribute the economic
begin by considering the different points in time that
growth to the dunes? These other changes
might be of interest.
would have taken place anyway.
The past may be very important to planners.
The mayor provides an example of a It is not easy to understand the present without
before and after analysis that measures a some knowledge of the past. Your present standard
variable, economic activity, at one point in of living is important information. Considered in
time and again at a later point in time. the context of your past standards of living, however,
There is no cause and effect analysis. A the same information about your current situation is
without- and with-project condition far richer. With past information, we know whether
introduces cause and effect analysis to your standard of living is rising or falling. When a
these comparisons over time. scenario describing past conditions is required for a
study, it is called the historic condition. Because
there is the possibility for one or more historic
conditions, ten years ago, 50 years ago and so on, it
is necessary to adequately described the context and purpose of the historic condition
described in a study.

Conditions that exist at the time of the study are collectively called the existing
condition. Try to avoid getting too literal in the definition of this scenario. Reasonable
accuracy is more important than literal truth. You may have to rely on average
conditions in recent years rather than precise data for the year of the study. There is
nothing wrong with that if the average reasonably represents the relevant study area
conditions. The existing condition is sometimes called the base condition, or current
condition.

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 Because plans take time to
implement, it is quite possible that planning Unless these data become
area conditions will be different at the time information...time and
the project is finally operational from what money were wasted in
they are under the existing condition collecting them and they
scenario. When this is the case, the most
simply take up space in
likely future condition at the time the project
is operational is called the base year the report.
condition, not to be confused with the base
condition. The base year condition is a
short-run future forecast that is generally a without- project condition forecast, but it
can be a with-project condition forecast at times. The base year condition is often
important in the determination of the time value of benefits and costs. For a more
detailed discussion of these issues, see the National Economic Development Procedures
Manual. - National Economic Development Costs, IWR Report 93-R-12.

When describing future conditions in a planning area, planners are guessing.

At best, these guesses are reasoned, scientific forecasts based on experience, good data,
and the best appropriate forecasting methods. At worst, they are only guesses. Thus,
it is important to recognize from the outset that forecasts of future conditions are
fundamentally uncertain. To present them as deterministic or anything more than the
best guess possible would be misleading to decision-makers and the public.

Given the many ways the future could turn out, it is the planners’ task to
identify the most likely future condition or the most probable future. There may be
times when it is not honestly possible to identify one future condition as more likely
than another. If plan selection would be affected by the choice of the alternative future,
it is advisable to present the different alternative future scenarios. When different
futures are possible but none make a material difference to the decision-making
process, then a single most likely future condition can be identified. When there is
good reason to believe that one alternative future is indeed more likely than any of the
others, it is sufficient to identify that one as the most likely alternative future.

Two important most probable future condition

Table 20: Planning Scenarios scenarios are the most probable future without a project and
the most probable future with a project. To avoid this
WAS - historic condition unwieldy terminology, these are commonly called the without
IS - existing condition condition (or without-project condition) and the with
condition (or with-project condition). The structure of
WILL BE - most probable future. . .
these scenarios is summarized in Table 20.
. . .base year
condition
The without-project condition describes the condition
. . .without condition that is expected to prevail in the planning area in the future if
. . .with condition the no-action alternative is selected as the best thing to do.

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Condition Scenarios

Suppose there is a conveniently rectangular bird island; 43,560 feet long and
100 feet wide, a total of 100 acres in size, in 1996. Further suppose the island has
been eroding one foot in width each year and a nourishment plan that could be
operational by 2000 would widen the island to 150 feet but would have no effect on
the erosion rate. Let’s consider the size of the bird island under the various scenarios
planners encounter.

Historic Existing W/O W/Base W/O W/

1990 1996 Base Year 2010 2010
Year 2000
2000

Area in 106 100 96 150 86 140

Acres

In 1990 there were 106 acres but there are only 100 today. If nothing is
done there would only be 96 acres in the base year, 2000. By the year 2010 the
island would be down to 86 acres. However, if the island is restored to 150 acres in
2000 there will be 140 acres ten years later.

What are the impacts of the plan? The answer depends on our temporal
frame of reference. In the year 2000 there would be 150 acres rather than 96, a net
gain of 54 acres. In 2010 there would still be a net gain of 54 acres, due to the
simplicity of our the example. Thus, in this example, the project produces the
annual equivalent of an additional 54 acres of bird island.

The appropriate way to identify plan impacts is to compare future conditions

with the plan (140 acres in 2010) to future conditions without the plan (86 acres in
2010). The appropriate comparison is not a before (100 acres in 1996) and after
(140 acres in 2010) comparison. Corps planning uses without and with condition
comparisons, not before-and-after comparisons, in the evaluation of plan effects.

In other words, the without project condition describes the project area’s future if
there is no Federal action taken to solve the problem at hand. There will ordinarily
be one without-project condition for the planning area. Every alternative plan is
compared to the same without-project condition. The exception would be when it is
not possible to single out one future scenario as most likely. In
such a case, each alternative plan must be compared to each
...each plan will lead to a without-project condition.
different with project
condition. The with-project condition describes the condition
that is expected to prevail in the planning area in the future

111
 if a particular plan is implemented. There
Information: Existing and Future could be more than one with project condition
if it is not possible to single out one future
Suppose one objective is to reduce scenario as most likely. However, each plan
flood damages in the Minion Creek will lead to a different with-project condition.
Township. What might you need to do that? If two plans result in exactly the same future
condition scenario, they would have to be
First, keep in mind this is a planning
identical in their impacts, and that implies they
objective and at this step in the planning
may be one and the same plan.
process we have two tasks. First, we need to
establish the nature of the existing flood How long is the forecast period? That
problem. That will require existing depends on the nature of the project.
hydrology and hydraulics as well as Generally, forecasts are expected to coincide
information about the potential damages in with the project life. However, there are often
the flood plain. circumstances in which it may be appropriate
to forecast future conditions over a period of
Second, we need to establish a most time less than the project life. For example, it
likely future scenario if we do not is common practice in navigation studies to
implement any plans. That will require an forecast commodity movements over 10 or 20
analysis of future hydrology, hydraulics, and years, assuming no changes after that. This is
floodplain development. It would also have done in simple recognition of the fact that
these forecasts are so uncertain that they have
to include consideration of any potential
little credibility when extended beyond 20
activities that might be taken by others to
years.
lessen flood damages in the future without a
plan. Forecast values may be expressed in
average annual equivalent units, as project
If another objective is to preserve benefits and costs are; or they may be
wetlands in the area, this will require expressed at select points in time, usually at
additional information. Although fixed intervals after the base year. For
hydrologic requirements might overlap the example, the preceding sidebar presents
two objectives, it will be necessary to impacts at project year 10 (2010), 10 years
document the amount and quality of after the base year.
existing wetlands. In addition, it will be
important to identify activities that could
either diminish or increase these resources in WHAT KINDS OF
the future. INFORMATION ARE NEEDED?

What about the information you What kinds of information do

need to determine how much flood damage planners need to develop these scenarios?
each alternative plan reduces or increases Specific types of information required will
and how much wetland they affect? These vary with the type of study and the resources
kinds of information are gathered in much available. The information has to describe the
the same way. existing, without-project, and with-project
conditions adequately enough for decision-
making. Three important generic types of

112
information can be identified for any planning effort.

First, information is needed to identify and adequately describe the

problems and opportunities of the study area. For example, a flood damage reduction
study will require hydrologic and hydraulic data, as well as stage-damage relationships
for each reach. Navigation studies will need to know channel depths and channel
usage. These data will be required for the existing and without-project conditions just
to quantify the nature and extent of the problem. They are also the evidence that
supports your planning objectives and constraints.

An ecosystem restoration study might require information about the historic

condition to establish the extent of degradation and the level of restoration possible.
It would also require information needed to describe existing and future without project
conditions.

Second, information
is needed to estimate life The Value of Information
cycle project costs. These
include firsts costs of Which is the more horrible fate:
construction as well as all paralysis by analysis or extinction by
operation, maintenance, instinct? These choices reflect one of the
major rehabilitation, and more difficult decisions a planner faces in
other relevant costs. this step of the planning process. How
much information is enough?
Third, information is
needed to describe important Having more information may
project effects. Some of the reduce your anxiety. Unless it changes
impacts are related to the
your decision, it is not worth the cost of
planning objectives and
obtaining it. An important question to
constraints of the study.
Certain kinds of information ask when considering what information
will be needed to measure to gather or how much more of it to get
objective attainment and is, “Could this information affect your
constraint avoidance for the decision?” If the answer is no, do not get
alternative considered. The it. If the answer is yes, it’s necessary to
planning objectives and ask how likely it is to change your
constraints should guide decision. If the possibility is remote, do
much of the information not get the information unless the
collection. Identification of potential change is significant.
some impacts is required by
law. For example, Federal
laws require effects on
significant cultural resources, endangered species and other impacts be considered. A
third category of impacts comprises other things of specific interest to the planning
partners, i.e., Federal and non-Federal interests.

Information for these purposes must be of sufficient quantity and quality to

convincingly, not necessarily perfectly, answer the questions: What are the

113
 problems/opportunities? What are the costs of the alternatives? What are the impacts
of a plan we’re legally required to address? How do the plans contribute to the
planning objectives and constraints? How do the plans affect the significant interests
of the partners?

“Planner as storyteller” is an appropriate role to assume when thinking about

the information you will need. The planning process is a simple adaptation of the
scientific process. It is a rational approach to problem solving and decision-making.
It’s done all the time. What kind of information will you
need to tell a convincing story about why you made the
decisions you made? If you cannot tell a complete, logical,
If you cannot tell a and easy-to-follow story about what you did, bolstered and
complete, logical and easy- supported with the information necessary to do so, then
to-follow story about what you cannot plan.
you did...then you cannot
plan. As the planning process develops, a story does
unfold. That is the story you are going to have to be able
to tell convincingly, if stakeholders are to be convinced of
the soundness of your decision and the rationality of the
process by which you arrived at it. Because you need to guess at the information you’ll
need at the end from the very beginning, it is inevitable that you’ll gather some
information that is ultimately not useful (then don’t use it!). Likewise, you’ll find
yourself needing information you don’t have (then go get it or work around it the best
you can). Revising information needs as your understanding of the problems and
opportunities evolves and as planning objectives are refined and the story develops is
a constant in every planning study. The following section suggests four parameters of
data collection worth considering in this information gathering and management step
of the planning process.

FOUR PARAMETERS OF DATA COLLECTION

The four parameters of data collection are quantity, quality, timing and
location. How much information is enough? How accurate and how representative
must the data be? At what point does the collection process start, how long do you
have to collect information, and for what period of time are data required? What
geographic area is to be covered? As the study begins, you’ll have a preliminary
response to these questions. The definitive answer to these questions won’t be known
until the end of the study. Like virtually everything else in the study process, data
collection is an iterative process.

Quantity. Table 21 lists some generic types of data that might be useful for
planning. The data types are divided into two broad categories. The first includes
physical data. These are the data that depend only on the existing physical
environment. The second type, socioeconomic data, includes those data that depend
on the human element in the environment. You need enough data of sufficient quality
to be reasonably certain you have the information you need to move forward in the
decision process.

114
 Could the expected annual damage estimates be better? The answer is almost
always going to be yes. If you broke the study area into more reaches; had more stream
record; used a larger sample of structures; developed site-specific stage-damage curves;

Table 21: Selected Data for Planning

I. Physical II. Socioeconomic

A. Geology A. Institutions
1. Formations 1. Water-related
2. Foundation characteristics 2. Political
3. Minerals 3. Regulatory
B. Land Resources B. Demographic
1. Soil survey (land classification) 1. Population (existing & future)
2. Development 2. Population characteristics
3. Drainage 3. Location of population
C. Hydrogeology (Groundwater) C. Geographical, Social
1. Aquifer characteristics 1. Land use (existing & future)
2. Yields 2. Values and elevations
3. GW elevations (records) 3. Zoning
D. Physical Geography D. Economic
1. Maps 1. Markets
2. Aerial photographs 2. Income Distribution/ Employment
3. Infrastructure (cities, roads, etc.) 3. Benefits and cost estimates
E. Meteorology E. Financial
1. Rain gages 1. Sources of funds
2. Precipitation records 2. Types of repayment
3. Evaporation and evapotranspiration 3. Cost-sharing and allocation
F. Hydrology F. Legal
1. Gaging stations, location 1. Water law
2. Stream flow records 2. Environmental laws
3. Watershed characteristics 3. Agreements, treaties, constraints
G. Water Quality G. Social Publics
1. Groundwater and surface water quality 1. Stakeholders
2. Sensitive areas 2. Silent majority
3. Sediment loads 3. Information to be diseminated
H. Environment (Ecology) H. Other Sectors/Functions
1. Flora and fauna 1. Agencies for coordination
2. Sensitive areas and significant resources 2. Plans (cooperation)
3. Air, land, water pollution I. Recreational Needs

Source: Adapted from Helweg, Otto J., Water Resources Planning and Management

and so on, the examples would probably be better. But, have youu used reasonable
data collection and analytical methods to obtain the informationyou need to feel

115
reasonably comfortable that you now understand the magnitude of the flood problem
as described by expected annual damages?

If you do, you have enough information and it is time to move on. If team members
have serious doubts about the quality of the information you’re working with, these
information gaps need to be further addressed.

Quality. The quality of data depends primarily on the stage and type of the
study. For a “continuing authority” project, a visual inspection of a stream may be
adequate. For a feasibility study, the stream may need to be gaged. Data should be
homogeneous, i.e., they must measure one thing consistently. They should also be
representative. If you’re using sample data, it should be an unbiased sample from
the population of interest. For example, a short stream record taken during unusually
wet years would not be representative of the long-term stream flows. Accuracy is a
fundamental aspect of data quality. The accuracy of your data must be known and
communicated in the report.

Timing. There are two

dimensions to the timing characteristic Every question has the one
of data collection. First, is time as it hour answer, the one day
relates to the planner. When can data answer, the one week answer,
collection begin and how long do you etc.
have to complete the study? These
dates and periods vary with the type
and stage of study. Every question has
the one hour answer, the one day answer, the one week answer, etc. The length of time
allowed to gather information depends on the importance of the information.

The second dimension is time as it relates to the data themselves. The dates on
which data were collected may be important. Streamflow or water quality data
collected during a drought may differ substantially from normal data. Economic
surveys conducted during recessions will differ from those collected during economic
booms. Another aspect of data timing is the length of the data record. This is
especially important for hydrology and monitoring the health of ecosystems. The
timing of monetary values is important in terms of the time value of money and the
price level used to measure monetary values.

Location. The geographic area for which data are collected will usually
conform to the planning area. Normally data will not be collected for areas outside the
affected area unless the outside data affect the study or are needed to provide
perspective and context for the study area data.

The section that follows presents some ideas to consider for developing an
information-gathering strategy. When planning to collect data to provide the
information necessary for good decision-making, planners must be cognizant of the
quantity, quality, timing, and spatial dimensions of their data collection efforts.

116
PREPARING AN INFORMATION STRATEGY

If you have prepared a problem statement and a list of planning objectives,

then you have an invaluable input for determining your information needs. Beneath
each statement of a problem, list the types of information you’ll need to describe the
problem. Beneath each objective list, the information you’ll need to see if you are
contributing to that objective. Then, you can list the types of data you are going to need
to provide the information you require.

Table 22 provides an example of how this information strategy might be

arranged. The numbered items indicate the basic information sought. The lettered
items identify data that will help provide that information. Obviously, the analysts can
provide as much detail as is required or desired in describing the information needed
and the data that will provide that information. An information gathering strategy
like this can be prepared for each problem, opportunity, planning objective, and
constraint. In subsequent steps, as alternative plans are identified, additional
information may be required for evaluating, appraising and comparing plan impacts.
However, if you do a good job in this step, most of those data will already be available.

Table 22: Information-Gathering Strategy

Problem 1: Flood damages from Minion Creek

Information Needs:
1. Definition/extent of flood plain
a. Topographic maps: obtain existing aerials
b. Hydrology - existing & future: USGS gage data
c. Hydraulics - existing & future: field surveys
2. Property at risk of flooding
a. Property survey - existing & future: field surveys
b. Appraise value of property: Marshall-Swift
c. Depth-damage curves: site-specific curves
3. Expected annual damage estimates - existing & future
a. Frequency curve: H&H section
b: Rating curve: H&H section
c. Damage curve: Economics Branch
d. Estimating algorithm or computer program: risk-based EAD
calculations
4. Likelihood of restoration of natural flood plain values
a. Residents views on evacuation: public involvement
b. Environmental resources restored: expert opinion
c. Political support: study coordination

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 In many cases, planners begin by collecting the same data that was collected
for another district study. Planners who collect information in this fashion run the risk
of wasting scarce study resources collecting data that are not going to provide useful
or necessary information in their own study. More importantly, they may
overlooknecessary data and information unique to their own situation. The amount and
types of information that can be gathered are virtually limitless, but not all of that
information is going to be of equal value in decision-making. The cardinal rule for
information-gathering is to get what you need to make good decisions, not what is
available or traditionally gathered.

Once the data needs for each problem, opportunity,

planning objective and constraint have been tentatively
Table 23: General Sources of identified as described above, the planner needs a strategy
Data for obtaining the data and information. This activity begins
by identifying general sources of information as shown in
Internal secondary sources Table 23.
External secondary sources
Internal primary sources Internal data are, or have been, produced by study
External primary sources participants. What data do the Corps and its non-Federal
partner(s) have? External data are data produced by
institutions, agencies, individuals, and organizations that
are not study participants. What data have already been
collected by other agencies, academic institutions, researchers, consultants, and so on?

Let the Planner Beware

The without-project condition makes it possible to describe

what society is going to have to give up in order to gain the outputs of
an alternative plan. In order to properly describe what is going to be
lost, it is important that the existing condition and forecasts include all
resources of significance. If problems, opportunities, planning
objectives and constraints are properly identified and scoping is
completed, this should ensure that all resources of importance are
included. However, planners should review the planning area to
ensure this has been done.

For example, suppose a study area has some bottom land

hardwoods and wetlands. Inexperienced planners might fail to realize
the plan has an opportunity to preserve these valuable resources, in
which case they could be overlooked in the information-gathering
steps. Thus, we offer as a caveat the admonishment that if you have
significant resources in a planning area that do not show up in a
problem or opportunity statement, or that are not mentioned in a
planning objective or constraint, you need to reconsider your step one
activities; you may have missed an opportunity.

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 Primary data are obtained from original research. An example of external
primary data would be stream gage data collected by the U.S. Geologic Survey. Internal
primary data would include things like original surveys of foundation conditions,
channel depths, damage potential, and the like. Secondary data have already been
gathered for some other purpose. External secondary data would include the data
compiled in reports like the Statistical Abstract of the United States. Internal
secondary data would include information from previous studies.

The information-gathering strategy can be

expanded as shown in Table 22 to indicate the general
Future External Environment source of the data. In a feasibility study, this entire step is
nothing more than an update and more specific iteration of
What is going to happen to that the work that was done in the preparation of the Project
tidal wetland if we do not implement a Study Plan.
plan? Will it be developed for
condominiums and a shopping center or
will it be protected from such uses? That What Types of Information Are Typically Needed?
depends on many things. If we can show
these wetlands were going to disappear There are many lists of specific data types or
anyway, then there is not a significant sources that might contain the information needed to
impact if one of our alternatives would conduct a successful study. They can generally be found in
cause their loss, is there? guidance and the professional literature. The NED benefit
procedures manuals produced by the Institute for Water
If there are no legislative Resources, and the Corps’ ECs and ERs are excellent
restrictions, the future of the wetlands may sources of such lists. Those interested in lists of
representative or essential information types are advised to
depend on the state of the economy in this
review the more detailed guidance. We avoid the lists here
area and on population growth, which may
because there is no such thing as a typical study and no set
in turn depend on the quality of life in the
of lists would be complete. Each planning effort involves
area. Perhaps if the education system is
unique circumstances and wicked problems. Hence, a
not improved in this county, people will
unique information gathering strategy is needed for each
continue to try to escape the poverty that study.
results, and the land will never develop
anyway.

Suppose there is national legislation FORECASTING FOR THE EXTERNAL

that prohibits the development of tidal AND INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTS
wetlands. Suppose even in the absence of
national legislation, we see this state Many factors that affect a plan are external to
moving toward a more environmentally the planning process. These are the things that cannot be
friendly stance. There could be many controlled or influenced by the planning process. They
factors well beyond the partnership’s include economic, governmental, political, social, natural
control that would affect our forecasts of and technological factors or trends that are beyond the
influence of the planning process, but that might influence
future conditions without a plan. It is the
the planning area directly or indirectly, now or in the future.
planner’s job to consider them adequately
and as objectively as possible.

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 There are also internal factors, elements, and systems that exist within the
sphere of influence of the partnership. These would include all the institutional
elements and systems of the partners themselves, plus those factors of the planning area
that can be affected and influenced by alternative plans.

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT

The external environment is sometimes called the macroenvironment by

private sector firms engaged in strategic planning. It is important to think about
macroenvironmental factors when determining what information is going to be needed
to inventory and forecast resources for your study. Table 24 provides some examples
of these factors.

Table 24: Examples of Macroenvironmental Factors

C Economic C Societal
- Business cycle - Quality of life attitudes
- Money supply - Lifestyles
- GNP trends - Career expectations
- Inflation - Population growth
- Interest rates - Crime
- Exchange rates - Education trends
- Unemployment C Natural
- Balance of trade - Pollution
C Government & Politics - Climate change
- Environmental laws - Resource reserves
- Attitudes toward govt. C Technological
- Tax laws - R&D spending
- Stability - New products
- Trade policies - Technology transfer
- Alliances - Automation & Robotics
- Wars & conflicts - Patent laws
- Election results - Spread of technology

The fall of communism provides a dramatic example of an external event that

has had enormous implications for the world. During step two, planners should be
scanning the horizons of the future looking for the dramatic changes that could affect
their plans. They need not be “fall of communism” magnitude, but no reasonably
foreseeable significant change should be overlooked.

In order to define a good without-project condition, planners must develop

some facility in looking into the future. Deep draft navigation has to be concerned
about future trade patterns, trends in energy prices, and the like. These are factors

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clearly beyond the control of planners, but they are factors of importance to planners.
The fall of communism will open markets formerly closed to U.S. commerce. What
will this mean for commodity forecasts and future tonnage? If relations between the
U.S. and Cuba are normalized, what will this mean for ports in south Florida?

These are the types of questions with important implications for projects of
which planners have to be aware. A major purpose for considering these external or
macroenvironmental factors is to try to identify trends, factors, and events that could
affect plan outcomes in a significant fashion. In many cases, this kind of information
will be incomplete and speculative. In such cases, it may be prudent to define more
than one without-project condition. For example, a south Florida port project may be
well advised to have a without-project condition that includes a “closed Cuba” scenario
and another with an “open Cuba” scenario because project benefits may vary greatly
between the two scenarios. The choice of the most likely scenario will depend greatly
on information gathered during this step of the planning process.

A common error in forecasting future scenarios is failure to consider

foreseeable changes and trends in the macroenvironment. It’s the planner’s job to
identify any future events that could significantly alter the outcomes of a plan, to the
extent possible, and to give them appropriate and explicit consideration. A
common characteristic of particularly good plans is that ability to consider important
things that are not so easy to foresee.

INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT

The internal environment is what is commonly considered within the domain

of a Corps study. Here, we use the term internal to mean internal to the study process.
This information includes the hydrologic, hydraulic, environmental, economic,
engineering, and other data and information that are the bread and butter of a Corps
study. These are the kinds of data primarily referred to in the information strategy
example above. These data will always be critical to Corps studies. Enough has been
said about them in other Corps guidance, however, and they are not addressed further
here.

RECOGNIZE THE UNCERTAINTY IN

WHAT YOU ARE DOING

A little humility will go a long way in this step of the planning process.
Describing existing conditions is a daunting task. There is so much information that
could be gathered and there are so many stakeholders with their own interests and
agendas, that it is virtually assured that you will not have all the information necessary
to satisfy all these people. Limitations on the quantity and quality of information will
result in uncertainty. Admit that from the outset. Explain what you collected and why
you collected it, tell your story. If important dimensions of the planning effort are
subject to serious uncertainty, be open and above board about it.

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 Describing future conditions is even more uncertain. In this step, you
are asked to forecast conditions for the variables, elements, and systems
Uncertainty is a identified in your information-gathering strategy. No one expects you to
fact of life. foresee the future with perfect clarity, but everyone will expect you to see
what, after the fact, everyone claims was obvious. Partners must be honest
with one another and with the stakeholders. Uncertainty is a fact of life and
both Corps customers and partners can handle that as long as the uncertainty is
described honestly, openly, and in a straightforward manner.

HOW TO FORECAST
Suppose you have done an extraordinary job in identifying and gathering the
information you need to describe the existing conditions in the study area. Further
suppose you have identified the variables, conditions, elements, and systems that need
to be forecast in order to describe alternative future conditions. There is still the
considerable task of making those forecasts. How do you do that?

To develop plans for a community or region, we need to predict the type of

environment they’ll be facing in the short- and long-term future. The purpose of
forecasting is to identify patterns in natural systems and human behavior and to
discover relationships among variables and systems so we can estimate the timing,
nature, and magnitude of changes in future conditions.

Though many taxonomies of forecasting methods could be used, we’ll rely on

three major categories as shown in Table 25, taken from Wheelwright’s book
Forecasting Methods for Management. Judgmental methods are the most common
forecasting technique used in planning. These forecasts include individual judgments,
committee or team decisions, and other forms of professional opinion. Professional
judgment is often relied upon to forecast the effectiveness of ecosystem restoration
alternatives, project performance, and many other important aspects of both without
and with conditions.

Quantitative methods are the subject of most of the forecasting literature;

three subcategories are identified. Time series methods forecast future events based
on trends in historical data. Explanatory methods attempt to identify cause and effect
relationships among variables in the past. These relationships are then used to forecast
future outcomes. These two sets of methods are frequently used by economists.
Monitoring methods are relatively new. They seek to identify changes in patterns and
relationships to make forecasts when extrapolation of past patterns or relationships is
not appropriate. Such methods may be particularly useful in environmental planning,
where systems are poorly understood because of their complexity or lack of data.

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 Table 25: Forecasting Methods

Approaches to Selected Groups of Major Forecasting

Forecasting Forecasting Methods Methods

Judgmental Individual Judgment Intuitive

Ad hoc
Multiple attribute decision-making
Group Committees
Sales force estimates
Juries of expert opinion
Aggregates Anticipatory surveys
Market research

Quantitative Time Series Naive

Decomposition
Simple time series
Advanced time series
Explanatory Simple regression
Multiple regression
Econometric methods
Multivariate methods
Monitoring Tracking signals

Technological Extrapolation Delphi

Trend extrapolations
Morphological research
Systems dynamics
Normative Cross impact
PATTERN
La Prospective

The third forecasting category includes technological methods. These

methods address long term issues of a technological, societal, economic, or political
nature. There are two subcategories. Extrapolation methods use historical patterns
and relationships as a basis for forecasts. Normative methods rely on objectives,
goals, and desired outcomes as a basis for forecasting.

Details of these and other forecasting methods can be found in the considerable
forecasting literature. Texts and articles are available on each of the major forecasting
methods shown in Table 25. There are considerably more techniques in use, however.
A 1975 IWR report, Handbook of Forecasting Techniques, and its appendix, Part II
Description of 31 Techniques, remain good source documents.

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 When data exist, time series and explanatory methods will generally be the
most useful techniques. These are covered best in the literature. Courses in these
techniques are available at many universities. When faced with unique situations or
situations in which data are unavailable, judgment and technological methods will
dominate. Opinion analysis will be another valuable tool for planners. There are any
number of specific techniques that comprise the major forecasting methods shown in
the table. For example, subjective probability elicitations and nominal group methods
are two examples of juries of expert opinion. Consult the literature, like the IWR
Handbook, for details on specific forecasting methods.

THE WITHOUT-PROJECT CONDITION

The “without-project condition” is universally regarded as vitally important
to the evaluation, and comparison of alternative plans. No single element of the
planning process is more critical to those steps of the planning process than this
forecast of the most likely future conditions that will exist in the study area if no action
is taken as a result of your study. The inventory and forecast of conditions in the study
area are the step two tasks necessary to develop the without-project condition.

In forecasting, we look into our

crystal ball and try to describe the most
important aspects of life in the study area ...we look into our crystal
over the next several decades. This ball and try to describe the
forecast is based on our existing condition, most important aspects of
in which we adequately describe the most
life...
important current aspects of life related to
our planning effort. Our forecasting efforts
build upon that base condition. Using a
variety of forecasting techniques, we paint one or more pictures of what the future
might look like. From the alternative future conditions, we select one as the most likely
future condition.

This most likely future condition is not necessarily the only possible future
condition but it does become our baseline picture of the future. When we consider how
our alternative plans will alter the future, we are always comparing alternate future
conditions, with different plans in place, to our without project condition.

The other possible futures without a plan in place may be considered again in
a sensitivity analysis. If we have selected a plan that looks “best” under all forecasted
futures, then we can be confident we have the best plan. If the “best” plan varies with
the forecasted future without a plan in place, then decision-makers must be apprised
of the differences and their implications.

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 Planners identify and quantify the explicit differences
among plans (to anticipate a future chapter, this is called
Every plan is evaluation) and make some judgments about their relative
compared to the same merits (comparison) before a decision is made (selection).
without- project Every plan is compared to the same without-project
condition. condition.

Think of the future in the study area without any

plans as consisting of a mix of good and bad outcomes. We
have a pile of good things that will happen (dogwoods in spring, jobs, fishing, and so
on) and a pile of bad things (pollution, flood damages, recessions, and the like).
Conceptually, we estimate the most important of these things related to our study over
the planning horizon and pile them up.

We do the same for each of the plans we formulate. The piles without a plan
and with a plan can differ in many ways. The size of the piles may be different. There
may be more or fewer good things with the plan. There may be more or fewer bad
things. In addition to different sizes, the piles are likely to have different compositions.
The beautiful dogwoods in spring may be gone now; they may have been sacrificed to
levees that reduce flood damages. Thus, the future good pile has fewer dogwoods, but
the future bad pile has less flood damage.

The image of the piles helps us understand

The No Action Alternative
the basic trade-offs society faces. If a plan
diminishes or changes the pile of good things the
The without-project condition without condition produces, then these are things that
describes the future that society will have society loses as a result of the plan. They are costs to
to forego if action is taken. Conversely, society. If the without condition pile of bad things
that means the without project condition is gets smaller, that’s a benefit to society. The with
what will result if no action is taken. condition will, of course, add good things (additional
When formulating plans, NEPA regulations benefits to society) at the cost of some bad things
require that the no action alternative (additional costs to society). Thus, beneficial plan
always be considered. In essence, this impacts come from the elimination of “bad” things in
requires any action that is taken to be more the without condition scenario or the addition of
in the public interest than doing nothing. “good” things in the with-project condition. Negative
plan impacts come from the elimination of good
The without-project condition is, then, the
things under the without condition scenario and the
default recommendation. It is the no-
increase in bad things from the with-plan condition.
action alternative.
The decision-makers’ difficult task is to
decide which set of piles are better to have, the
without condition or the with condition piles. That decision can’t be made based solely
on size, because we have not addressed the all important question of the value that
society places on the things in each pile. The important point to understand at step two
in the planning process is that all plans are compared to the same piles of good and bad
things without a plan implemented. The decision cannot be a good one unless the
without condition description is fair and accurate. The piles have to include all the
important things, and those must be measured reasonably.

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 It has been suggested by experienced planners and plan reviewers alike that
one of the most common problems with Corps planning efforts is that the without
condition description is not adequate. In the worst instances, the description of the
most likely future condition can be slanted to favor a specific alternative plan. It would
not take much to manipulate the descriptions of the things that go into our good and
bad piles in a manner that could distort results. Sometimes the descriptions are naive
or incomplete. A good without condition description is essential to a good decision.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD WITHOUT PROJECT CONDITION

Table 26 summarizes some

characteristics of a good without- Table 26: Characteristics of a
project condition. First, it is Good Without Condition
comprehensive. The without
condition must adequately describe the Comprehensive
future. Significant variables, elements, Rational
trends, systems, and processes must be Alternative Future Oriented
sufficiently described to support good Honest
decision-making. If it’s important to
Inclusive
the decision process, it has to be
addressed in the without-project
condition description. Planners cannot
overlook important information.

Next, the without condition must be rational. Forecasts must be based on

appropriate methods, and professional standards must be applied to the use of those
methods. Accuracy is an important element of a rational scenario.

Good without conditions are not irrational. All future scenarios should be
based on the assumption of rational behavior by future decision-makers. Future
scenarios must make sense. Scenarios that rely on an unlikely series of events or
irrational behavior make no sense. If a problem can be solved by a $500,000
expenditure each year or a one-time $1,000,000 expenditure, it would be irrational to
assume an indefinite expenditure of $500,000 under most circumstances. A good
scenario must pass the test of making common sense.

Without project conditions are not before and after comparisons. Before
and after comparisons can miss the causality that is important to effective plan
evaluation. Suppose a county has 2,000 jobs. Part of the without-project condition
includes legalization of gambling and construction of a casino that will increase county

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 jobs to 11,000, a net increase of 9,000 jobs.
Suppose a wetlands restoration project
Policy May Affect Without Condition limits the development potential of some
land such that the county, with its new
Without-project conditions should be casino, will have only 10,000 jobs.
rational. Rationality can come from different
directions, however. Section 4-11 of ER 1105- A before and after plan analysis
2-100 provides a list of eight constraints to, shows jobs rising from 2,000 to 10,000, a
and clarifications of, the without-project net increase of 8,000 jobs. Such a
condition. comparison gives the impression of
causality when none exists. The appropriate
Suppose for example, Congress has comparison is a without and with project
established a clear Federal interest in comparison in which we see a net decrease
undertaking certain activities through of 1,000 jobs. The implementation of the
legislation, as it has done with flood control. wetlands restoration plan actually costs the
Further suppose that if the partnership does county 1,000 jobs.
not build a project, the non-Federal partner
will. What is the without-project condition? Without-project conditions have to
The truth is the without project condition be future oriented. Conditions that
includes the project! In this case, however, concentrate on causality of existing
paragraph 4-11.a.(8) says: conditions and focus too narrowly on how
existing conditions might change fail to be
If local interest (sic) are willing future oriented. Without-project conditions
to build a given flood control are not mere extensions of existing
conditions. They need to be oriented toward
project, but only if the Corps
comparing alternative future scenarios.
doesn’t do it, assume no project
as without-project condition.
The fourth characteristic of a good
without condition is honesty. This
obviously means there should never be
deliberately misleading information in a scenario, nor should any important
information ever be deliberately withheld. This quality goes beyond basic honesty,
however, to include the forthrightness about the strengths and weaknesses of the
analysis that is needed to enable an interested stakeholder or a decision-maker to make
their own qualitative assessment of the work you have done.

An honest scenario would point out weaknesses and soft spots in the analysis,
taking care to try to identify the implications of these “faults.” Honesty also implies
a sincere effort to convey the full implications of the scenario. Honesty requires that
if significant differences in the future scenario exist, they are also honestly and
completely described as alternate without-project conditions.

A good without-project condition is also inclusive in the sense that it is

subjected to rigorous review and comment as part of the public participation process
and throughout the coordination and review process. Because the without- project
condition occupies such a critical role in the planning process, it is essential that it
be developed in the open and subjected to the scrutiny of all project stakeholders
before the project proceeds too far. In some cases, this will simply mean that

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technical data and information receive an unbiased thorough technical review. In other
cases, where judgmental or technological changes are being considered, the review and
coordination may have a structured part in the public participation process.

SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD

Lesson One. Planning studies are iterative processes. The problems and
opportunities of the planning area cannot be understood until we have information
about existing and future conditions. The distinctions between the first and second
steps are not as clear as we would like them to seem.

Lesson Two. Planners need information not data; but data contain the
necessary information. In a world of limited budgets, the key is to collect the data
needed, not the data available. An information-gathering strategy can help you identify
what is needed and where to get it.

Lesson Three. Acknowledge the uncertainty you face. No one expects you to
have all the information or to forecast perfectly. Let stakeholders and decision-makers
know the limits of your knowledge and certainty.

Lesson Four. The future is usually different from the present.

Lesson Five. With-and-without planning is not the same as before-and-after

planning. Describe the without-project condition as comprehensively, rationally,
honestly, future-oriented and inclusively as you can. Use more than one scenario if
necessary.

Now that we know the problems and opportunities and have described future
conditions without a plan, we need some plans that can alter that future in a favorable
way. Formulating alternative plans is the subject of the next chapter.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING

The NED Benefit and Cost Manuals and ER 1105-2-100 provide additional
details on the without-project condition. Many of the items listed at Appendix I
provide detailed suggestions of useful data for various types of planning studies. The
Handbook of Forecasting Techniques IWR Contract Report 75-7 and its supplement,
Handbook of Forecasting Techniques Part II Description of 31 Techniques, though
somewhat dated, still provide a good basic introduction to many of the forecasting
techniques mentioned in this chapter.

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129
CHAPTER EIGHT: STEP THREE - FORMULATING
ALTERNATIVE PLANS
"Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh,
the thinks you can think up if only you try." From Dr. Seuss
in Oh the Thinks You Can Think.

Step Three: "Formulation of alternative plans." Principles and

Guidelines, Standards, Section III, paragraph 1.3.2(a)(3).

INTRODUCTION
Put on your thinking caps - this is the step where you're going to need
them. Your training might get you this far, but nothing quite prepares you
for plan formulation. The basic question here is where do plans come from?
The answer is they come from people. People devise solutions to problems.
They do it individually and in teams, inside and outside the Corps, using an
uneven mix of experience, analysis, inspiration, intuition, and inventiveness.
The challenge of plan formulation is to guide these diverse inputs in
developing an array of good plans.

This chapter describes where plans come from. It begins by defining

formulation and its policy framework. The befuddling concepts of
formulation and three phases through which formulated plans often pass are
then discussed. Some different approaches to formulation are described at
some length. The chapter concludes with some practical suggestions for
describing and naming a plan.

FORMULATION DEFINED
Plan formulation is the process of building plans that meet planning
objectives and avoid planning constraints. It requires the knowledge, experience,
and judgments of many professional disciplines. Planners define the
combination of management measures that comprise a plan in sufficient
detail that realistic evaluation and comparison of the plan's contributions to
the planning objectives and other effects can be identified, measured, and
considered. Plan formulation requires the views of stakeholders and others
in agencies and groups outside the Corps to temper the process with different
perspectives. Plan formulation capitalizes on imagination and creativity
wherever it is found, across technical backgrounds and group affiliations.

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 Plans are formulated to address
What? Who? How? When? the planning objectives. Formal
formulation of alternative plans, as
What do you formulate...plans devised to satisfy described in this chapter, cannot
planning objectives and constraints. begin until the planning objectives
have been at least preliminarily
Who formulates these plans...planners, with input identified. Formulation of plans
from stakeholders and the public. implies purpose and that purpose
only finds definition in the planning
How are plans formulated...in teams and by objectives. Generally, a reasonable
individuals, using experience, inspiration, and amount of information (i.e., step two
anything else that’s handy. activity) must be available before
alternative plans can be formulated.
When are plans formulated...iteratively,
throughout the planning process. In most cases, there will be
more than one alternative that will
meet the planning objectives,
although they meet them to varying
extents. Good planning will eliminate the least suitable alternatives while
refining the remaining alternatives fairly and comprehensively.

Sometimes, the formulation process emphasizes structural details,

costs, project outputs, safety, reliability, and other technical matters. That’s
understandable because many of us are more comfortable with our familiar
technical approaches and products. Nonetheless, formulation must be
balanced with environmental, social, institutional, and other information that
is often less quantified and otherwise less comfortable to consider in building
plans. To ignore such information in formulation runs the risk of developing
plans that cannot be implemented.

POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR FORMULATION

Plans are composed of measures. They can be structural or
nonstructural measures. Alternative plans should be significantly
differentiated from one another. This is the basis for the distinction we make
between alternative plans and refinements of plans. Different levee heights
for a given alignment are not different plans, they are refinements of the same
plan.

Plans don’t have to be restricted to things the Corps has the authority to do.
Planners are empowered by the P&G to develop plans that can be
implemented by other Federal agencies, State and local government, or other
organizations. Despite this leeway, there are limits to what the Corps can do.
The priorities of any given Administration define these limits. The P&G do

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 not make existing authority to implement a plan a requirement for
formulating plans that solve problems and capitalize on opportunities. The
opportunity to innovate is there.

Policy Constraints

Policy can sometimes place limits on the plan formulation process and the
identification of the NED plan. These constraints can affect cost-sharing and the
support a plan might receive from the Administration. For these reasons alone, the
study team and the non-Federal partner need to be aware of any and all such relevant
constraints.

For example, recreation cannot be included as a feature of a flood damage

reduction plan until after it has been established that flood damage reduction benefits
exceed the cost of the protection. Even then, recreational features can only be added
if they are incrementally justified and they increase project costs by no more than 10
percent. However, nonstructural flood damage reduction projects need not have
flood damage reduction benefits in excess of costs in order to add recreation features
to the plan. Nor is there a limit to the amount of recreation allowed.

Got that? Then you’re ready to consider how recreation can enter into
commercial navigation or hurricane and storm damage reduction projects. These
projects do not have to be justified on the basis of their primary purpose benefits, but
those benefits must cover at least 50 percent of the costs of the project. Once that
threshold is met, recreation features may be added in any amount as long as the
entire project has a benefit-cost ratio of one or more. The catch here is that the
benefits must be incidental. That is, they can be obtained without significant
increases to the project costs.

Recreation policy is just one example of a policy constraint. Another is the

requirement that structural flood damage reduction studies be formulated to address
existing development flood problems. Benefits that may accrue to future
development in the flood plain may be counted but only when they are incidental to
plans formulated to reduce damages to existing development.

Thus, policy constraints can lead to situations in which you “formulate plans
for
” where the blank might be filled in with flood damage reductions, commercial
navigation, or some other high priority output. In these cases, planners identify the
most cost-effective plan for that purpose and then other purposes are added as policy
permits. As this sidebar indicates, these can be confusing situations. Therefore, it is
all the more important that the study team and the non-Federal sponsor understand
the policies that constrain plan formulation.

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Some districts do plan beyond what they have existing authority to
implement. Under the proper circumstances, they are sometimes permitted
to venture into a new area. The Corps' activities are not expanded by great
leaps forward as much as by marginal extensions of existing and new
authorities.

Plan formulation should pay attention to the mitigation of adverse

plan effects. In water resources planning applications, the more common
effects mitigated include adverse effects on fish and wildlife habitat; adverse
effects on cultural resources; relocation of residential and commercial
activities; and induced flood damages. Mitigation is explicitly required for
many types of adverse effects; and is otherwise just good planning.

The P&G require the formulation of an NED Plan for the Corps’ Civil
Works water resource studies. This does not mean planners “formulate” an
NED plan per se. They formulate an array of plans that meet the planning
objectives and constraints. From these plans they are required to “identify” the
NED plan. Thus, the NED plan is a plan that meets planning objectives and
constraints and coincidentally maximizes net NED benefits. Only if planners
investigate enough plans that meet the planning objectives and constraints
can we be assured that the plan that maximizes net NED benefits has been
identified.

Identifying an NED plan requires formulating other plans. The

number of alternative plans depends on the complexities and extent of
problems and opportunities in the study area, study resources, the
availability of different appropriate measures, and the preferences of the
stakeholders. The decision-maker will then judge whether alternative plans’
contributions to planning objectives are sufficient to justify deviating from the
NED plan. The locally preferred plan is the name frequently given to a plan
that is preferred by the non-Federal sponsor over the NED plan. It is
sometimes recommended instead of the NED plan.

FORMULATION CONCEPTS
Plan formulation has spawned a jargon capable of crippling
communication. This section defines and describes some of the more
important formulation concepts.

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SOLUTIONS

A solution is a way to achieve all or part of one or more planning objectives.

Solutions can be management measures, alternative plans, or programs.

Management Measures

A measure is defined as a means to an end; an act, step, or proceeding

designed for the accomplishment of an objective. The definition of a
management measure (or “measure”) is a feature or activity, that can be
implemented at a specific geographic site to address one or more planning objectives.
Measures are the building blocks of which alternative plans are made.
Measures become more specific and better defined as planning progresses.

Example Management Measures

Features:
breakwaters water pumps
jetties water control structures
groins fences
channel modifications food plots
dams brush piles
detention basins nest boxes and baskets
levees roosting platforms
floodwalls relocations

Activities:
actions:
modifying water releases
seeding, cutting, & burning vegetation
applying pesticides
policies that affect actions at a site:
vessel transit restrictions
zoning restrictions
grazing agreements

A feature is a “structural” element that requires construction or assembly

on-site. An activity is defined as a “nonstructural” action. An activity can be a
one-time occurrence, or it can be a continuing or periodic occurrence.
Examples of commonly used management measures are provided in the
sidebar.

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 Features and activities happen somewhere. The physical location or
site at which they occur is an important characteristic that distinguishes one
measure from another.

Alternative Plans

A plan, according to Webster, is a “scheme for making or doing

something.” Our working definition of an alternative plan (also known as, “plan”
or “alternative”) is that it is a set of one or more management measures functioning
together to address one or more planning objectives. Many alternative plans have
more than one measure. Different plans have different measures or they
combine the same measures in significantly different ways. For example,
suppose we have a town with two creeks. Plan A channelizes one creek and
builds a levee along the other. Plan B builds the levee along the first creek
and channelizes the second. Both plans consist of the same measures. The
specific sites of these measures are sufficiently different to constitute two
different plans.

Planner-Speak

The Principles and Guidelines tell us “An alternative plan

consists of a system of structural and/or nonstructural measures,
strategies, or programs formulated to alleviate specific problems or
take advantage of specific opportunities associated with water and
related land resources in the planning area.” Other terms commonly
used interchangeably with alternative plan include:

action increment program

activity input action project
alternate management action proposal
alternative management measure scenario
approach management practice scheme
component measure solution
concept option strategy
feature plan system
improvement practice technology

If measures can be actions instead of features, then alternative plans

need not involve construction. Changes in the management of resources,
institutions, and human behavior can sometimes be more effective than
structural projects.

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Programs

Just as management measures can be combined to form plans, so, too,

can plans be combined to form programs. In a planning context, program
means a set of one or more plans, usually located over a large geographic
area. For example, there are several continuing authority programs.
Examples of other Corps programs or programs in which the Corps is
participating are listed in Table 27. Most Corps programs are nationwide in
scope, but some are limited by law or policy to certain geographic areas.

SCALES

Sometimes people think of different scales of the same measure as

different plans. For example, consider a plan with a concrete channel as its
single measure. Different channel capacities don't constitute different plans.
These are three differently scaled versions of a single plan. Plan scales are
mutually exclusive; if you pick one scale you preclude all others.

Scales are most typically thought of as different “sizes” of a plan, but

they also apply to other plan dimensions. Several different properties of a
management

Table 27: Examples of Current Corps Programs

National Programs
C Section 107 Navigation Projects
C Section 205 Flood Control Projects
C Section 1135 Program - Project Modifications for Improvement of the
Environment
C Coastal America Program
C North American Waterfowl Management Plan

Regional Programs
C Section 201 Program
C Upper Mississippi River System Environmental Management Plan
C Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act Program
(“Breaux Bill”; currently implemented in coastal Louisiana)

Source: EC 1105-2-210, Ecosystem Restoration in the Civil Works Program (June

1995)

measure may be scaled. These include its physical properties, its composition, its
location, and its timing and duration.

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 Physical properties of plans include sizes, amounts, counts, and the like.
For example, the size of a site (30 acres, 40 acres, 50 acres), the number of
plantings per acre, the percent canopy cover of vegetation, water depth, and
discharge capacity of a pump are examples of physical properties of a plan
or measure that can have different scales.

Composition includes different materials and methods that would

accomplish the same purpose. For example, a fence may be constructed as a
chain-link fence, or a barbed-wire fence, or a wooden slat fence. The different
materials may be thought of as different scales of a fence. In some cases, a
levee and a floodwall could be different compositions of the same plan.

Locations include different sites for the same solution. Duck boxes at
these sites or those sites are different scales of the same plan.

Timing and duration include different start and stop times or durations
for the same solution. For example, low flow releases could be scheduled to last
6, 8, or 12 hours. The construction of a navigation channel could be phased
over 5, 10, or 20 years.

If you scale the measures of a plan differently you end up with refinements
of a single plan, not multiple plans. If you scale the plans of a program, you end
up with refinements of the program.

Let’s look at different alternative plans versus different scales of a

plan. Suppose we have identified a range of plans to address a flood damage
problem. For simplicity, assume each plan consists of a single measure. Plan
A is a floodwall, B is a levee, C is a channel, D is a reservoir, and E is flood
plain evacuation.

Suppose the evaluation and comparison steps of planning eliminate

all but the floodwall choice, Plan A. The next iteration of plan formulation
might scale the floodwall. That is, the optimal siting, dimensions,
composition, and staging of the same plan can yield different refinements.

A concrete or steel sheetpile wall would not constitute two different

plans. They are simply two different compositions of the wall. Likewise, the
10-foot and 5-foot walls are not separate plans but different physical
dimensions of the same plan. A wall in front of or behind the railroad is
another example of a distinction based on a single plan's siting rather than an
example of alternative plans. Questions about whether to build the wall all
at once or to construct it in sections over time are also issues of scale.

The final array of plans presented in many studies is not really an

array of alternative plans at all. It is often a set of different scales, i.e.,
refinements, of a single plan. There is nothing wrong with making a final

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selection from among a set of refinements of a single plan. Don’t get bogged
down in terminology. If the final array resulted from a more comprehensive
planning process and decision-makers had the opportunity to consider a wide
array of truly different plans, then it was a good planning process.

COMBINABILITY

In a planning study, management measures may or may not be

mutually exclusive. Measures that are not mutually exclusive are combinable.
Combinability allows us to mix and match measures into different plans.
Conversely, some measures may preclude others. When building plans,
consider whether two measures may be mutually exclusive because of
location, function, or overlapping.

Location limits combinability when two different measures can't occupy

the same physical space at the same time. For example, at a particular stream site
you could create a calm slackwater area by either excavating the channel or
by constructing a dam across the channel. You can only do one or the other
at the same site.

Functionlimits combinability when two different measures may work

against one another. For example, it probably wouldn't make sense to both
build a retaining dike to hold water at a site and install drains to speed the
removal of water from the site.

Overlappinglimits combinability if one measure is actually a smaller

scale, a subset, or an intersection of another measure. For example, you could
not combine a 4-acre wetland with a 5-acre wetland to produce a 9-acre
wetland if the two wetlands overlap each other.

One way to describe the combinability of measures is to display them

in a matrix as illustrated in Table 28. In this example matrix, measures are
arrayed against one another and their ability to be combined is indicated by
a simple “Yes” or “No.” In the example matrix, levees in the protected area
are considered potentially compatible with measures 3, 7, 9, and 12 through
22. It has also been determined that levees aren't compatible with measures
2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, or 11. Note that the matrix reflects only pair-wise comparisons
and does not indicate what measures might be incompatible in combinations
of more than two measures.

DEPENDENCY

Some measures may be dependent on other measures in order to be

implemented. The dependency of two measures can exist for several reasons.

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First, one measure may be necessary to the function of another measure. For
example, the survival of willow tree plantings may be dependent upon an
irrigation system. Without irrigation, the plants will die. In this case,
irrigation is necessary for the willows to function.

Dependencies may serve to reduce risk or uncertainty in project

performance. For example, a flood forecast and warning system may function
perfectly well without an automated telephone notification system for flood
plain properties at risk. Combining the telephone notification with the
warning system does, however, reduce the risk that a property owner will not
hear a flood warning. The success of the forecast and warning system is to
an extent dependent on the automated telephone notification system and vice
versa.

Dependency can improve project performance. For example, we may elect

to improve the growth rate of willow plantings by fertilizing them. The
fertilizer is not necessary for the plants to function, nor will it reduce any risks
or uncertainties of survival. However, it will improve the willows'
performance by producing more mature trees faster. Recognizing
dependency relationships among management measures can assist in
screening out plans that are not feasible because they fail to meet dependency
requirements.

FORMULATION PHASES
The process of building alternative plans from management measures is
called plan formulation. There are many different approaches you can use to
formulate plans. Before reviewing some of them in the next section, consider
how the formulation process evolves through three very general phases.
First, you identify management measures. Second, you formulate alternatives.
Third, you reformulate plans. In every study, these phases overlap and are
repeated again and again.

IDENTIFICATION OF MEASURES

One phase of formulation requires you to identify the individual

pieces, the building blocks, that can be put together to form alternative plans.
Plans are most often built-up from measures. Sometimes, you might identify
measures by breaking an alternative plan down into its component parts.

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 Table 28: Pairwise Compatible Measures

Measure Measure Measure Measure Measure Measure Measure Measure Measure Measure Measure Measure Measure Measure Measure Measure Measure Measure Measure Measure Measure Measure Measure

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

1: Levees NA NO YES NO NO NO YES NO YES NO NO YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

2: Floodwalls NA YES NO NO NO YES NO YES NO NO YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

3: Bridge modifications NA NO NO YES YES YES YES NO YES YES NO NO NO NO YES YES YES YES YES YES

4: Reservoirs NA NO NO NO NO YES NO NO YES NO NO NO NO YES YES YES YES YES NO

5: River diversion NA NO NO NO YES NO NO YES NO NO NO NO NO YES YES YES YES NO

6: River dredging NA YES NO YES NO NO YES NO NO NO NO NO YES YES YES YES YES

7: Island removal NA YES YES NO YES YES NO NO NO NO NO YES YES YES YES NO

8: Channel modification NA YES NO NO YES NO NO NO NO NO YES YES YES YES YES

9: Flood forecast anf warning NA NO YES YES NO NO NO NO YES YES YES YES YES YES

10: Evacuation protected are NA NO NO NO NO NO NO YES YES YES YES YES YES

11: Flood proofing & nonstructural protected area NA YES NO NO NO NO YES YES YES YES YES YES

12: Flood insurance NA NO NO NO NO YES YES YES YES YES YES

13: Levees induced area NA NO NO NO YES YES YES YES YES YES

14: Floodwalls induced area NA NO NO YES YES YES YES YES YES

15: Evacuation induced area NA NO YES YES YES YES YES YES

16: Flood proofing & nonstructural induced area NA YES YES YES YES YES YES

17: Bird islands NA YES YES YES YES NO

18: Acid mine drainage migration NA YES YES YES YES

19: Fish channels on tributaries NA YES YES YES

20: Duck boxes NA YES YES

21: Watering holes NA YES

22: Wetlands restoration NA

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FORMULATION OF ALTERNATIVES

Another formulation phase involves matching and mixing

management measures into different alternative plans. This process is best
served by observing the realities of combinability and dependency.
Otherwise this phase is unconstrained and open to all ideas for problem
solving.

REFORMULATION

Chapter Five described the iterative nature of planning.

Reformulation is a special type of iteration during which alternative plans
previously formulated are changed for one or more reasons. It may be helpful to
think of the basic plans that come out of the previous formulation phase as
parent plans, and the reformulated plans as their offspring. Reasons for
changing plans vary from study to study, as well as over time within a study.
Typically, the reasons for reformulation are related to the four evaluation
criteria listed in the Principles and Guidelines and are discussed in the next
chapter.

Measures may be added, dropped, rescaled, or otherwise modified

such that the reformulated plan will better achieve a planning objective or
stay within the limits of a constraint. Measures can be modified to develop
a reformulated plan that is less costly, i.e., more cost effective, than its parent
plan. We may need to add or otherwise modify measures to make sure that
a parent plan includes everything that it needs to work successfully. For
example, local interests may need to provide navigation berthing areas, or
flowage easements, or restoration of adjacent upland habitats, to ensure that
a basic Corps plan will indeed work and provide the expected benefits.
Stakeholders may request plan modifications that will address concerns or
desires beyond those included in the planning objectives and constraints.

“Mitigation” is always a reformulation reason because it is

undertaken as a response to the adverse effect(s) of a parent plan. In most
studies, mitigation is either a constraint or a necessity for a complete and
acceptable plan.

SEQUENCE OF PHASES

Plan formulation begins where you

are. Sometimes you will find yourself at
ground zero with no prior information. Plan formulation begins
Other times you may have an earlier Corps where you are.
study that has already done a significant

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amount of formulation. Some studies begin with a plan from another agency
or a plan preferred by the local sponsor that needs some reformulation. Plan
formulation is not a monolithic process that always begins at the same place
using the same processes. Wherever it begins, there is always a process and
the next section describes some approaches to formulation.

FORMULATION APPROACHES
Returning to the central theme of this chapter we again ask, “Where do plans
come from?” They come from people. Specifically, they are born of ideas driven
by planning objectives and constraints. In a series of workshops and training
courses held around the country in 1995, over 130 Corps professionals were
asked where plans come from. Three recurring and overlapping themes
emerged from the great variety of their answers. Plans come from (1) sources
outside the Corps, particularly the local sponsor; (2) the study team and their
bosses; and (3) other sources such as technical expertise, experience, creative
thinking, analysis and politics. The single common thread to these responses
is people. People generate solutions. The people who can formulate plans
are not limited by technical background or group affiliation.

People's ideas for plans should be driven by the planning objectives and
constraints. The objectives define what the planning process is trying to do.
The plans define how the objectives will be obtained. Plans emerge over time
from a well developed set of objectives and constraints as the study team and
public complete the iterative planning process.

This section addresses the “how” of plan formulation rather than the
“who” of plan formulation. It begins with the one truth about the how of
formulation: there is no one way to do it. The corollary to this truth is that
there is no sure way to do it either. The most effective ways, however, begin
with and use the planning objectives throughout the process.

The professional literature and experienced planners alike

acknowledge two factors in plan formulation, experience and creativity. This
section briefly explores ways to exploit both of these factors. Let’s begin by
considering how we think about plan formulation.

HOW TO THINK FORMULATION

Creativity requires planners to break out of old, self-perpetuating

patterns of thinking and generate new ways of looking at things. Vertical
thinking (experience) needs to be supplemented by lateral thinking (creativity).
Both are needed to succeed in formulation.

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 General Approaches to Plan Formulation

There are some tried and true ways to generate plans. They
include...

C Ask an expert -- Use informed judgment and informed personal

intuition.

C Consider plans of others -- Other people may provide you with

ideas about solutions.

C Checklists -- Lists capture past experiences in problem solving.

C Formal Problem-Solving Methods -- Some methods provide clues

to what measures may work, others help you develop
combinations.

Vertical thinking follows the most obvious and probable line of

reasoning. It's based on mechanistic information processing principles such
as are used in mathematics and logic. Like climbing a stair, it proceeds one
step at a time in a predictable direction. It’s a more structured and
experiential process.

Lateral thinking, on the other hand, tries to get away from patterns
that lead in one definite direction. Lateral thinking seeks to break out of one's
habitual domain of thought. It is based on biologically-based information
processing. It’s a more creative process.

Typically, all thoughts, all information gathering and interpretation,

and all search at some point in the planning process begin to pull in one
direction. The problem solving gets “locked in” through a process that builds
logically on all the prior steps taken. This is not undesirable. A logical
process that zeros in on a solution is clearly valuable, if the solution is a good
one.

Sometimes, however, solutions require a sideways move in another

direction. Does flood damage reduction need more or higher levees? That's
vertical thinking. Or do evacuation and flowage easements make more
sense? That's lateral thinking. Lateral thinking is not necessarily better
thinking, but it is necessary to ensure that we make informed decisions. A
good plan, the “best plan,” can only be selected if the array of alternatives provides
a good set of feasible solutions. There is no way to get a good plan from a weak

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 set of alternatives. Great plans come only through purposely challenging and
extending one's habitual ways of thinking.

There are many tried and true management measures that are good
ideas. The value of levees and floodwalls has been proven time and again.
Experience and analysis will frequently be enough to identify these kinds of
good ideas. But where do new good ideas come from? That is a far more
vexing problem.

There are no fail-safe methods that guarantee good new ideas in every
case. However, new ideas might be generated in a number of ways:

C By inventing or introducing new measures to address

planning objectives.

C By creating new combinations of old measures.

C By modifying existing measures to meet new objectives.

While these suggestions lend some structure to the attempt to exploit people's
inventiveness and creativity, by themselves they are of limited value. These
are ways to help us think about new solutions. What we need are some
approaches for generating new ideas, for doing plan formulation. We’ll start
with one of the most familiar approaches, asking an expert.

Ask an Expert - The Heuristic Search Approach

The heuristic search, or “ask an expert” approach, may be the

most common aid in use today for designing solutions to problems.
...go down the hall Heuristic search relies on the use of simple rules of thumb such as:
and ask Pat... Call up your old professor and ask her for some thoughts; go down
the hall and ask Pat, he knows more about this than anyone; find a
bulletin board or news group on the Internet and see what you can
find out; read the previous report. While it is usually the easiest and most
readily available approach, a systematic and deliberate heuristic search is still
relatively neglected as a plan formulation tool. When planners seek to exploit
the experience of others, how often do they call another district? experts in
academia? retired personnel? other outside experts?

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 Your most immediate and perhaps best place to start a search for alternatives
is right in the district. In-house personnel are frequently overlooked, but they
can offer years of experience and familiarity with problems and what may or
may not work to fix them. Talk with knowledgeable individuals. Hold a one-
hour brown bag brainstorming session for everyone in your office to
contribute ideas. Conduct a district-wide survey for solutions. When you do,
don’t forget to include the people in the Regulatory Office who handle
permits for your study area; the people in the Real Estate Office who deal
with many different local land issues; and the people in the Operations Office,
including people at project sites who inspect, repair, and maintain projects
and perhaps who even live in your study area. Extend your search to the rest
of the “Corps family.” Call the hydraulic engineer who retired last year.
Now could be the time to call that planner from another district whom you
met at a training class.

Professionals outside the agency are also valuable formulation resources.

Other public agencies at the Federal, State, and local levels are charged with
similar problem-solving missions and can often provide formulation ideas.
The academic community, consultants, and professional associations should
also be considered, especially those located in the study area.

What types of solutions do homeowners, boaters, owners of

businesses, and others with day-to-day familiarity and experience with the
problems think will work? What alternatives would they like to see? Which
ones do they oppose?

A broader and more innovative array

of alternatives can also be obtained by using The information
published materials like professional journals,
superhighway is a
textbooks, earlier Corps reports, and related
reports. The information superhighway is a promising new
promising new avenue. Literature research, in avenue.
all of its manifestations, should continue to
play an important role in formulation.

If people come up with plans, then a systematic effort to involve as

many people as possible can only help. Making the heuristic search more
systematic will immediately improve the plan formulation process. It may be the
cheapest, quickest, and best way to improve your array of solutions.

Creative Problem-Solving Techniques

Another way to generate ideas for plans is to use some structured approaches
to creative thinking. Such approaches, collectively called creative problem

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 solving techniques, are essentially systematic ways to generate ideas that can
be used to formulate solutions to problems. Table 29 lists 46 such techniques.

Table 29: Idea Generation Techniques

C Individual Techniques C Group Techniques (Continued)

- Analogies - Collective Notebook
- Progressive Abstractions - Crawford Slip Writing
- Metaphors - Force-Fit Game
- Hypothetical Situations - Gallery Method
- Reversals - Gordon/Little
- Wishful Thinking - Method 6-3-5
- Attribute Listing - Phillips 66
- Catalog - Pin-Cards
- Checklists - Semantic Intuition
- Focused-Object - Successive Integration of Problems
- Free Association Elements Method
- Fresh Eye - Stimulus Analysis
- Listing - Synectics
- Nonlogical Stimuli - Systematized Directed Induction
- Relational Algorithms - Trigger Method
- Circumrelation - Visual Synectics
- Lateral Thinking - Wildest Idea
- Morphological Analysis - Bobele-Buchanan
- Idea Tracking - Coca-Cola
- Packays Scientific Approach - Creative Problem Solving
C Group Techniques - Delphi
- Battelle-Bildmappen-Brainwriting - Nominal Group Technique
- Brain writing Pool - Phase of Integrated Problem
Solving
- Classical Brainstorming - Problem-Centered Leadership

Source: Van Gundy’s Techniques of Structured Problem Solving, p. 29.

Some techniques are designed for use by individuals, others for use
by groups like an interdisciplinary team. The techniques vary in complexity.
Some can be used immediately, others require training. Although it is not
practical to review all of these techniques in this manual, interested planners
can find a discussion of each, as well as additional references, in Arthur B.
Van Gundy's Techniques of Structured Problem Solving (1981).

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Objectives-Measures Matrix

Another formulation technique is to develop an objectives-measures

matrix. This technique recognizes that alternative plans are made up of one
or more compatible and feasible management measures that contribute
significantly to a set of planning objectives. Thus, a reasonable starting point
for plan formulation is an examination of the relationship between objectives
and measures. A simple preliminary formulation exercise would be to ask
your experts to identify and list as many measures as possible, but at least
one, for each planning objective. This will give substantial emphasis to each
objective. If there was diversity in specifying the planning objectives and
there is creativity and diligence in the identification of measures, this
approach should ultimately produce a truly differentiated array of alternative
plans.

For example, let's suppose for the moment that three planning
objectives were identified in the first planning step of your study. The first
step in building an objectives-measures matrix is to ask your experts to identify
management measures that address each planning objective, either directly or
indirectly. A composite list that could result from this type of questioning is
shown in Table 30. Identification of measures is the most critical phase in the
entire plan formulation process. It is the “A number 1” activity in the third
step of the six-step planning process. As many measures as possible should
be identified. This is the time to “think the thinks you can think.” More
creativity is required in identifying measures than in assembling them into
plans.

We cannot be sure we have the best plan unless we have the best set of
alternatives from which to choose. Our alternative plans will only be as rich and
as good as the measures that are combined to create them. Choice requires
more than one option. Though multiple measures will not always be possible for
each objective, it remains a modest goal. Under no circumstances should there
ever be an objective that is not addressed by at least one management
measure. An objective that is not paired with a measure cannot be attained.
Consequently, it is either not an objective or the formulation process has been
inadequate.

The second step in building an objectives-measures matrix is to array

the planning objectives against the full set of identified measures in the
matrix format. Then indicate which measures are expected to contribute to
which objectives. Table 31, a 3 by 22 matrix, is an example. The columns
show the objectives to which a particular measure contributes. In this
example, reservoirs and floodplain evacuation contribute to each of the three
objectives. The rows of the matrix show the various measures that will
contribute to a specific objective.

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 As planning progresses, an objectives-measures matrix can be
prepared for each formulation iteration. Then, cognizant of the combinability
and dependability of measures, plans can be constructed to meet the
objectives. This technique is just one example of how planners might
approach the assembly of alternative plans.

Consider Plans of Others

Anyone, at any time, may offer you a plan. To them, it may be “the”
plan. It may come from the local homeowners' association, from the port
authority or from a coalition of environmental groups. They may hand it to
you before you even have a study authority. You might get it the day before
the final report goes to print. It may be detailed or general. It might be
nonsense or right on target. Regardless of from whom, when, and in what form
they're offered, the plans of others are legitimate pieces of the plan formulation
process.

What do you do with a plan developed by someone else? The first

and most important thing to do is to take the presenter of the plan seriously.
No plan should be dismissed out of hand. Each idea, regardless of its source,
should receive appropriate consideration. Too often, ideas that do not arise
from the study team or non-Federal sponsor, are regarded as lacking in
credibility. They may not receive appropriate consideration. On the other
hand, not every idea floated by a member of the public is worthy of serious
consideration. The important point is to be willing to consider feasible
suggestions and good ideas, no matter where they come from.

If the plan cannot be used as is, does it have components that might
be useful in other plans? Does a plan that does not contribute to your
planning objectives suggest an objective that you may have missed? Even
when another’s plan is not directly useful, it may contain information useful
to your planning process.

Consult a Checklist

Management measure checklists are simply that, lists of different

measures. Management measure checklists capture past experience in
problem solving. They are convenient ways to keep track of what has
worked in the past. A checklist can be a ready source of potential solutions
that can provide you with a place to start your formulation.

Some checklists are simple lists of measures. Other useful lists were
not designed as lists. For example, you might thumb through the manual
“Flood Proofing Techniques, Programs, and References” prepared by the U.S.

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 Table 30: Objectives and Measures

Objective 1: Reduce flood damages in riverside communities

Measure 1: Levees
Measure 2: Floodwalls
Measure 3: Bridge modifications
Measure 4: Reservoirs
Measure 5: River diversion
Measure 6: River Dredging
Measure 7: Island removal
Measure 8: Channel modifications
Measure 9: Flood warning and preparedness
Measure 10: Evacuation of floodplain
Measure 11: Flood-proofing
Measure 12: Flood insurance

Objective 2: Minimize induced flood damages and flooding in

communities upstream and downstream of the study
area
Measure 4: Reservoirs
Measure 5: River diversion
Measure 6: Dredge river
Measure 7: Island removal
Measure 8: Channel modifications
Measure 9: Flood warning and preparedness
Measure 12: Flood insurance
Measure 13: Levees in induced flooding area
Measure 14: Floodwalls in induced flooding area.
Measure 15 Evacuation of floodplain in induced flooding area
Measure 16: Flood-proofing in induced flooding area

Objective 3: Maintain or increase the quantity and/or quality of fish

and wildlife habitat in protected area
Measure 4: Build Reservoirs
Measure 10: Evacuate floodplain
Measure 17: Create bird islands
Measure 18: Mitigate acid mine drainage into Big River
Measure 19: Construct fish channels on Big River tributaries
Measure 20: Construct duck boxes
Measure 21: Construct watering holes
Measure 22: Restore Wetlands

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 Table 31: Objectives-Measures Matrix

Measure Objective 1 Objective 2

Objective 3

1. Levees X
2. Floodwalls X
3. Bridge modifications X
X
4. Reservoirs X X
X
5. River diversion X X
6. River dredging X X
7. Island removal X X

8. Channel modification X X
9. Flood warning and preparedness X X
10. Evacuation X
X X
11. Flood-proofing X X
12. Flood insurance X X
13. Levees induced area
X
14. Floodwalls induced area X

15. Evacuation induced area X

X
16. Flood-proofing induced area
X
17. Bird islands
X
18. Mitigate acid mine drainage
X
19. Fish channels on tributaries
X
20. Duck boxes
X
21. Watering holes
X
22. Wetlands restoration
X

150
Army Corps of Engineers
National Flood Proofing What might you do with a plan
Committee to compile a list of offered by someone else?
flood proofing measures. Topical
reports, their tables of contents
C Take it seriously and give it
and indices can sometimes serve
appropriate consideration.
as sources of lists, although that
was never their intention.
C Use its component measures in
other plans.
Formal Methods
C Verify the objective or
Another formulation constraint it's intended to
approach is to use a formal address.
methodology. These are different
from the idea-generating
approaches mentioned earlier in that they comprise formal methodologies
that encompass the entire problem-solving process. These methods are more
than simple tools to aid the thought process. They go well beyond the
heuristic search methods and checklists that are most commonly used. The
methods involve the design, what we call “formulation,” of alternative means
of problem solving. They help develop decision options of one type or
another. In instances where a structured and systematic approach for
formulating plans is desired, one or more methods may be worth
investigating. These techniques include the analysis of interrelated decision
areas (AIDA, Luckman 1967, and Morgan 1971), the morphological box
(Zwicky 1969), the IDEALS concept (Nadler 1967), idealized design (Ackoff
1978), issue-based information systems (IBIS, Dehlinger and Protzen 1972),
the strategic choice approach (Friend and Jessop 1977), and strategic options
development and analysis (SODA, Eden 1989). The interested planner is
directed to the referenced material for additional details.

Habitat suitability index (HSI) models are often used to estimate

environmental outputs of ecosystem restoration projects. A thoughtful
examination of HSI models can provide valuable clues for finding successful
management measures. Sometimes the analytical models used in planning can
provide focus and clues to potentially successful management measures.

Examining HSI models may suggest that management measures that

alter habitat variables farthest from their optimal conditions may be more
fruitful. The mathematical structure of the models often identifies a limiting
variable that suggests that plans that affect limiting variables may be more
effective than plans affecting non-limiting variables. Other insights are also
available from these models. The important point is to look for ideas and insights
in the generation of plans wherever they may be found. Sometimes this includes

151
the analytical models.
Is “No Action” An Alternative Plan?
The “all
Yes and no.
possible combinations”
method is the ultimate
Yes, “no action” is an alternative
tool for mechanistic
future condition that you could elect to
formulation. As its
choose. As we’ll discuss in Chapter Eleven,
name conveys, for a
it’s the first default recommendation. “No
given list of
action” is an alternative just like the future
management measures,
conditions that would result from any
it will provide you with
alternative plan.
the set of every
c o n c e i v a b l e
On the other hand, the “no action”
combination of those
alternative does not require the Corps to do
measures. In principle,
anything. Just like its name says, it
this method is very
represents the future that will occur if we
simple. It must be used
take no action. Alternative plans require
judiciously, however,
that we take some action to meet the
or it can easily get out
planning objectives. Therefore, while “no
of hand.
action” is an alternative future, it is not
strictly speaking an alternative plan.
The all possible
combinations technique
is a tool, not a
requirement. It can be used in any situation in which planners find it helpful.
Step-by-step instructions for the all combinations method are presented in
Evaluation of Environmental Investments Procedures Manual Interim: Cost
Effectiveness and Incremental Cost Analyses, IWR Report #95-R-1, May 1995.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOLUTIONS
How do you know when you've done a good job identifying
solutions? How much do you need to know about a solution before it's really
a solution? Experience shows that the answers to these questions are very
situational. At a minimum, however, every solution be it a measure, a plan,
or a program , should have the following describable characteristics:

Subject - What is it, a feature or activity?

Verb - How would it come about, through excavation, enforcement, etc.?
Site - Where would it be located?
Purpose - What planning objective(s) is it intended to address?
Cost friendly - Can you estimate its dollar costs?
Output friendly - Can you estimate what, and how much, you expect
to get from it in the later planning steps?

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 Good solutions emerge from a rational, iterative planning process that has
considered a comprehensive set of alternatives. At some point in the process,
good solutions are sufficiently differentiated from one another so as to offer
a full range of truly different ways to achieve the planning objectives. Good
solutions are more complete, more effective, more efficient and more
acceptable than bad solutions. Good solutions are not constrained for lack of
authority. Good solutions make significant contributions to the overall set of
planning objectives and do not violate planning constraints. Good solutions
are hard to formulate.

NAMING ALTERNATIVE PLANS

Talking about solutions means we have to name them. So, how do
you know what to call different measures or plans? There is no universal
convention for naming alternatives, and the short answer is you can call them
whatever you want. However, it is most helpful if the names have some
easily communicated meaning. Some commonly used naming conventions
are described below.

Geographic sites. Name alternatives after neighborhoods, towns,

villages, land forms, or other geographic sites. For example: “Downtown
Plan,” “Lake Sullivan Plan,” “Ravenswood Plan,” and the like. These are
often the most descriptive, hence the best names.

Management measures. Name alternatives after their dominant

management measures. For example: “Channel Plan,” “Levee Plan,”
“Relocation Plan,” and the like; combine measures and sites, e.g., Downtown
Channel Plan. When dealing with plan refinements like a levee raising
perhaps simple descriptions like “One-foot raising” or “Agnes level” will
serve the purpose of effective communication. These names are also
descriptive.

Numbers. Simply number alternatives: “Plan 1,” “Plan 2,” etc. This
is very logical, but not very descriptive. It often requires the reader or listener
to continuously refer back to a description.

Letters of the alphabet. Like the numbering scheme the alphabet can
be used: “Plan A,” “Plan B,” etc.

It is likely that people outside the study team will be discussing your
plans at some point. Short descriptive names can be an effective way of
communicating a great deal of information in a shorthand fashion. Try to avoid
complex and opaque naming schemes like 290BC2 that contain elements or
symbols that stand for design flows (290,000 cfs), geographic regions (Bitter

153
Creek) and versions (second) of the plan. Although logical to anyone with a
history of the project and a table that describes the plan elements, it remains
cold and opaque to the public.

SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD

Lesson One. Planning objectives drive plan formulation.

Lesson Two. A plan is one or more compatible measures that make

significant feasible contributions to the set of planning objectives. People
identify measures and plans.

Lesson Three. In water resource planning under the Corps’ Civil

Works Program, the P&G require the identification of an NED plan from
among the alternatives considered. Ecosystem restoration planning, for
example, does not require an NED plan.

Lesson Four. A good plan can only emerge from a good set of truly
differentiated plans and optimized versions of these plans.

Lesson Five. The are many different approaches and methods

available to assist the formulation process.

The most rational way to move from an array of many solutions toward
identification of one best solution is by evaluating their effects. Evaluation is
the fourth step in the planning process and it is the subject of the next chapter.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING

If you’d like to read about the heuristic search approach to
formulating alternative solutions, you might consider one of the following:

Marquis, D.G. 1969. “The Anatomy of Successful Innovations.” Innovation,

1 (1969): 28-37.

Pounds, W.F. 1969. “The Process of Problem Finding.” Industrial

Management Review, 11 (1969): 1-19.

Simon, H.A. 1977. Models of Discovery. Dordrecht, Holland: D. Reidel.

A particularly good book to investigate if you want some ideas about

techniques for generating ideas is Van Gundy’s: Techniques of Structured
Problem Solving. It includes a discussion of 46 creative solving techniques.

154
 You can find out more about the other techniques by consulting the
sources cited in the chapter’s text.

155
156
CHAPTER NINE: STEP FOUR - EVALUATION OF
ALTERNATIVE PLANS
“We cannot discuss the evaluation of things without knowing
what it is that is being evaluated.” Frank H. Knight (1885-
1972), Risk, Uncertainty and Profit, 1926, p. 125.

Step Four: Evaluation of the effects of the alternative plans.

(P&G Section III.1.3.2(a)(4))

INTRODUCTION
In the evaluation step, the significant contributions or effects of an
individual plan are quantified and judged. That’s done for two reasons. First,
the evaluation allows planners to determine whether or not the plan qualifies to
advance and be compared against other plans that have independently qualified.
Second, evaluation surfaces the specific criteria that will be used to compare those
plans that do qualify and advance to the comparison step.

The purpose of evaluation is to find the value or worth of something.

Only the best of the alternatives formulated need to be evaluated in more
than a preliminary fashion, but all measures and plans require some
evaluation. Evaluation is a two-part process: assessment (quantification) and
appraisal (judgment). Evaluation, like all other planning steps, is also an
iterative process. It begins with the first screening of measures and plans and
its detail and rigor increases as planning moves closer to a final decision.

This chapter begins with a brief discussion of how to evaluate, that

introduces five simple evaluation tasks. After considering what to evaluate,
each of these tasks is considered in turn. Qualifying plans requires some
criteria or minimum standards that a plan must meet. Candidate criteria
comprise the next part of the chapter, which is followed by a discussion of
some sample measurement techniques.

The chapter concludes with the consideration of how the evaluation

results are to be displayed.

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 Examples of Things to Evaluate
WHAT TO EVALUATE
C NED “benefits” First, you need things to measure. These
C Cost estimates (MCACES) are resources, plan outputs, and plan effects.10
C Real estate appraisals Second, you have to know what is important. It is
C Fish and wildlife (HEP, etc.) the important things that are evaluated in this
C Cultural resources (National Register) step. There are so many potential effects of a
C Water quality (Section 404) plan that it would be impossible to evaluate
C Regional Economic Development (RED) them all. The process of determining what is
C Other Social Effects (OSE) and isn’t important begins in the scoping
C Contributions to planning objectives process described in Chapter Five. Significant
and constraints resources, outputs and plan effects should be
C Other evaluated. Effects that tell you whether and
how much you are contributing to the planning
objectives will be among them.

Other significant effects include changes in NED benefits and costs,

measured in dollars. Significant effects can also include many non-monetary
effects like many environmental impacts and local concerns that predictably
accompany any study (see sidebar).

The criteria for determining significance are institutional, technical

and public recognition of importance. There are laws, policies, and other
institutional realities that define some resources, project outputs or project
effects as important. Other things are clearly important for technical reasons.
The ability to move commerce among cities, states and nations is important
to economies. Flood problems are important to communities. These things
are important for technical reasons. Some study issues are significant because
they are important to the public. People care about historical buildings and
safety.

The criteria by which we judge a resource (wetlands), an output

(navigation), or an effect (community cohesion) significant can be
overlapping. Wetlands are important because the public cares about them,
because they perform an important function in our ecosystems, and because
they are protected by law. Thus, all the criteria point to wetlands as
important. It’s less important to worry about what makes something
important than it is to recognize it as important.

10
In order to avoid burdensome repetition, “plan effects” will be used to encompass resources and plan
outputs as well.

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 HOW TO EVALUATE?
Evaluation in the six-step planning process requires the planner to perform
five tasks. First, forecast a most likely with-project condition for each plan. That
means with-project condition scenarios must be developed to describe all important
project resources, outputs, and effects. For example, we might need to know what will
happen to the habitat of the mottled duck if a plan is implemented.

The second task is to compare the without- and with-project conditions in order
to identify any important differences. It may be clear that a plan will increase mottled
duck habitat. The third task is to assess, i.e. describe, all important differences that
result from the plan. For example, the 400 habitat units expected without a project
would be compared to the 500 habitat units with a project to yield an increase of 100
habitat units as a plan effect.

The fourth task is

to appraise the differences.
In this case, the increase in Five Evaluation Tasks
habitat units may be judged
as a significant positive 1. Forecast a with-project condition for
environmental output. The each plan.
fifth and final step is to 2. Compare with- and without-project
qualify plans for further conditions.
consideration or to drop 3. Assess, i.e., describe, important
them. Based on the differences between the two conditions.
significant contribution of
4. Appraise the plan’s effects.
the plan to mottled duck
5. Qualify the plan for further
habitat we decide to
consideration or drop it.
consider it further.

The main tasks that

have to be completed to evaluate plan impacts are shown in the sidebar. The primary
reason for evaluating plan impacts is to qualify plans for further consideration in
the comparison step of the planning process.

The result of the evaluation process is that a plan’s effects are

...qualify plans for identified, measured, and weighed. This can be an informal and
further consideration or subjective process, or it may be a very formal evaluation process. The
to drop evaluation step as defined by the P&G (Section III of the Standards
them. paragraph 1.3.6) consists of assessment and appraisal. The first step,
assessment, is an objective analysis to identify and measure economic,
environmental, social, and other effects expected to result from
implementation of the plan. The second step, appraisal, is a more subjective analysis
that attempts to classify the importance and desirability of plan effects to plan
stakeholders.

159
 It is important that all significant plan
Significance effects be evaluated fully. Qualification requires it.
Plan comparison and selection will be based upon it.
Significance is a confusing term Comparison requires a common set of significant
because it has a dual nature. First, we impacts across which to make trade-offs. Plan
identify resources, conditions and other selection will be judicious only if all the significant
variables that are significant based on effects of a plan are known. A thorough evaluation
will diminish the possibility of a “surprise” after
institutional, technical and public criteria.
implementation that could be disturbing to the public
Then we need to determine whether the
or stakeholders. Finally, the reputation of the
effects of a specific plan on these variables partners rests on their ability to adequately forecast
are significant. the effects of projects. This latter point can make an
assessment of “no change” as important as a
Institutional recognition of an measured assessment of change for certain plan
effect means its importance is recognized effects.
and acknowledged in the laws, plans, and
policies of government, public agencies and Therefore, the significance of resources,
private groups. Effects on endangered plan outputs, and plan effects is the common thread
species and NED impacts are examples. that runs through all the evaluation tasks. We
Technical recognition of an effect is based forecast, compare, and assess only what we believe to
upon scientific or other technical criteria be significant. The appraisal task is a formal
judgment of a plan’s significant effects.
that establish the significance of an effect.
Qualification is the evaluation decision to accept a
For example, maintaining salinity levels
plan for further consideration, i.e., comparison with
may be scientifically established as
other qualifying plans, or to drop it from further
important to the biodiversity of a consideration. The next section discusses each
freshwater marsh. Public recognition evaluation task in more detail.
means some segment of the general public
considers the effect important. Public
recognition may be manifest in EVALUATION TASKS
controversy, support, or opposition
The evaluation process can be broken down
expressed in any number of formal or
into five tasks, introduced above. Each of these tasks
informal ways.
is discussed in turn in the following subsections.

Planning objectives and constraints

should reflect the views of these
institutional, technical, and public WITH-PROJECT CONDITION
interests. But just because a resource has
been identified as significant, this does not In the second planning step, the most likely
future condition without a project is forecast. It
mean any one plan will have a significant
provides a benchmark against which an individual
impact on it. Furthermore, some resources
plan’s effects can be measured. In step four, the
may become significant simply because
planner must forecast future conditions with the
they will be affected. Sound confusing? alternative plans in place. A most likely future
Consider this. Suppose a wetland is condition is separately forecast for each
identified as a significant resources. Now alternative. The important variables measured in
suppose Plan A has no impact on that step two under the without project condition are

160
measured again in step four under the with project condition. The resource conditions,
project outputs, and plan effects forecast under both the without- and with-project
conditions are those that are believed to be significant based on the institutional
considerations, technical analyses, and public opinion.

The qualities of a good with condition are similar to those of a good without
condition described in Chapter Seven. There may be more than one potential with-
project condition. When that is possible, a most likely condition should be identified.
The other conditions should be considered in a sensitivity analysis of the plan’s effects.

COMPARE WITHOUT AND WITH CONDITIONS

Table 32 provides a simple comparison of a without- and with-project
condition comparison. It essentially means forecasting values for a common set of
resources, outputs, or effects. In the table we have used population, expected annual
flood damages and acres of wetlands as examples of important variables to forecast and
compare.

Table 32: Compare Without and With Plan Conditions

Effect Without Conditions Plan A Condition

Population 147,000 147,000

Expected Annual Damages $2.1 million $0.7 million
Wetland Acres 412 acres 258 acres

This evaluation task involves only Plan A. Note that the differences have not
yet been assessed. Plans B, C, and others will also be separately evaluated. Only
important effects should be compared.

How do you know what an important effect looks like? Once again, we fall
back on the criteria of institutional, technical, or public recognition of importance.
Planning objectives are by definition important effects. These define the reasons for
your study and were specified because they were recognized as important. Each plan
should be evaluated against the planning objectives. As for other effects, does anyone
say an effect is important? Do either of the partners or a significant stakeholder
consider an effect important? Is there legislation that defines an effect as important?
Do your technical experts say it’s important? These are the ways we recognize
important effects. More is said about importance in the assessment section that
follows.

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 ASSESSMENT: DESCRIBING DIFFERENCES
Once you have identified an effect as important you need a way to measure
it. Describing differences between without- and with-project conditions is the primary
means of measuring plan effects. Measurement means describing the duration, location
and magnitude of a plan effect as precisely as possible. Measurement should be
quantitative whenever possible. If an impact can be measured in dollars, habitat units,
acres or any other common metric, it should be.

Quantitative measurement is not the only kind of measurement. Effects can

be assessed in a subjective manner. Subjective rankings of effects may be possible
when quantitative measurements are not. We may not have any metric that quantifies
scenic beauty, but it may be entirely possible to say that Plan A contributes to scenic
beauty or that it does not. Without some means of measurement, assessment cannot
proceed. The general framework for assessing plan effects is the without- and with-
project conditions comparison.

Table 33 presents the comparison of without- and with-project conditions for

Plan A, with the differences in the two conditions assessed. If it is not obvious from
the context, the location and duration of differences should be identified. For example,
there is a $1.4 million reduction in expected annual damages downtown over the
economic life of the project. Downtown was specified, the economic life of the project
is implicit.

Table 33: Assessment of Plan Effects

Effect Without Condition Plan A Condition Differences

Population 147,000 147,000 No difference

Expected Annual Damages $2.1 million $0.7 million $1.4 million reduction
downtown
Wetland Acres 412 acres 258 acres 154-acre decrease along
the river

With less data or earlier in the planning process, we might have had to rely on
a subjective assessment of the differences due to plan A. For example, the magnitude
of effects might have been no change in population, a decrease in flood damages, and
a decrease in wetland acreage. The description of differences should be as quantitative
as possible.

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 MEASUREMENT PROCEDURES
A great deal of guidance already exists for the evaluation of plan effects. The
P&G contain specific evaluation procedures for estimating NED benefits and costs as
well as a set of procedures for evaluating environmental quality effects of a plan. Many
of these evaluation procedures have been supplemented by additional guidance. Most
notable among this guidance is the series of National Economic Development
Procedures Manuals and the Evaluation of Environmental Investment Research
Project reports prepared by the Institute for Water Resources. These manuals and
reports provide additional guidance and examples detailing evaluation procedures.
These manuals are listed in Appendix I.

There are some rather handy subjective

evaluation techniques that are quite appropriate for “Is there any possible
early iterations of the planning process. “Is there way this could work?”
any possible way this could work?” might be a
question to ask of a plan early in the planning
process. If the answer is yes, it qualifies for
further consideration.

As the evaluation process matures, the evaluation techniques evolve from

totally subjective measures like the above question to very objective measures, such as
those found in the NED manuals. In between are several other simple techniques and
metrics. Before data are available or for impacts that are fundamentally subjective
judgments, e.g., contributions to community cohesion, there are any number of ways
to evaluate.

The idea is to provide an evaluation of each screening criterion on a plan-by-

plan basis. It is perfectly acceptable to use a different evaluation technique for each
criterion. We would expect NED costs and habitat units lost to be measured in
different ways. It is also expected that any given criterion will be evaluated the same
way for all plans that are at comparable stages in the planning process.

Scales are a common means of making subjective judgements. This simply

ranks a plan on a scale of 1 to 5, or any other convenient scale, where 1 might be “very
negative impact” and 5 a “very positive impact” with 3 “no impact.”

Using ratings of +/0/-/? is another common means of evaluating plans. If

it makes a positive contribution it gets a plus sign, no contribution is a zero, a negative
contribution is a minus sign. The question mark is for when we don’t know the impact.

Index numbers can be used for some impacts. An index of 100 is arbitrarily
affixed to some ideal level of attainment of an objective. Plans can then be evaluated
with numbers greater or less than 100 that show the plans achievement relative to that
ideal level.

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 APPRAISING PLAN EFFECTS
The appraisal task in the evaluation step requires the planner to determine
the value and significance of the differences they have described.. This is the last
step before determining whether a plan qualifies for the next round of consideration or
not. It is a values-based evaluation step in contrast to the more objective measurement
of the assessment step. Judge the impact. Is it good or bad? Is it important or not?

Every impact that was assessed should be appraised. It is during this task that
the determination of an effect’s significance comes to the fore. There is a difference
between making a value judgment about an effect and determining if it is significant,
as was pointed out in the earlier sidebar. Determining an effect’s magnitude, duration
and location is part of the assessment. You only assess those effects you believe to be
significant. In the appraisal you determine whether the assessed difference is
beneficial or adverse, and significant or not. This means considering each plan’s
contributions to the planning objectives and constraints, its NED benefits and costs, its
environmental impacts and whatever other effects have been deemed significant in
your study.

The first step in the appraisal is to determine if the

assessed effect is adverse, beneficial, or neutral. Fewer flood
You can usually damages is good, fewer wetland acres is bad. You can usually
categorize an effect categorize an effect as good or bad. It may be more difficult to
as good or bad. say how good or how bad it is, the second step in the appraisal
task. The loss of wetlands will, for example, always be bad and it
will always be important. Noise during construction will always
be bad, but is it significant?
The answers to such questions will have to be
given on a case-by-case basis. Appraisals are by Appraisals are by
nature subjective judgments. nature subjective
judgments.

QUALIFYING PLANS
Hundreds of plans can be conceived of during the plan formulation process.
Not all of them deserve to be considered for long. Certainly, relatively few of them will
ultimately be compared against others to determine the best of all possible plans.
Perhaps the most important purpose of the evaluation step is to qualify plans for
further consideration.

Formal evaluation of alternative plans raises the screening process to new

levels of sophistication. Early in the formulation process a plan can be eliminated
because “it’s a goofy idea,” “it’ll never work,” and similar subjective evaluation
criteria. As the planning process matures, so must the evaluation techniques. At some
point, evaluation must come back to the planning objectives and constraints.

164
 The purpose of the evaluation step is to carefully examine each alternative and
determine if it is worthy of additional consideration. This is accomplished by holding
each plan to a frequently subjective and always study-specific set of minimum
standards. A potential plan has to meet some minimum standards in order to merit
further consideration. Criteria are needed to determine those minimum standards.
Each plan, taken individually and without comparison to any other plan, can be
evaluated against the qualifying criteria to determine whether or not it qualifies for
additional consideration. That is, is the plan good enough? This is the culmination of
the evaluation process.

Subjective judgments of a single plan tend to be pass/fail, go/no go,

enough/too much types of statements. These are as opposed to the types of subjective
judgments made in the comparison step when you can use more than/better than/less
than types of statements. The standards for determining enough, too little, go, and
so on are related to the significance of the plan’s effects on significant factors. At
the completion of the appraisal task, we’d like to have sufficient information to
determine whether a plan is good enough to qualify for the next round of analysis,
comparison of plans.

If a plan’s qualifications are not readily apparent based on any single screening
criterion we need to consider it’s overall qualifications. Once each effect has been
appraised, the next task in the evaluation process is to judge the plan in light of its
overall contributions to our evaluation criteria. The focal point for doing this should
be appraising the specific plan’s contributions to the planning objectives. We are
seeking some degree of “objective fulfillment.” Are the plan’s effects on planning
objectives good or bad? Does it qualify?

If the plan is good enough it will eventually be compared to other plans at a

comparable level of development in the planning process. If a plan does not qualify,
it is dropped from further consideration. What criteria do you evaluate a plan against
to determine if it qualifies for further consideration? They include all significant
resources, outputs and plan effects. Significant plan effects must include contributions
to planning objectives and constraints. They also include the Federal objective,
environmental compliance requirements, what is important to stakeholders, and the
P&G’s four evaluation criteria.

QUALIFYING CRITERIA
To determine whether a plan qualifies for further consideration, planners need
some criteria. Some of the things we know are going to be recognized as significant by
institutions, technical analysis or the public are predictable and are discussed in the
following subsections.

165
PLANNING OBJECTIVES AND CONSTRAINTS IN EVALUATION

The tasks described above make frequent reference to qualifying criteria,

minimum standards each plan must separately meet, in order to be considered further.
These minimum standards may represent the required degree of objective fulfillment.
The degree of objective fulfillment may be empirical (e.g., reduce flood damages by at
least 25 percent or increase habitat by 50 habitat units) or it might be subjective
(enough/not enough). In either case, the culmination of the evaluation step is a decision
whether to continue to consider the plan just evaluated.

The planning team will have to establish some minimum standards of objective
fulfillment for qualifying a plan for further consideration. These standards can be
based on contributions to the most important objectives contributed to, the number of
objectives, the size of the contribution, or any other standards that make sense at a
particular point in the study. It is, however, important to bear in mind that this is not
a comparison of plans. It is a simple qualifying round. It is akin to determining
whether your tomato is good enough to enter in the county fair. You can worry about
whether it’s the best tomato if and when you get it into the fair.

FEDERAL OBJECTIVE

For most water resource planning,

estimates of NED costs and benefits are going to
be needed. A plan that does not have benefits in
excess of costs would normally not qualify for ...establish some
further consideration. Although ecosystem minimum standards for
restoration projects are not justified based on an qualifying...
NED benefit-cost analysis, it is still necessary to
identify their costs and, in the interest of full
disclosure, the economic benefits they would produce. NED benefits and costs are
clearly criteria that can result in a pass/fail evaluation of a plan.

ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS

Environmental compliance requires that each plan meet minimum standards

with respect to significant resources like endangered species, cultural resources, and so
on. IWR Report 96-PS-3, “Civil Works Environmental Desk Reference,” summarizes
the potentially applicable Federal requirements. These will be important qualifying
criteria once identified. A plan that does not meet these minimum standards will not
qualify for further consideration.

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 OTHER IMPACTS

There may be other impacts not covered among the above criteria that are
important to people. If so, they should be included among the qualifying criteria.
These will typically be effects important to key stakeholders.

P&G SCREENING CRITERIA

The P&G (Paragraph 1.6.2(c)) suggest the use of four evaluation criteria --
completeness, effectiveness, efficiency and acceptability -- in the screening of
alternative plans. Plans that require substantial activity by others, that is not likely to
be forthcoming, in order to reach a “go” appraisal for critical objectives are not
complete. Plans that are not appraised as a “go” for planning objectives are not
effective. Plans that achieve contributions to objectives at higher costs, whether
objectively or subjectively measured, are not efficient. Plans with effects that result in
infeasibility are not acceptable. Minimum standards for these four criteria must be
established in order to determine whether a plan is worthy of additional consideration.

These standards will generally be subjective, where each plan is measured on

a continuum. Figure 7 illustrates the point conceptually. The thin line represents a
subjective minimum standard for each of these criteria. The hypothetical plan has
exceeded the standard for completeness and acceptability but it has failed to measure
up under the effectiveness and efficiency criteria. As long as a plan exceeds the
minimum standard for each criterion it qualifies for further consideration and
comparison with other plans. This plan would have to be modified to be more effective
and efficient or it will be dropped from further consideration. Each criterion is
discussed in turn below.

Completeness

“Completeness is the extent to which a given alternative plan

provides and accounts for all necessary investments or other actions
to ensure the realization of the planned effects. This may require
relating the plan to other types of public or private plans if the other
plans are crucial to realization of the contributions to the objective.”
(P&G Section VI.1.6.2(c)(1))

A complete alternative is one that is well thought out.

A complete alternative All the necessary implementation actions have been accounted
for in the planning process. During the planning
is...well thought out.

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 Figure 7: Screening and Evaluation Criteria

Plan A Minimum Standard

Least Most
Complete Complete

Least Most
Effective Effective

Least Most
Efficient Efficient

Least Most
Acceptable Acceptable

process, before plans are likely to be complete, this criterion will be of limited use for
screening.

Once plan effects have been identified, it is important to scrutinize the plan to
ensure that it includes all that is necessary to realize the plan effects. This means
considering those things beyond the planners’ control as well as those things beyond
the scope of the Corps’ program and the local partner’s commitment. For example, a
plan that relies on a strong economy or world petroleum markets to produce all of the
navigation benefits forecast is not as complete as a plan whose benefits do not depend
on factors beyond the control of the planners.

To establish the completeness of the plan, it is helpful to list those factors

beyond the control of the planners that are required to make the plan effects a reality.
If a plan’s effects, like project benefits, will not be realized unless there is a strong
international economy, dredging of private berths, and relatively peaceful conditions
in the oil-producing nations, these factors must be identified. The plan is not complete
unless these conditions are met.

Effectiveness

“Effectiveness is the extent to which an alternative plan alleviates the

specified problems and achieves the specified opportunities.” (P&G
Section VI.1.6.2(c)(2))

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 An effective plan is responsive to the wants and needs of people. An effective
plan makes a significant contribution to the solution of some problems and achieves
some opportunities. In other words, it contributes to the attainment of the planning
objectives.

The most effective alternatives make significant contributions to all the

planning objectives. “Effectiveness,” then, becomes an imprecise matter of degree.
How much does an alternative contribute to how many planning objectives? The
answer determines how effective an alternative it is.

In the screening process, it is often possible to identify alternatives that make

little or no contribution to the planning objectives. When this is the case, these
alternatives can be rejected because they are relatively ineffective. When the formal
evaluation process has been completed, the extent of a plan’s effectiveness may well
be quantified, facilitating a more objective application of this criterion.

Efficiency

“Efficiency is the extent to which an alternative plan is the most cost-

effective means of alleviating the specified problems and realizing the
specified opportunities, consistent with protecting the Nation’s
environment.” (P&G Section VI.1.6.2(c)(3))

When you think about cost-effectiveness, don’t think only about dollar costs.
Costs refer not just to the number of dollars that will have to be paid to implement a
plan, but to opportunities that will be sacrificed if the plan is implemented.

Efficiency refers to the allocation of resources. Are resources used

efficiently in the construction of a project or the implementation of a plan? Are the
outputs produced by the plan produced in an efficient manner? Are the resources that
are going to be significantly affected by the plan still going to be available for efficient
use by society?

The more familiar articulation of the criterion of efficiency is cost-

effectiveness. Of all the ways of developing and implementing a plan, have we
identified the lowest cost means of implementation? An obvious question is, is there
a cheaper way to accomplish the same planning objectives? If there is, we do not have
a cost-effective plan.

The efficiency criterion transcends the NED criterion. When all

tangible/monetary and intangible/non-monetary costs are considered, do we have the
plan that meets objectives in the least costly fashion? If a plan costs society the loss
of some wetlands and there is another way to achieve the same objectives with no or
less wetland loss, the plan is not efficient.

Efficiency must be considered in light of all opportunity costs, not just

monetary costs. This makes the efficiency criterion considerably more difficult for

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 planning for the Corps’ environmental mission, because planners may have to trade-off
increased implementation costs against less environmental losses.

Acceptability

“Acceptability is the workability and viability of the alternative plan

with respect to acceptance by State and local entities and the public
and compatibility with existing laws, regulations, and public
policies.” (P&G Section VI.1.6.2(c)(4)

There are two primary dimensions to acceptability. One we

If a plan has call implementability, meaning is it feasible in the technical,
opposition...that environmental, economic, social, and similar senses? The other is the
doesn’t make it satisfaction it brings. A common error that must be avoided with this
criterion is the tendency to equate acceptability with the non-Federal
unacceptable.
partner’s willingness to sign a Project Cooperation Agreement for the
plan. It’s often thought if they would sign, the plan is acceptable; if they
wouldn’t, it is not. This is not what acceptability means. If it were,
there would be no need for a partnership or a planning process at all. The local partner
would need only say, “this is what we want,” and it would become the only acceptable
plan.

To be acceptable to state and local entities as well as the public, a plan has to
be doable. There are many factors that can render a plan infeasible. These factors can
generally be categorized as technical (engineering or natural world limitations),
economic, financial, environmental, social, political, legal, and institutional. Figure 8
illustrates this notion of feasibility.

If a plan cannot be done for legitimate reasons, it is not feasible. If a plan has
opposition or is not the favored plan of the non-Federal partner that does not make it
infeasible or unacceptable. That simply makes it unpopular. If a plan requires changes
in laws or authorities, that alone doesn’t make it unacceptable. That only makes it
difficult.

Acceptability can also be defined as the extent to which a plan is welcome or

satisfactory. These are qualitative dimensions, not absolutes. If a plan is feasible in
a pragmatic sense, in that it could be done, there is no objective way to determine what
is welcome or unwelcome, satisfactory or unsatisfactory. This is not a pass/fail
criterion.

Acceptability may be the most useful criterion for eliminating potential

alternatives. In the formal evaluation stage there will be more fully developed and
documented rationales for the elimination of alternatives based on feasibility. Though
the satisfaction of a plan will remain subjective, sufficient measurement,

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 Figure 8: Screening Plans
Environmentally Feasible Plans

Institutionally Feasible Plans

Economically Feasible Plans

Politically Feasible Plans

Financially Feasible Plans

Socially Feasible Plans

Legally Feasible Plans

Technically Feasible Plans

The Set of Feasible Alternatives

appraisal, and comparison will have been completed to support judgments about which
plans and versions of plans are acceptable enough to carry forward for further
consideration.

Not coincidentally, when the team carefully evaluates a plan, they are
providing a firm basis for the comparison step. The resulting information about
effects will form the basis for the comparison step.

ORGANIZING EVALUATION RESULTS

Evaluation can result in a great deal of information.
Evaluation can That information is useless unless it improves decision-
making. To be most useful to decision-makers, it must be
result in a great
effectively organized for consideration by team members,
deal of information. stakeholders, the public and partnership decision-makers for
use in the comparison step.

The P&G established four accounts to facilitate evaluation and the display
of the effects of alternative plans. These accounts have been devised to encompass all
significant effects of a plan as required by the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and Section 122 of the Flood Control Act of 1970 (PL
91-611, 84 Stat. 1823).

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THE SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTS

The system of accounts is one way to organize and keep track of the effects
of alternative plans. Think of it as a set (system) of effect categories (accounts). It’s
simply one way of dividing the universe of potential plan impacts into four fairly robust
categories. The accounts established by the P&G include national economic
development (NED), regional economic development (RED), environmental
quality (EQ), and other social effects (OSE). All of the evaluated plan effects are
assigned to and displayed in one of these four categories. Strictly speaking, only the
NED account is required, though it is common practice to use the four-account system.
A sample is shown in Table 34. Note the table title indicates a summary comparison.
The comparison is to be based upon the results of plan-by-plan evaluation.

Why bother with a display like this system of accounts? Establishing the
system of accounts is a bookkeeping exercise with several important aspects. First, all
effects important to decision-making can be shown somewhere in the accounts.
Second, NED effects must be explicitly shown because they are the basis for
establishing the economic feasibility of the plan. Third, it is a rational, organized
framework for presenting the results of your analysis. It also provides a handy means
for readers to compare plan effects.

You are not restricted to these four accounts. If it is convenient to present a

wetlands account or subaccount for a restoration study, or a water use account for a
drought study, or town impacts account for a Section 14 streambank erosion study, then
by all means do so. Though the four-account system is robust enough to accommodate
virtually any plan effect, the P&G permit the use of any system of accounts or
alternative display of plan effects as long as NED effects are displayed.

Some planning efforts such as those for military installations, for regulatory
actions, and for O&M dredging, are not subject to the P&G. Nonetheless, the generic
idea of organizing plan impacts and displaying them in a set of categories in which the
categories are based on the specific needs of the study is not a bad idea.

National Economic Development

“Contributions to national economic development (NED) are

increases in the net value of the national output of goods and services,
expressed in monetary units. Contributions to NED are the direct
benefits that accrue in the planning area and the rest of the nation.
Contributions to NED include increases in the net value of those
goods and services that are marketed, and also of those that may not
be marketed.” (P&G Section II(b))

The NED account is the account that includes the estimates of project
benefits and costs used to calculate net economic benefits, upon which the economic
feasibility of traditional plans rests. The NED account is the successor to the
historical objective of economic development that has run throughout the history of

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 Table 34: Summary Comparison of Detailed Plans for Duck Creek, Ohio 11
No Action NED Plan Locally Preferred Plan
1. PLAN DESCRIPTION No Action/Without Project Condition Reach DC-A 25-year protection; Sections DC-A, DC-B, DC-C Uniform 100-year level
Reach DC-B 600-year protection; & of protection
Reach DC-C 100-year protection

2. IMPACT ASSESSMENT

A. National Economic Development (NED)

(1) Project Cost $0 $13,895,000 $14,817,000

(2) Annual Cost $0 $ 1,357,000 $ 1,445,000
(3) Total Annual Benefits $0 $ 1,721,000 $ 1,783,000
(4) Annual Net Benefits $0 $ 364,000 $ 338,000
(5) Benefit to Cost Ratio N/A 1.27 1.20
Ranks 3rd Ranks 1st Ranks 2nd

B. Environmental Quality (EQ)

(1) Air/Noise Normal noise levels created by traffic, business, Temporary increased noise levels during 4-year Temporary increased noise levels during 4-year
and industrial activities. Ranks 1st. construction period. Ranks 2nd. construction period. Ranks 3rd.

(2) Water Quality Existing water quality is poor due to discharges Temporary increased turbidity levels during 4-year Temporary increased turbidity levels during 4-year
into the stream from combined sewer system construction period. Contamination from flood runoff construction period. Contamination from flood runoff
outfalls and flood runoff from industrial areas from adjacent industrial areas partially eliminated in from adjacent industrial areas eliminated for all
adjacent to the stream. Ranks 3rd. DC-A, and fully eliminated in DC-B and DC-C. Ranks reaches. Ranks 1st.
2nd.

(3) Vegetation Existing vegetation typical for streams in Permanent loss of 12 acres to project features; Permanent loss of 13 acres to project features;
Southwest Ohio. Excellent habitat for woodland temporary loss of 8 acres during 4-year construction temporary loss of 8 acres during 4-year construction
songbirds and urban wildlife. Ranks 1st. period. Ranks 2nd. period. Ranks 3rd.

(4) Threatened & Endangered No endangered species in work area. No impact. No impact
Species

(5) Aquatic Birds Existing biological community sparse due to Temporary decreased biota populations during 4-year Temporary decreased biota populations during 4-year
pollutant discharges from combined sewer construction period. Possible increase in biota construction period. Possible increase in biota
systems outfalls. Ranks 3rd population with decrease in contaminant runoff from population with decrease in contaminant runoff from
protected industrial areas. Ranks 1st (Tie). protected industrial areas. Ranks 1st (Tie).

(6) Cultural Resources & No cultural resources or historic properties in No impact. No impact.
Historic Properties work area.

C. Regional Economic Same as National Economic Development Same as National Economic Development (NED) Same as National Economic Development (NED)
Development (RED) (NED) impacts. Ranks 3rd. impacts. Ranks 1st impacts. Ranks 2nd.

D. Other Social Effects (OSE)

 Table 34: Summary Comparison of Detailed Plans for Duck Creek, Ohio 11
(1) Life, Health and Safety Little or no residential threat. Commercial and Provides only 25-year level of protection to area DC-A, Provides 100-year level of protection to all damage
industrial property with over 1,000 employees 500-year to DC-B, and 100-year to DC-C. Red Bank areas along Duck Creek. Red Bank Road flooding
during normal shifts have continued exposure to Road flooded by events greater than 25-year. Madison eliminated. Madison Road will require installation of
threat of loss of life, and disruption of health & Road will require installation of closures for 10-year closures for 10-year floods and higher. Other false
safety services. Red Bank and Madison Roads floods and higher, with 3 to 4 possible false alarm alarm closures may occur 3 to 4 times a year. Ranks
flood beginning at 25-year event. Ranks 3rd. closures each year. Ranks 2nd. 1st.

(2) Community Cohesion Future flooding and in particular, occurrence of Some displacement of businesses is possible in low- 100-year level of protection to all homes and
(displacement of people & large flooding events, could displace selected level protection area DC-A. Displacement of portion of businesses in the study area. Displacement of portion
businesses) businesses over time. Ranks 3rd. one small business by plan. Ranks 2nd. of one small business by plan. Ranks 1st.

(3) Recreation No existing recreation facilities in the study area Existing low intensity use recreation facility Existing low intensity use recreation facility
floodplain. Ranks 3rd. downstream of study area to be used for environmental downstream of study area to be used for environmental
mitigation site. Compatible with facility master plan. mitigation site. Compatible with facility master plan.
No opportunity or interest by local partners to add other No opportunity or interest by local partners to add
recreation features to proposed plan. Ranks 1st (Tie). other recreation features to proposed plan. Ranks 1st
(Tie).

3. PLAN EVALUATION

A. Contribution to Planning Objectives

(1) Efficiently reduces flood Average Annual Flood Damages (AAD) are Residual AAD = $174,000 for a 91% reduction in Residual AAD = $113,000 for a 94% reduction in
damages to maximum $1,844,000. No effective reduction from limited AAD. Meets objective. Ranks 2nd. AAD. Meets objective. Ranks 1st.
practical extent private non-structural measures. Does not meet
objective. Ranks 3rd.

(2) Provide optimum level of Damage outputs starting at the 2-year flood level. Provides 25-year DC-A, 500-year DC-B, & 100-year Provides uniform 100-year flood protection for all
flood protection Does not meet objective. Ranks 3rd. DC-C, NED plan. Meets objectives. Ranks 1st. reaches. Meets objectives. Ranks 2nd.

(3) Minimize environmental Existing vegetation typical for streams in Permanent loss of 12 acres to project features; Permanent loss of 13 acres to project features;
impacts southwest Ohio. Excellent habitat for woodland temporary loss of 8 acres during 2-year construction temporary loss of 8 acres during 4-year construction
birds and urban wildlife. Meets objective. period. Temporary disturbed areas to be restored. period. Temporary disturbed areas to be restored.
Ranks 1st Enhancement of offsite wildlife areas for mitigation. Enhancement of offsite wildlife areas for mitigation.
Contamination from flood runoff from adjacent Contamination from flood runoff from adjacent
industrial areas partially eliminated in DC-A, fully industrial areas eliminated for all reaches. Meets
eliminated in DC-B and DC-C. Meets objective. objective.
Ranks 2nd. Ranks 3rd.
 Table 34: Summary Comparison of Detailed Plans for Duck Creek, Ohio 11
B. Response to Planning Constraints

(1) Financial capability of local N/A Local cost share of $3,474,000 is within local Local cost share of $3,704,000 is within local
partners to cost-share project capabilities. Meets constraint. capabilities. Meets constraint.
construction

(2) Institutional acceptability Red Banks and Madison Roads flood beginning Red Bank Road flooded by events greater than 25-year. Red Bank Road flooding eliminated. Madison Road
at 25-year event flood waters. Ongoing high Madison Road will require installation of closures for will require installation of closures for 10-year floods
level of flood damages not acceptable to local 10-year floods and higher, with 3 to 4 possible false and higher. Other false alarm closures may occur 3 to
partners. Does not meet constraint. alarm closures each year. Non-uniform level of 4 times a year. Uniform 100-year level of protection
protection not acceptable to local partners, but acceptable to local partners and meets Federal criteria.
acceptable under Federal criteria. Partially meets Meets constraint.
constraint.

(3) Public acceptability Not acceptable. Does not meet constraint. Not fully acceptable. Partially meets constraint. Fully acceptable. Meets constraint.

C. Response to Evaluation Criteria

(1) Completeness Does not meet objective. Partially meets objective. Meets objective.

(2) Effectiveness Does not meet objective. Meets objective. Meets objective.

(3) Efficiency Does not meet objective. Meets objective. Meets objective.

11
The table is a system of accounts display taken from a Corps report. It was prepared prior to the requirements for a risk-based analysis of flood protection levels. Hence, references to 25-year
protection and so on would no longer be used in such a display.
water resource development in the U.S. The NED account has been described at great
length in a series of IWR procedures manuals. Two of these deal with the NED
objective in an overview fashion and should be of particular interest to planners. One,
the “National Economic Development Procedures Manual - Overview Manual for
Conducting National Economic Development Analysis” deals with NED benefits. The
other, “National Economic Development Procedures Manual - National Economic
Development Costs”, deals with the adverse effects of plans on the NED account.

NED Decision Criteria

Once all benefits and costs have been expressed at comparable

price levels and at comparable points in time, usually average annual
equivalent dollars, it’s possible to calculate two different comparisons
of benefits and costs.

Net benefits is defined as average annual equivalent benefits

minus average annual equivalent costs. Economic feasibility requires
that net NED benefits be non-negative. The NED plan is the plan that
maximizes net benefits.

The benefit-cost ratio (BCR) is defined as average annual

equivalent benefits divided by average annual equivalent costs.
Economic feasibility requires that the BCR be equal to or greater than
one. The BCR is not used to identify the NED plan.

In some cases where benefit estimates are unavailable, cost

effectiveness and incremental cost analyses may be used. Cost
effectiveness means choosing the least costly means of producing like
amounts of output.

Regional Economic Development

“The RED account registers changes in the distribution of regional

economic activity that result from each alternative plan. Two
measures of the effects of the plan on regional economies are used in
the account: regional income and regional employment.” (P&G
Section VII.1.7.4(a)(1)).

This account is mentioned second simply because of its close relationship to

the NED account. Not all economic effects, beneficial or adverse, have national
implications. For example, a plan may prevent a manufacturer from leaving one area
to locate in another. From a national perspective, there is no difference. The
manufacturer would still be producing his wares in the U.S. From the regional

176
 perspective the manufacturer’s location will be of great importance because of the jobs,
income, and tax revenues he produces.

This regional perspective, particularly as it

relates to the effects of plans on jobs, income, and tax
This regional bases, has become increasingly important to non-
perspective...has become Federal partners as they have been required to help
increasingly important to finance studies and projects. Regional interests want
to know more precisely what they are getting for their
non-Federal partners...
money. If an NED perspective is intended to protect
the national interest in projects, it only stands to reason
that as the non-Federal financial stake increases, an
RED perspective is required to address the regional and local interests in a project.

There is less Corps’ guidance on regional economic analysis but it is the

primary type of analysis addressed in the economic literature. There are no shortages
of methods, tools, or techniques for conducting RED analysis.

Environmental Quality

“Beneficial effects in the EQ account are favorable changes in the

ecological, aesthetic, and cultural attributes of natural and cultural
resources. Adverse effects in the EQ account are unfavorable changes
in the ecological, aesthetic, and cultural attributes of natural and
cultural resources.” (P&G Section VII.1.7.3(a)(2&3)

Environmental quality is the successor to the preservationist thrust that began

earlier in the history of water resource development in the U.S. Consideration of EQ
effects, as well as all effects on the quality of human environment, is required by NEPA
1969. Chapter III of the Guidelines is devoted exclusively to procedures for conducting
an EQ evaluation. This remains the best source of a detailed description of the EQ
assessment and appraisal processes for all planners. ER 1105-2-100, beginning in
Section V of Chapter 7, offers additional procedures for environmental evaluation.
Sections VI through IX describe ecological resources, historical preservation, aesthetic
resources, and water quality and related requirements.

Other Social Effects

“The OSE account is a means of displaying and integrating into water

resource planning information on alternative plan effects from
perspectives that are not reflected in the other three accounts. The
categories of effects in the OSE account include the following: Urban
and community impacts; life, health, and safety factors; displacement;
long-term productivity; and energy requirements and energy
conservation.” (P&G Section VII.1.7.5(a)(1))

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 The OSE account lends the system of four accounts the flexibility to address
any effects that are judged significant by any stakeholder, if the planning team so
desires. This is the account that reflects anything that affects the well being of people.
All the difficult issues of equity, income distribution, fairness, and the like are included
here.

Less has been written about OSE evaluation procedures than any other
account. Most of what has been written on this topic with regard to water resource
projects dates back to the late sixties and early seventies when inclusion of well-being
as a national objective was being debated. One of the best sources for Corps planners
is the “Proceedings of the Social Scientists Conference, Memphis 20-24 September
1976” produced by IWR in two volumes dated December 1977.

DISPLAYING EVALUATION RESULTS

The P&G, in Section VIII, provide some general guidance on the nature of
graphs, tables, drawings, photographs, summary statements, and other graphics used
to analyze and compare plans. Conciseness and
clarity are prized most of all. Displays of
evaluation results should make the plans’ Conciseness and clarity
contributions to solving problems and seizing are prized most of all.
opportunities clear. The plans’ effects
presented in the system of accounts should
ideally relate to the plans’ contributions to
planning objectives. The effects of the plans should be so arranged that the differences
among the plans will be evident for the comparison of plans that is to follow the
evaluation step.

The P&G empower the agency to define report content and format. However,
they require (1) a clear description of existing and forecast conditions without the plan
in place; (2) alternative plans fully described in terms of their component measures,
NED effects and other significant effects; (3) the effects of the recommended plan on
natural and cultural resources displayed in detail; (4) a matrix showing other projects
or actions related to the recommended plan; and, (5) a description of the formulation
process. How to tell your story is discussed at length in the last chapter of this manual.

SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD

Lesson One. Evaluation comprises an objective assessment of plan effects and
a subjective appraisal of the assessed effects.

Lesson Two. The first goal of evaluation is to qualify plans for further
consideration. The second goal is to facilitate the eventual comparison of plans. Plan
evaluation provides the basis for reducing the set of potential alternative plans to a set
of finalists.

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 Lesson Three. A most likely with-project condition is described for each
alternative plan. Effects are evaluated on the basis of a without- and with-project
condition comparison.

Lesson Four. Detailed evaluation procedures have been developed for many
NED, EQ, and physical effects of plans.

Lesson Five. The four accounts provide a detailed and flexible framework for
identifying and summarizing plan effects.

Once plan effects have been evaluated and displayed effectively, they must be
compared so planners can identify and describe significant trade-offs to decision-
makers who will select the best plan.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING

The various disciplines used in planning provide guidance on how to evaluate
specific types of plan impacts. For example, there are countless books and articles
discussing the estimation of regional economic development impacts. As it turns out,
the discipline based literature is often the best place to look for more help on evaluation
of impacts.

The water resources planning literature cited at the end of Chapter Two
provides some discussion of these concepts in a water resources context. There is
relatively little substantive content found there, however. Don’t overlook the
possibility of finding something good in a Corps report. If you get a chance to thumb
through some reports, look and see how they handled the evaluation of plans. Good
ideas are worth repeating.

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180
CHAPTER TEN: STEP FIVE - COMPARING
ALTERNATIVE PLANS
“Nothing is good or bad but by comparison.” Thomas Fuller
(1608-1661), English cleric.

“Step Five: Comparison of alternative plans.” (P&G Section

III.1.3.2(a)(5))

INTRODUCTION
The best plan can not be selected from among a set of good plans unless we
have some way to compare them. It is only by comparison that a plan is no longer
good enough, or that a good plan becomes the best plan. The purpose of the
comparison step is to identify the most important criteria plans were evaluated against
and compare the various plans across those criteria. Ideally, the comparison of plans
concludes with a ranking of plans or some identification of the best course of action for
the decision-makers. The comparison method must be transparent. That is, it must be
easy to explain and easy for the public to follow and understand.

When all the important plan effects are measured in the same units, like
dollars, the comparison can be simple. Financial decisions are often based on choosing
the alternative with the largest net benefits or smallest total cost. More realistically,
plan effects will be measured in a combination of dollars, habitat units, housing
relocations, water quality changes, noise levels, navigation safety, changed erosion
rates, or a host of other units, tangible and intangible. When that happens, planners
have to advise decision-makers about trade-offs, i.e., value judgments. That’s the
hard part of comparing alternative plans.

Value judgments are made throughout the planning process. They are made
throughout all screening activities. But, they take on special significance in the last
three steps of the planning process as the study team, decision-makers, and other
stakeholders move toward selecting the best most likely alternative future for a society.
These value judgments are first made about the individual plan in evaluation. Is it good
enough to warrant further consideration? The next step is to make a value judgments
across all the plans. This is the comparison of alternative plans, the subject of this
chapter.

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 STEPS RUNNING TOGETHER
As a practical matter, it is very difficult to neatly separate evaluation from
comparison from selection, as the discrete chapters on each might imply. These three
steps overlap, run together, and are in practice, most often indistinguishable from one
another. They are discussed separately so the tasks can be clearly understood. The
execution of these steps is much messier. So, if you find it difficult to separate these
three steps in practice, relax; that’s a good sign.

When more than one plan is being evaluated, it’s impossible, in fact it’s
undesirable, to evaluate without comparing. Deciding whether a plan is good enough
to qualify is a lot easier when we have some basis for comparison. As plans are being
compared, some of them are being dropped from further consideration even though they
may have been judged good enough to make it this far. That is selection. The planning
team is selecting sets of plans to advance to the final rounds.

At this point in a planning study the steps seem to be all running together, and
it is difficult to distinguish one activity from another. That’s okay. What is important
is that plans are evaluated, compared, and selected. What it looks like when you’re
doing it is unimportant. If the steps of the planning process seem to all be bleeding
together at this point, let it bleed.

COMPARISONS OF WHAT?
Evaluation identifies the most important effects of your plans. These effects
now need to be compared among plans. Comparison at any stage in the planning
process should be based on the evaluation criteria at that same stage of the planning
process. In other words, when you are looking for ways to compare plans, the place
to look is at the plan impacts that were identified in the evaluation step. Comparison
is based on the different contributions of the alternative plans to planning objectives
and constraints, NED benefits and costs, environmental compliance requirements
impacts, other plan impacts that are important to stakeholders, and the P&G screening
criteria of completeness, effectiveness, efficiency, and acceptability. These are the
things being compared. Water resources studies will involve different combinations
of these impacts from those that the Corps’ non-water resources studies will.

In an ordinary planning study it would not be unusual to have evaluated

dozens of different impacts. Not all of them are equally important. For example, the
Endangered Species Act requires the Corps to consider impacts on threatened and
endangered species. Therefore, this should be an evaluation impact. If there are no
threatened and endangered species impacts, then this is not important to the decision-
making process, but it is important to say so.

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 The answer to the question, “What should be
compared?” is, compare the project impacts that will affect
decision-making. These are the important impacts. Not all
“What should impacts evaluated will be equally important. It is the
be compared?” planning team’s job to determine what subset of the evaluated
plan impacts are important to compare. Importance depends
on policy, partners, and the public.

Law and policy determine importance. For example, a civil works plan
comparison should certainly include net NED benefits or incremental NED costs. That
is a requirement. The Federal and non-Federal partners also get to say what
they think is important.

The values and issues important to stakeholders and the public will also
determine which impacts are important to plan comparison. If the planning team
thinks the effects of ship wakes on erosion rates is a negligible factor, but it has been
the number one topic of concern at public meetings, then ship wake erosion rates are
important.

Comparisons are easier to make and easier to explain when fewer things are
being compared. The trick and the challenge is to identify and compare all the
important plan impacts, but only the important impacts. One starting point for
determining importance would be to include those impacts that everyone on the study
team agrees are important. Another could be to pretend you are the District Engineer
or the non-Federal partner; what do you want to know before you sign the report?
What is the public going to want to know about the plan before they support it? All
other plan effects should be debated heartily and included only when persuasive, though
not necessarily unanimous, arguments can be advanced.

COMPARING EFFECTS
Primary Methods of Comparison
Not to overlook the obvious, comparing
Economic factors are a primary plans means looking at them and identifying
means of comparison. Any traditional differences among plans. Plan A has lower net
water resources plan will require some sort benefits than B. Plan B creates more wetlands than A
of NED analysis. In most studies, that will or C. Of the five plans, Plan D has the highest costs.
mean a benefit-cost analysis in which net These are the types of comparisons that should be
benefits, not benefit-cost ratios, are evident if the evaluation step of the planning process
compared. For environmental and other has been successfully completed.
projects where NED benefits are not
estimated, the incremental cost of plans will When plans have different impacts, selecting
be compared. Financial costs of plans will Plan A rather than Plan B means foregoing the future
also be a component for virtually any Plan B would have offered. In other words, selecting
planning effort, including military and other Plan A means a future with fewer wetlands. Thus,
non-civil works planning. pointing out the important differences among plans is
not a trivial step.

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 It really is not so difficult to identify differences among plans once the
planner has identified the important impacts to consider. The difficult part comes in
weighing those differences, as when one plan contributes more to one objective and
less to another. Suppose, for example, two plans have identical NED contributions
and one creates more wetlands while the other protects bottomland hardwoods. Which
is better? How do you compare things that are not comparable?

The NED Plan

Good planners do not formulate an NED plan. Good planners

formulate plans that meet objectives and pass the screening criteria.
Then an NED plan is identified from this set of objective achieving,
complete, effective, efficient, and acceptable plans.

The NED plan is the NED plan only by comparison. A good

planning process assures the NED plan is derived from a set of plans
that make significant contributions to other planning objectives and
screening criteria. Designation of the NED plan is one of the more
significant outcomes of the comparison step for civil works projects.

COMMENSURABILITY

Ideally, we’d like an evaluation process that quantifies all plan impacts. When
all impacts are quantified in the same units, they are said to be commensurable.
Dollars, used to quantify benefits and costs, are the most widely used commensurable
units of measure.

If all the important impacts of a plan to be compared are commensurable,

the comparison of plans is simple and very transparent. You simply add or subtract
all the impacts and identify the maximum or minimum value, depending on the
situation, as the best of the plans. Such comparisons are easy to explain to the public
and they have no trouble understanding the identification of the largest or smallest
number.

For example, many private business decisions are based on profitability. It is

a rather simple matter to add all the revenues and subtract all the costs to arrive at a
most profitable option. The outcomes of some Corps studies may be determined purely
on a financial basis. Others may be determined on environmental or other bases.
These will be relatively rare instances.

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 INCOMMENSURABILITY

The more frequent situation will involve plans whose important impacts reflect
a wide variety of concerns. There may be NED net benefits, construction noise
disruption of migratory waterfowl, potential future oil spills, ship wake impacts on
shoreline erosion rates, and so on. Although all the impacts can be quantified, there is
no one unit of measure that can be used to quantify all of these impacts. Hence, there
is no practical and transparent way to add or subtract these impacts and declare one
plan better than another.

Incommensurable plan impacts are more the

rule than the exception. It is incommensurability that
makes comparison difficult. Pointing out the
...incommensurability...mak
differences is easy. Weighing and trading-off those
es comparison difficult. differences is the hard part.

METHODS OF COMPARISON
Comparison, like all the planning steps, is an iterative process.
Comparison of plans during early iterations can be quite abbreviated. Plans are
often compared without a formal analysis. Ranking plans as better or worse,
identifying plans that result in more or less effects of interest can be sufficient in early
iterations. As the planning process moves toward a final array of plans, the comparison
must be more formal and analytical to ensure that plans are responsive to the needs of
the public.

There are many comparison methods that can be used early in the planning
process. Simple description is perhaps the place to begin. Identifying differences that
are important and pointing them out is the simplest form of comparison. For example,
the NED section of Table 35 compares net benefits by a simple ranking from first to
second.

Early in the planning process when the varying plan impacts are being
explicitly compared, it can be convenient to rank impacts. The rankings can be from
1 to n, where n is the number of alternatives being compared. This is simple
description and it can be used no matter what the unit of measure is for the impact
being compared. Once the various differences have been described it may be possible
to identify the plans from best to worst. For example, if one plan dominates all others
by being first in every important impact category, it’s the best plan. A plan that is last
in all categories is the worst plan. If a simple comparison clarifies the choices, don’t
use anything more complex. This is another transparent comparison process.

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 Simple weighting is a more sophisticated approach to the comparison of
plans. It’s used when there are no dominant plans, and it’s the simplest way to make
trade-offs. Trade-offs are necessary when, once the important impacts of a plan are
identified for comparison, one plan scores well on some impacts and not so well on
others. For example, Plan 1 may be less costly but it destroys more wetlands, while
Plan 2 is more costly and actually creates some wetlands. If costs and wetlands are
both important, how can you compare plans like this?

One way to make trade-offs is to create a commensurable metric, we’ll call a

ranking index. First you describe the differences in plans and rank each plans’
contribution to that impact. For example, if there are five (n) plans, the highest ranking
plan on any impact gets 5 (n) points, the second best gets 4 (n-1) points, and so on
through the last plan which gets 1 point. If all criteria are equally important, it’s
sufficient to sum the points to rank the plans.

In order to make the trade-offs someone must say what the relative importance
of the impacts is. This can be done in a variety of ways. The easiest is to allocate 100
points (i.e., 100 percent) to the array of plan impacts being compared. Thus if we have
only cost and wetlands we might say that cost gets a subjective weighting of 75 points
and wetlands gets 25 points.

The simple weighting for this plan is shown in Table 35.

Table 35: Simple Ranking Index

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Plan Cost Cost Cost Wetland Wetland Wetland Ranking
Rank Points Weight Rank Points Weight Index

A 1 2 75 2 1 25 175
B 2 1 75 1 2 25 125

The ranking index is given by:

Ranking Index = EiEjpijwi

where p is the number of points awarded plan i for impact j and w is the weight for
impact j. In other words multiply the points by the weight for each impact and add
them up for a plan. In the example, the index is columns 3 x 4 plus columns 6 x 7.

This is a simple process and it is transparent insofar as it’s easy to show how
the index was derived. It is fundamentally a subjective process, however. It would be
misleading and a mistake to lead anyone to believe there was any science behind the
ranking index. It is, however, a simple way to reflect value judgments.

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 This simple weighting may be well suited to military studies and other efforts
with a relatively circumscribed number of “publics” to satisfy and little controversy.
The method can work in civil works studies, but its subjectivity can become an issue.
For example, if we flip-flop the relative importance of wetlands and cost in the example
above, the ranking indices flip-flop as well. When results are very sensitive to the
weights assigned, this method might be less than transparent.

Figure 9 shows an effects matrix, an adaptation of the simple weighting

method. The columns of the matrix are alternative plans. The rows show important
impacts to be compared, i.e, planning objectives and the like. Each cell is divided by
a diagonal line. Above the line is the measure of the impacts. A 1-to-10 scale has been
used in the example to indicate the relative magnitude of the effect (or attainment of
the objective). The 1 to 10 scale is an alternative to ranking projects as was done
above. It allows finer degrees of differences in plan contributions. Plans 1 and 2 are
equal in terms of their first two impacts, so questions of how to handle ties are easily
resolved.

Figure 9: Effects Matrix

Objective/Effect Plan 1 Plan 2 Plan 3 Plan 4

+7 +7 +6 +8
Reduce Flood Damages 8 8 8 8

+2 +2 0 +3
Reduce Potential Loss of Life 10 10 10 10

-3 0 +1 +2
Maintain Fish & Wildlife Habitat 7 7 7 7

-1 +1 +3 -2
Enhance Open Space Land Use Opportunities 2 2 2 2

0 -4 0 -6
Minimize Relocation of Homes & Businesses 5 5 5 3

In addition, the range of differences is more flexible. Under a ranking rule, the
range in points awarded would be from 1 to 4. With a scale like this, the difference can
be less as for the reduction of flood damages (3 points) or more as for relocations (6
points). The numbers may be positive or negative, depending on the nature of the
impact.

Below the line another number from +1

to +10 is entered to indicate the relative Different interests may
importance, or weighting, of the plan effect to
have differing
be compared. In both cases, 10 indicates the
extreme value. Different interests may opinions...

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 have differing opinions about the relative importance of plan effects. This matrix may
be used as a summary or it can be used to calculate ranking indices as was done above.
In that case, the ranking indices for Plans 1 through 4 would be 53, 58, 61, and 86
points, respectively. It is important at this point to bear in mind that these numbers are
just information. They are not decisions. They reflect the judgments of the planners,
who must deal with the potentially disparate points of view on plan effects, and they
reflect what looks best based on that set of judgments.

There is nothing magical or scientific about these comparison methods. Other

qualitative values may be used. High, medium, and low judgments could appear above
the line. Very important, moderately important, and unimportant are examples of
value judgments that could appear below the line. It becomes more difficult to trade-
off such values, but the option does exist. If it works and it is transparent, use it.

There are more formal comparison methods. One commensurable set of

methods includes monetary evaluation methods. These methods have focused on
refinements of benefit-cost analysis and cost-effectiveness and make comparison a
simple and straightforward matter. The range of methods is presented as a continuum
in Figure 10. To be useful in multi-impact plan comparisons, it must be possible to
reduce important plan impacts to monetary terms. This is clearly not possible at the
present time, and many would argue it is not even desirable. Nonetheless, monetary
evaluation methods, such as traditional NED benefit-cost and net benefit analyses,
incremental cost analysis, life-cycle costing, and payback period analyses still play a
critical role in the comparison of alternative plans.

Multi-criteria evaluation methods (MCEM) comprise another class of

methods that can be used when it is either not possible or not desirable to express all
plan effects in a single metric, such as dollars. Thus, more than one evaluation metric
can be considered with these methods. The strength of these methods is that they
enable planners to take into account a whole gamut of differing but relevant criteria
when comparing plans. On the basis of this idea of multi-dimensional compromise, a
series of MCEMs have been developed in recent years. Many of them are quite
complex and we can do little more here than provide the briefest of overviews and a
reference for further details. Their major difficulty is that they are not all transparent
methods. Some are neither easy to explain nor easy to understand.

Trade-off analysis12 is an MCEM method commonly used by the Corps. It

can be as simple as the methods described above or as complex as you want to make
it. In the least structured applications, this method frequently relies on professional
judgment. Planners trade-off plans’ various contributions to

12
See Edmunds, E. and J. Letey, Environmental Administration, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1973 for a
discussion.

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 Figure 10: Monetary Evaluation Methods

B/C Analysis

Contingent
Valuation
Unit
Values
Average
Benefits
Quantify
Increasing Project
Effectiveness Outputs
of Methods

Costs Only Costs Plus Benefits

Marginal
Cost Analysis
Consider
Average
Minimize Costs
Total Costs
Tracking
Maintain or Cost Info.
Repair at
Any Cost

Increasing Analytical Requirements

objectives based on their accumulated technical expertise, general experience, and

specific knowledge of the study area, including stakeholder views and values. In
essence, planners sit down and decide a plan with “a little more of this” is better than
a plan “with a little more of that.” The trade-offs tend to be subjective.

There are a great many other trade-off methods. Multi-dimensional

scalogram analysis13 is a generalization and extension of the ranking index, also
known as the goals-achievement method,14 presented above. Correspondence
analysis15 is a method of pattern recognition between alternatives with different
characteristics. Using a principle component analysis of the row and column values
in a plan-effect matrix,16 similar to that above, the relationships between certain

13
See Hill, M. and Y. Tzamir, “Multi-dimensional Evaluation of Regional Plans Serving Multiple
Objectives,” Papers of the Regional Science Association, vol. 29, pp. 139-165, 1972.

14
See Hill, M. “A Goals-Achievement Matrix for Evaluating Alternative Plans,” Journal of the American
Institute of Planners, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 19-29, 1968. Also see the Regional Science Institute’s Planning for Multiple
Objectives.

15
See Spliid, I. “Use of Correspondence Analysis in a Planning Procedure for Local Governments,” Paper
Third Advanced Karlsruhe Summer Institute in Regional Science, Karlsruhe, 1974.

16
In such a matrix, the plans form the columns (or rows) and the measured impacts form the rows (or
columns). Each cell is a specific measured impact for a plan. Qualitative variables must be converted to nominal
numerical values.

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 decision criteria and alternative plans can be examined on the basis of clustering
procedures. Conclusions can then be inferred about the desirability of plans.

A discrepancy analysis sheds some light on the relative merits of a certain

alternative, like the NED plan. This approach measures the difference between the
NED plan and every other plan. Ranking the discrepancies among the other plans, a
Spearman rank correlation coefficient can be used to establish an ordering of plans.17

Concordance analysis consists of pairwise comparison of alternatives. In

the analytical hierarchical process (AHP)18 the objectives are assigned subjective
weights and the extent to which plans contribute to these objectives is resolved on the
basis of a pairwise comparison of all plans. Indices reflecting these weights are
generated and can form the basis for ranking alternatives.

These concordance analysis processes have become very accessible in recent

years with the development of user friendly software like Expert Choice and Logical
Decisions. They are recommended as reasonable methods for dealing with multi-
objective decision-making. They offer tremendous advantages for sensitivity analysis
and are powerful tools. However, they are not going to be transparent methods of
comparison as far as the public is concerned.

Additional methods include the dominance criterion, maximin criterion,

maximax criterion, conjunctive method, disjunctive method, lexicographic
method, elimination by aspect, simple additive weighting, weighted product,
TOPSIS, ELECTRE, and the median ranking method. A description of these
methods and a good list of references can be found in Yoon and Hwang’s 1995
monograph Multiple Attribute Decision-Making, An Introduction.

Despite the abundance of multi-criteria evaluation methods, trade-off

analysis based on professional judgment remains the most common method. If
comparisons based on seat-of-the-pants methods like this yield the best plan, there
is no need for anything more complex.

WHAT ARE COMPARISON RESULTS?

First, when dealing with NED-oriented planning efforts, a true NED plan
must be identified. Second, the comparisons should be made explicit. Simple
comparisons can be straightforward statements like “Plan A is best because it
maximizes net NED benefits.” Simple comparisons will be more appropriate for early

17
Nijkamp, P. “Stochastic Quantitative and Qualitative Multi-Criteria Analysis for Environmental Design,”
Papers of the Regional Science Association, 1977.

18
See Saaty, Thomas L., Luis G. Vargas, and Kevin P. Kearns, The Analytical Hierarchy Process 4 Volume
Set.

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 planning phases and more abbreviated planning processes. More complex
comparisons will offer either objective or subjective rankings of the final array of
alternatives. These comparisons, whether simple statements or complete rankings,
effectively represent the study team’s advice to decision-makers based on stakeholders’
views and the team’s experience throughout the planning process.

Third, the comparisons must be objective. Despite our attempts to present

the planning process as a scientific journey of discovery, the reality of the situation is
that some studies begin with a favored alternative. In others, a favored alternative
can emerge at any point in the study. There is nothing inherently wrong with the
appearance of a favored alternative on the planning scene.

A problem arises if the planning process is manipulated to justify the selection

of a favored plan. If the planning process is conducted in a professional, conscientious,
and thorough manner, and the favored plan prevails, then it was clearly favored for
good reason. However, the planning process must be objective. Favored plans can
persist only when they are the best alternative from among a strong set of alternatives.
To assure the integrity of the planning process, a rigorous comparison of plans is
essential.

COMMUNICATING RESULTS
If the comparison involves professional judgment and trade-offs
among values they won’t necessarily be obvious to everyone. The planning
report must be able to tell people which plans are best and why. The
...tell people comparison should be transparent. The planner is once again a story teller.
which plans are How did you compare the plans to one another? What things did you look at?
best and why. Which were most important? Why? How did you rank the plans? What were
your criteria? What trade-offs are worth making? Why do you feel that way?

Rather than rely on stiff report-style writing, try to tell a story with a
beginning, a middle, and an end. Tell the reader how it happened. Write so readers can
understand. Save the details for appendices. See Chapter Fourteen for a discussion of
how to tell your story.

SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD

Lesson One. Plan evaluation determines whether a plan is good enough to
consider for implementation. Plan comparison rates all the plans considered for
implementation against one another based on the most important impacts identified in
the evaluation process.

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 Lesson Two. Comparisons can be qualitative or quantitative, simple or
complex. There are many ranking techniques available. A trade-off analysis based on
professional judgment is most often used. Use a transparent method.

Lesson Three. The NED plan arises from the comparison of plans.

Lesson Four. Finally, the comparison results should rate or rank the plans,
identifying the best plan and the reason(s) it is best.

Though planners may do an exemplary job throughout the planning process,

up to and including ranking the plans, decision-makers still select the plan for
implementation. Selection of the recommended plan is the subject of the next chapter.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING

As is so often the case, relatively little has been written explicitly about this
step of the planning process. There is some material found in the water resources
planning references following Chapter Two. A great deal more has been written about
the so-called multi-criteria evaluation/decision models. Suggestions for further reading
about these models have been included at appropriate points in the footnotes of this
chapter. Although these articles are good, many are dated and some are quite difficult
to read if you are not familiar with the literature. Perhaps a better place to start is with
Yoon and Hwang’s monograph. It is informative and has a wealth of further
references.

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193
CHAPTER ELEVEN: STEP SIX - SELECTING
RECOMMENDED PLAN
“Given a set of viable action alternatives,” the analyst assures
us, “I’ll assist you in selecting the best choice or I’ll
recommend the best solution.” From Milan Zeleny’s Multiple
Criteria Decision- Making, p. 100.

Step 6: Selection of a recommended plan based upon the

comparison of alternative plans. (P&G Section III.1.3.2(a)(6))

INTRODUCTION
Planners do the analyses and may make a recommendation, but the
decision is not theirs to make. The selection process begins with the assumption
that doing nothing is best. The no-action alternative is the default decision for
If something is
every planning effort. The only reason to do anything is if it is better for society
going...we assume than doing nothing. If something is going to be done for water resource plans
it will be the governed by the P&G, we assume it will be the NED plan. If anything but the
NED plan. NED is recommended or selected, there have to be good reasons for doing so.
Planning that does not require NED analysis will default to other actions. That is
the selection process. Some details follow.

THE PURPOSE OF SELECTION

Selecting a recommended plan is the decision-making stage of the planning
process. The planners are not necessarily the decision-makers, and their
recommendations may or may not be followed.

The purpose of the selection step is to try to purposefully choose the best
alternative future path for society. In practical terms, the P&G have established a
rather straightforward method for doing that. The first choice is do nothing. The
second choice is to implement the NED plan. The third choice is to do something
else. There must be good reasons for the final selection.

NO-ACTION
NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1502.14(d)) require that no action always be
considered a viable alternative in any final array of plans. The no-action plan is the
default choice. The planning process is, in a sense, built on the default assumption that
the Federal agency should do nothing. The Federal agency should become involved in

194
 a project of some type only if doing something is better for society than doing nothing.
Hence, the planning process must convincingly establish that Federal involvement in
some project is preferred over no action. Do not overlook the importance of the first
decision to be made at this step, should something be done?

THE NED PLAN

After the “no-action” alternative is rejected, the selection
The NED plan...must criteria are policy matters that vary by program and that change over
be presented. time. For water resource planning, the P&G provide that the NED
plan is the default “action” plan.

One of the plans formulated must be designated the NED

plan. An NED plan is not formulated. Instead, plans that meet the planning objectives
are formulated. From among these, one is designated the NED plan based on the
comparison of the plans. The NED plan is the plan that maximizes the excess of NED
benefits over NED costs, i.e., it maximizes net NED benefits. From a Federal
perspective, the NED plan is the preferred plan because it makes the greatest
contribution to the one Federal objective. This means that if you decide to do
something, it’s assumed you will implement the NED plan.

The NED plan is the only plan that must be presented in detail. Although
only one plan must be described, that does not mean only one plan is considered. It
would never be appropriate to consider only one plan.

There is More than NED

THE LOCALLY PREFERRED
PLAN
With the current emphasis on the Frequently, the non-Federal partner will find
NED plan some planners think their only it in their interest to pursue a plan that sacrifices some
goal is to find the plan that maximizes net NED net benefits for additional contributions to other
NED benefits. Nothing could be further planning objectives. Clearly, if a plan is complete,
from the truth. effective, efficient, acceptable, and it meets local needs
better than the NED plan, it deserves serious
It bears repeating that plans are not consideration for selection and implementation. An
formulated to maximize NED benefits. NED plan may contribute less to or to fewer planning
Plans are formulated to meet planning objectives than another plan. The non-Federal partner
objectives. An array of plans is developed may have a strong preference for another plan or may
and the one of these that maximizes NED weigh the trade-offs among plans differently. When the
benefits is designated the NED plan. Corps non-Federal partner prefers a plan that is not the NED
planning is objective oriented, not NED plan, that plan is designated the locally preferred plan.
oriented.

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 Current Corps Civil Works policy allows deviation
“Buy- from the NED plan when there are overriding and compelling
downs”...are...normally reasons for doing so. The locally preferred plan may be more or
less costly than the NED plan. “Buy-downs,” i.e., the preference
granted deviations. for a plan less costly than the NED plan, are, according to Corps
guidance, normally granted deviations. “Buy-ups” or larger,
more costly plans are exempted from the NED preference if the
non-Federal partner bears all the costs in excess of the NED plan costs. A larger, more
costly plan must have outputs similar in kind and equal to or greater in magnitude than
the NED plan to be selected. In such a case, the NED plan is important because it
determines the basis for plan cost-sharing.

DEFAULT ACTIONS IN THE ABSENCE OF AN NED PLAN

Not every kind of planning the Corps does results in an NED plan.
Ecosystem restoration does not result in an NED plan. The selection criteria favor a
plan that is cost effective and that subjectively maximizes net benefits through an
incremental cost analysis. Such a plan is essentially NED in spirit, but it is not a
traditional NED plan.

Military planning is not NED-oriented. Corps planners are not always

involved in the military planning process from the beginning. In these cases, the
default action plan is usually the plan of action preferred by the installation commander
requesting the study. This may be a plan initially conceived in a master plan, or a plan
that has evolved from a planning process by installation personnel or their contractor.
Frequently, planners get involved primarily to assist this default plan through the
NEPA evaluation process. This default plan may be preferred to any other action plan
until the superiority of an alternative can be established.

In many other types of planning the default action plan, absent some form
of benefit-cost analysis, is the most cost-effective plan that reasonably meets the
planning objectives and constraints. This is not the same as saying the cheapest plan
is the default action. All viable plans must obtain a minimum level of achievement
when measured against the planning objectives and constraints. Of those plans that
warrant consideration for selection, the least costly is the default choice. Again, this
does not mean it is chosen. It simply means that it sets the standard for choice. If a
more costly plan is chosen, incurring the extra cost will presumably be justified on the
basis of other value trade-offs.

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 WHO SELECTS THE PLAN?
The principles of the partnership are the decision-makers who will make the
selection of a recommended plan. Their actual identity will vary from study to study.
The Corps’ decision-making process is hierarchical, as one would expect in a military
organization. The decision process can, however, be bottom up or top down.

In a bottom up process, the study team makes the first judgment about which
plan is best in consideration of all the analytical results and with substantial support of
the stakeholders. The team then embarks on a journey of presentation and persuasion
in which they advise their supervisors, the non-Federal partner, and the District and
Division Engineers of the study findings and recommendations. The process proceeds
through Corps Headquarters to the Secretary of the Army and the Office of
Management and Budget where formal, final approval is provided or denied by the
Federal partner. Alternatively, the decision may be top down, made by the senior
managers of the Federal and non-Federal partnership agencies. The locally preferred
plan, for example, may be selected by the non-Federal sponsor over the team’s
recommendation of the NED plan.

The decision-makers who select a plan from among the final set of
alternatives are not the planning team. The planning team does the planning, makes
its recommendation and sets its results before the decision-makers. The comparison
of plans in step five represents the team’s de facto recommendation. The decision-
makers review the team’s work and make a selection from among the final set of plans,
either confirming the team’s judgment or providing their own, which may lead to a
different recommendation.

If the planning team has had access to the key

decision-makers and has communicated with them
throughout the planning process, the evaluation and
...decision-makers may or
comparison of plans will reflect the decision-makers’
may not agree with the views. In other cases, the decision-makers priorities
study team’s findings. may not be explicitly known. Their positions tend to be
much more susceptible to political winds that can
change serendipitously. When this is the case, decision-
makers may or may not agree with the study team’s findings. The decision-makers may
select any plan from among the final array for implementation or they may offer their
own alternative.

If decision-makers concur with the judgments of the study team’s evaluation

and comparison, the reasons for the selection will be evident. If they disagree and
recommend another plan, they should provide their rationale for doing so. A rational
planning process should lead to rational results. From the vantage point of the
decision-makers, the study team may have been unaware of

197
certain external considerations, for example, changing political climates and changing
priorities. Decision-makers may differ in the significance they attach to the various
planning objectives. These rational reasons for deviating from the study team’s
findings should be documented in the description of the plan selection.

Planners, don’t take it

personally if your favorite plan is not ...don’t take it personally if
selected. Your job is to give good your favorite plan is not
advice. Decision-makers select the selected.
plans.

THE CHOICE SET

In the final iteration of the planning process, decision-makers are presented
with a final array of plans that have been compared. These are the plans that have
survived all previous iterations of the planning process. They have all been assessed
and appraised and found to be complete, effective, efficient, and acceptable. Any of
them is a viable candidate for implementation.

The final array may consist of different alternatives or it may now be down to
several versions of a single alternative. There is nothing wrong with a final array that
consists of more or less of a single alternative as long as this array emerged from
thorough and rigorous formulation, evaluation, and comparison processes that weeded
through a wide range of alternative measures.

SELECTION CRITERIA
The P&G’s selection criteria is very clear. If you’re going to do something,
choose the NED plan unless you’ve got a really good reason not to! To choose a plan
other than the NED plan, the decision-makers must offer a convincing rationale that the
NED gains sacrificed or the additional NED costs incurred by deviating from the NED
plan are more than offset by the other plan’s contributions to other planning objectives.

It is widely recognized that not all important project outputs are

commensurable in dollar terms. Beneficial effects of ecosystem restoration projects
need not, in fact cannot in most cases, be expressed as NED benefits. In the absence
of NED benefit estimates, cost-effectiveness, i.e., attaining the given outputs at the
lowest possible cost, remains an important NED-related criterion. In the case of some
environmental projects, cost-effectiveness extends all the way to an incremental cost
analysis. Although an analysis of NED costs and any important NED benefits is still
required, the NED plan is not identified in an

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ecosystem restoration study. The selection criteria for these planning activities are
based on contributions to planning objectives other than NED.

There is no way to escape the reality of the central importance of the NED
objective. It is mandated for the Corps’ water resources program. However, NED
effects are not the only effects and planners and decision-makers both must bear in
mind the leeway they do have to deviate from selecting the NED plan.

In other studies NED is not often a relevant concern. Absent an NED-driven

planning study, the changes in the selection process are minor. Presumably, it will
always make sense to maintain a no-action alternative, regardless of the planning effort.
Likewise, if action is to be taken, then cost effectiveness will always be an important
criterion. Ultimately, however, the selection criteria will be determined on a case-by-
case basis.

DOCUMENTING THE SELECTION

A repeating theme in the last few chapters is the importance of documenting
the decision process. Problems, opportunities, existing conditions and forecasts can
be described with facts and data. They are easier to document than a rather circuitous
decision process. Nonetheless, it is absolutely essential that the decision process be
carefully and adequately described. Explain what was done and why. Tell your story
as simply as possible and no more simply than that.

WHY PLANS FAIL

Many plans have been produced and never implemented. Plans sometimes fail
simply because the obstacles to implementation could not be overcome. There are four
main reasons why plans fail. These reasons generally are associated with poor
planning.

The first reason is not complicated: the plan is flawed and should not be
implemented. Not all plans are good plans. The planning objectives may have been
incorrect. Planners may have misunderstood the problems or needs of the community.
The plan may have been incomplete, not having anticipated that some things necessary
for implementation were not possible. It may have overlooked laws and be illegal to
implement.

There could be errors in the cost or benefit estimation. The plan could just be
a bad idea. Flawed plans emerge from a flawed planning process. This is an avoidable
error. The Corps’ six-step planning process provides a formal framework that, if
followed carefully, should avoid flawed plans.

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 The second reason plans fail is that during the time between plan selection
and implementation, circumstances change. Financial and economic circumstances
may be different. National priorities change, as can be seen in the history of water
resource development. Problems and opportunities change and so might the objectives
of locals.

Key supporters leave. Stakeholders change position, or special interests gain

power. Public attitudes can change. Events like a dam failure may give opponents a
rallying point. Alternative uses for resources may arise. Any of these
can be enough to turn support into opposition. The Corps’ iterative
Public process can be very responsive to changing circumstances and its
attitudes can reevaluation reports are specifically to consider such changes in
conditions.
change.
A third reason plans fail is that they are never funded. We
live in a world of increasingly scarce resources of all types and at all
levels of government. A perfectly good plan with strong support may not be
implemented because one of the partners is unable to provide their share of the
financing. This may be due not so much to changed priorities as to higher priorities.
There may be better plans to be funded, though this one is good. There may be other
human wants and needs that require attention and funding first. There is rarely enough
money to do everything. The project cost-sharing agreement and accompanying
financial analysis limit the potential of this kind of failure.

The fourth reason plans can fail is that the implementation is blocked. If
implementation requires the approval of the partners and that approval is not
forthcoming, the plan will fail. Plans that do not receive the support of the Secretary
of the Army or the Office of Management and Budget will not be implemented. Plans
that do not receive approval by local authorities will not be implemented.

A plan may be incompatible with the other commitments of one of the

partners. Water supply contracts may render plans infeasible. There may be a good
acid mine drainage plan that emerged from a study but the local district may fail to find
support for such an initiative within the agency or the Administration. There may be
lack of support due to other commitments. A change in the Corps’ priority outputs
may render a good plan dormant.

There may be a lack of support due to lack of interest. A local government

may have no interest in supporting a nonstructural flood damage reduction plan. There
may be disagreements among institutions as to their proper roles, i.e., who runs what.
There could be agreement but it might lack the power needed to mobilize the resources
needed for implementation. These approval points can be foreseen but they cannot be
controlled. They remain unavoidable risks. An open and informed planning process
can go further to avoid this kind of failure than any other step.

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 SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD
Lesson One. Planners and decision-makers are not the same people.
They may agree or disagree on which plan is best. Planners are advisors and
not necessarily decision-makers.

Lesson Two. Any plan in the final array of plans should be good
enough to implement. If it’s not, it should have been eliminated by the
screening process.

Lesson Three. Taking no action is the first default decision. If action

is desirable, then decision-makers are to select the NED plan unless they have
a good reason for doing otherwise. Local preferences may be a good reason
for doing otherwise.

Lesson Four. Different selection criteria will lead to different

decisions.

Now that we’ve reviewed the theory, history, and current status of the
planning process, we need a little reality check. The next chapter considers
some of the practical considerations that can arise and keep planners from
realizing the idealized planning process described so far.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING

There is a dearth of material on this step of the planning process. The
best references include those writings that deal with water resource planning.
These were cited at the end of Chapter Two. Don’t get your hopes up,
however; there is not much there.

An alternative to the water resource planning literature is the decision

literature. There is an abundance of literature on the subject of decisions, but
little of it is likely to be applicable to water resources planning in a practical
sense. That is, if you want to understand how and why decision-makers do
what they do, go to the management and decision theory literature. If you
really want to know how decisions are made, keep your eyes and ears open.

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202
CHAPTER TWELVE: PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
“Some horribly inconceivable thing happens!” Adaptation of
a popular bumper sticker.

INTRODUCTION
The planning process described in this manual may be
quite foreign to experienced planners. “It doesn’t happen like
...planning...can that,” they might say. And they would be right. This chapter
be...a formless looks at some of the practical considerations that can cause real
planning to deviate from the ideals of this manual.
process.

PLANNING CAN BE A MESSY PROCESS

The planning process described herein has been an ideal, an
intellectual presentation of a goal for planners to try to achieve, a model to
follow. What happens in practice is quite different because planning is
complex. It can be, despite the structure offered in this manual, a formless
process. Planning has been described as a series of iterations of the six-step
planning process. It’s not that simple.

Planning begins where it begins. Planners may start at ground zero with
little more than the name of a community with a problem. In other cases,
they may begin with the benefit of a previously completed reconnaissance or
a feasibility report. Still other studies begin when a non-Federal partner
presents a plan they would like help implementing, or when a military
installation requests help with the NEPA process.

The work proceeds quite a bit more randomly than this manual might
suggest. Problems described by people lacking knowledge of natural systems
may take quite awhile to understand. Just when you’re finishing up your
hydrology and hydraulics work, along comes another flood to change your
rating and frequency curves. Military installation commanders may know
what they want, but they’ve not gone through a planning process.

Plans can be changed by unexpected incidents. The most promising and

popular alternatives formulated may have to be dropped late in the study
because foundation surveys found unconsolidated fill at the project site. An
analyst may have mistakenly used the frequency curve from one reach with
the rating curve from another, making a plan that actually did nothing to
reduce flood damages look very good. Everyone has stories about “busts” in

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 the cost estimate. Horror stories about how crass political considerations
aborted some really creative planning abound. Countless plans have been
hindered because she thought he knew what she meant when she asked for
the work she needed him to do.

These little slices of reality are not unique to planning. These are the
messy facts of life for anyone dealing regularly with wicked problems. You
just have to deal with them the best you can. It is the most messy processes
that need structure. It is precisely because planning is so messy that the
iterative six-step planning process is so valuable.

CHANGE IS THE ONLY

Problems with the Problems CONSTANT

Some years ago a Corps study had Fifteen years or so ago, recreation
advanced substantially along in the planning specialists were at the top of the Corps’
process. Plans had been formulated to develop most wanted employees list. Today,
flood damage reduction alternatives from a recreation is not a priority output. One
main stream and one of its tributaries in an day you’re making progress on a study
urban area. The main stream had a long, well- and the next day national debate seems to
documented history of flooding. The tributary suggest changes that will substantially
was a small stream. The county engineer change the mission. What is a planner to
reported a coincident flood of surprising do?
magnitude on this stream during the main
stream’s flood of record. As the study team Planners deal with the wants and
believed it was nearing the end of plan needs of people. Corps planners are public
formulation they learned that the tributary servants who are vulnerable to changing
flooding was actually backwater from the main priorities and politics, both national and
stream. Formulation would have to start all local, like many other professional
over to do the job right. planners. Recognizing these simple facts,
a good planner learns to expect change. It
Sometimes the problems are hard to comes with the job. As a matter of fact,
understand. expecting change in the working
environment is good practical experience
for planners who are asked to anticipate
and forecast changes in their planning
areas. Chapter Three provided general details on some of the changes that
have occurred in our Nation’s two centuries of involvement with water
resources development. Missions come and go, but the need for planning
remains.

Anticipate changes by staying current in your field, as a planner, and as a

Corps employee. Learn as much about changes that affect you and their
implications as quickly as possible. Adapt to change when it comes. Look on

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 it as an opportunity to do new things or to do things differently. Follow these
simple suggestions and change becomes an opportunity rather than a threat.

PLANNING BIASES
We are all the result of our own experiences. Each of us is biased to
some extent by our culture, how we grew, where we worked, and what’s
happened to
us. Experience is a cruel master. Inevitably, we
find some things we always do and others we
never do. We all have our biases, i.e., mental Experience is a
leanings or inclinations that leave us with definite cruel master.
ideas about a
matter that is
It’s Hard to do a SOW no longer open for consideration. Planners
are no different. If they’ve had a bad
A point that doesn’t really fit neatly experience with something in the past,
anywhere in this chapter but that was too they’re inclined to avoid it in the future.
important to ignore is that it is hard to They, like others, tend to repeat things
prepare a scope of work (SOW). The that have succeeded in the past.
purpose of a scope of work is to identify the
work that will and will not be done during The Corps itself has a unique
the course of a planning study. institutional culture. As a military
organization there is great value placed
It requires the planning team to not upon tradition, honor, control and
only decide what will be done, but how predictability. There is also a tendency for
much and in what manner. For example, certain biases to arise. Biases are not
will a study require new stage-damage data necessarily a bad thing. We all become
or will existing data be updated? If new biased against danger as we grow up, its
data are to be collected what area will be an effective way to survive. We’re not
concerned here with the biases that help
covered? Will there be a census or a
planning succeed. Rather, we’re
sample? How will the data be collected
interested in considering some of the
and at what cost?
biases that may limit the extent of our
planning.
These decisions are a bit like
educated, if not scientific, fortune telling. During a series of interviews
Mistakes will be made. Unexpected conducted as part of the preparation of
problems will arise. The SOW gives this manual, Corps planners identified a
structure to the beginning of the study. number of biases that can limit the success
Inasmuch as it is part of the scoping of a planning study. These biases toward
process it, like everything else in a planning doing some things and avoiding others
study, is subject to revision throughout the tend to arise as a direct result of the
iterations of the planning process. Corps’ culture, i.e., its way of doing

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things. The Water Resources Development Act of 1986, two-stage planning,
the P&G’s emphasis on NED, and priority outputs designated by the budget
have contributed to the development of some biases that have shaped the
current state of planning within the Corps. This culture needs to be
understood if there is any hope of introducing good planning practices into
the pragmatic world in which planners must work. The paragraphs that
follow address the two-stage planning process, time and money constraints,
limits on authority, cost sharing, biases in plan formulation, and the non-
Federal partner as ever-present elements in the Corps’ institutional culture.

TWO-STAGE PLANNING PROCESS

The Corps’ planning process has evolved over time. For the last
several decades it has been characterized by a multi-stage planning process.
At the time of this writing, a two-stage planning process is in use. The first
stage is the reconnaissance study. The reconnaissance study is used to make a
preliminary determination if there is likely to be a plan the Corps of
Engineers can eventually implement. If the reconnaissance stage ends with one
or more promising plans for implementation as well as strong non-Federal support
for that plan, planning proceeds to the feasibility stage. The objective of the
feasibility study is to investigate and recommend solutions to water resources
problems.

Some planners believe the two-stage process presents several

significant constraints to the six-step planning process. First, there is the
Corps’ insatiable appetite for details. Requirements for Corps studies, as
expressed in the various sources of official guidance and in the traditions of
the agency, are extremely detailed and technical. Planners sometimes feel
reviewers are the source of this insatiable appetite. Reviewers sometimes feel
plans are lacking in details that are essential for the support of study
recommendations.

The dynamic tension between the planners and the reviewers can
actually be a positive force. As long as the two groups share a common
interest in the ultimate success of the partnership and the planning process,
and as long as they communicate regularly and effectively, there is a better
chance that a proper balance in information gathering will be struck.

Some feel a second and more important constraint arises from the
very nature of the two-stage planning process. Some planners have
suggested the reconnaissance stage may not provide enough time for a
thorough and sufficiently detailed application of the six-step planning
process. This is undeniably a legitimate concern. However, the six-step
planning process can be completed in a day, a month, a year, or a decade. It is

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perfectly adaptable to any time frame. The primary differences are the amount
of detail devoted to the steps and the number of iterations.

The current two-stage planning process has served the Corps well in
the past and has been adapted to the new planning partnership. The number
of stages used to develop a plan is a matter of convenience to the parties
doing the planning. The Corps’ non-water resources planning is already
done outside the two-stage planning process. The number of stages need not
have any impact on the quality of the planning done. Whether the six-step
planning process is completed in eight months as the first-stage of a multi-
stage process, or in a single eight-month stage makes no difference. It should
yield the best possible eight-month plan. As we have often repeated, the
planning process can be completed in a day, a week, etc. But, if it is
completed in a day, it is the one-day answer, and that is not likely to be as
good as an answer that is developed with more time and resources.

TIME CONSTRAINTS

Time is a universal constraint. Planning is not exempt from it. A

universal truth is, time is money. The more time something takes, the more
it costs. Thus, we have a dichotomous role for time in the planning process.
On the one hand there is not enough of it, thus constraining our ability to plan
well. On the other hand, we don’t want it to take any longer than it must
because it increases costs. The partnership needs more of it while they want
to use as little of it as possible.

Not having enough time limits the things we can do. With limited time,
there could be a bias toward smaller, more easily solved problems. Complex
problems take time to understand and more time to solve. Watershed and
non-structural approaches to problems take time. Lack of time can cramp
creativity. Traditional solutions to problems save time. When time is short,
a structured approach is more valuable.

Talking to people takes time. Planners are unable to confer with other
professionals about problems when they are pressed for time. Public
involvement takes time. Planning takes time. There is no getting around it.

With a sound understanding of the purpose of and a systematic

approach to planning, we can make the best use of the time available to us for
problem solving. The planning process can be
intensified for shorter time frames and expanded
for longer ones. Fewer iterations may be possible ...the back-of-
during short studies. Once again, professional the-envelope may
judgment and the back-of-the-envelope may be be appropriate.
appropriate. We may have to work with less

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 information than we would like to have when we are short on time. It bears
repeating that the six-step process can be applied in an hour, a day, a month,
or a year.

In such an imperfect world, it is to your advantage to have an

organized approach to problem solving. You will never be free of time
constraints. If someone didn’t say “time is up,” planning would never end.
The future never arrives and planning is never finished. The six-step planning
process can help minimize the strictures imposed by time.

BUDGET CONSTRAINTS

Knowledge and understanding in planning costs

money. Rarely is there enough money to do everything the
planning team would like to do to arrive at a decision. When
Rarely is there
you can’t do everything, you have to make choices.
enough money...
Frequently there can be biases in the funding decisions made
by the study team. Previous studies and organizational power
structures are two of the most common determinants of study
budget allocations. Once study funds have been allocated and the work
accomplished, the results of a planning study can be biased by the data that
are available as well as the data that are not available.

Inadequate funding may bias planning studies toward narrow visions and
small problems that can be solved with traditional solutions. Creativity may be
endangered by budget constraints. It is precisely in settings like these that a
systematic approach to problem solving can foster some creativity. The
simple structure of the six steps suggests that creativity is not needed in data
collection, evaluation, comparison, or selection as much as it is in establishing
objectives and formulating plans. When budgets are tight, these are not the
places to cut corners. Do a thorough job on objectives and formulation and
compensate with more screening and professional judgment in the other
steps.

There may be occasions when the feasibility cost-sharing arrangement

will present a substantial burden to the non-Federal partner. In such cases,
the pressure to hold down costs could result in some of the same kinds of
biases. Once again, however, the orderly and predictable nature of the planning
process allows the team to anticipate potential problems in the process and to think
ahead to avoid or overcome them.

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 LIMITED AUTHORITY

The P&G provides wide latitude in the types of plans that can be
developed, but good plans may be overlooked because the Corps lacks
authority to implement them. There is indeed a discrepancy between what
Congress and the P&G tell Corps planners they should do and what the
agency and Administration tell them they can do. Comprehensive plans
addressing community needs may be overlooked in favor of a smaller, more
traditional solution because it’s often easier to do what you can than it is to
do what you should. Nonetheless, good planning remains the best approach
to this dilemma.
Plans should be comprehensive and thorough, regardless of current
authorities. Perhaps another agency can implement what the Corps can’t. If
the problems and opportunities are sufficiently compelling, it is more likely
that a way will be found to implement the plan.

Existing authorities can bias plans

Pushing the Envelope toward what can be easily done rather than
what needs to be done. The authorities
There are some recent examples of may become the planner’s hammer and
planning studies that were not restricted by the planner goes looking for the
a lack of authority. One district was able to proverbial nail to hit. What is required
find support for an investigation of acid mine are planners who can determine what is
drainage problems identified in a general needed rather than what is possible and
investigations study. A second incorporated who can then find ways to get the job
done. By following the six steps,
overland transportation needs into its study
proceeding carefully and with full
by drawing the appropriate transportation
communication among all stakeholders,
agency into the planning process. Both these
it is sometimes possible to find support
activities were beyond the Corps’ authority.
among stakeholders or at higher levels
The acid mine drainage was a severe problem
in the Corps for innovative plans.
in the one community and the transportation
Although authority appropriately
improvements were a unique opportunity in biases plans, the planner needs to be
the other. These are two good examples of willing to fight those biases when the
comprehensive water resources planning. need is great. When the need is great and
Sometimes you can leverage the authority support is built carefully, there is almost
you have to get new authorities through always a way to get things done. On the
specific authorization. other hand, existing authorities are an
important criterion for screening plans.

COST-SHARING

Cost-sharing is frequently cited as a source of bias in the planning

process. Finding factual examples of this bias is harder to pin down. The
presumed bias is that local sponsors prefer plans that minimize their own costs over

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better plans with higher non-Federal shares of costs. For example, open ocean
disposal of dredged material may be preferred to upland disposal because the
former is less costly to the local sponsor. Some have suggested that buy-
downs from the NED plan are motivated more by cost-sharing concerns than
contributions to other planning objectives. Others fear that if the non-Federal
partner caps project costs, it might prevent identification of the true NED
plan.

If this bias arises after a comprehensive set of alternative plans have been
formulated, evaluated, and compared, it presents no real problem for the planner.
Costs are a consideration of any plan. Lower costs might reflect the sponsor’s
top priority, and biases are not always bad. If a bias toward lower costs means
the formulation process is constrained and all potential solutions are not considered,
there could be a problem. Hence, a bias based on cost-sharing becomes a
problem only if it restricts the formulation process. The solution would seem
rather obvious: formulate plans without regard to costs and use cost
appropriately as a selection criterion in the screening process.

BIAS IN PLAN FORMULATION

The planning process may also be limited by biases planners interject

into the planning process. They may have a bias toward past plans; a bias
against non-structural plans; a bias against innovation, especially when clear
authority to implement is lacking; a bias toward a preselected solution; a bias
toward large rather than small projects; or, a bias toward NED-oriented
solutions. Any of these, or other biases, can adversely influence the planning
process.

There are other, more subtle biases. Now that the non-Federal partner
is helping to finance the study, he may have some working assumptions or
data he wants used in the study. This presents a problem only when the data
or assumptions would not otherwise be used. The most common and
significant biases are found in the identification of a most likely without-
project condition. Objectivity and integrity are virtues to be prized above all
others by planners. Protecting them may require additional coordination,
sensitivity analysis or other professional accommodation, but there is no
room for bias toward inaccuracy in the planning process no matter what its
source.

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 Some planners perceive a bias
Price Makes a Difference toward environmental measures. They
sense a notion among some stakeholders
Before the cost-sharing changes of that anything environmental is good and
WRDA’86, the local sponsors of a deep draft worthwhile. If environmental measures
navigation study made it clear that there was are not subjected to the same analysis,
no point in even considering a channel less these measures could run up project costs
than 1,000 feet in width. Anything less than and lessen the overall attractiveness of the
this was unsafe and unacceptable to the plan. This is of particular concern in
pilots, the Coast Guard and the port instances where resource agencies or other
authority. environmental interests hold an effective
veto power over the planning process.
Following WRDA’86, when the non-
Federal share of costs rose substantially, the The flipside of this coin is, of
non-Federal partner did some soul-searching course, the enduring bias against
and with artful coordination among the incorporating environmental measures in
various interests it was determined that a a plan. All too often, plan formulation is
narrower channel would do very well. In completed before environmental
fact, there would be a negligible difference in mitigation is even considered. It becomes
navigation safety between the 1,000-foot and an “add-on” to the plan. Environmental
the 800-foot wide channels according to the mitigation measures should be part and
pilots, the Coast Guard and the port parcel of the planning process just like
authority. Surprisingly, cheaper actually relocations of affected homes and
turned out to be better. businesses. The cure for both these ills is
simple: interdisciplinary teams. If all
disciplines are included on a study team
from the beginning and they function in a
truly interdisciplinary fashion, bias toward or against aspects of a plan, or any
other aspect of a plan, can be avoided.

There may be more subtle biases as well. During preparation of this

manual, several experienced Corps planners said the Corps is not listening to
its partners or its customers. It still wants to approach problems as technical
problems rather than as social problems. The full range of plans is never
investigated because technical concerns predominate the thought process.
Problems are treated as strictly technical issues rather than as the complex
technical and social issues they are. Some planners perceive a general bias
against planning because many people do not understand or value planning.
Some, in and out of the Corps, consider planning a money-consuming waste
of time, especially those who believe they already know the problem and the
solution as well.

Taking the time to educate people about the planning process and its
benefits may not make these problems go away, but it surely won’t hurt.

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 NON-FEDERAL PARTNER

In the Corps’ Civil Works water resource planning, there is no

partnership and no planning without the non-Federal partner. This makes
the significance of the non-Federal partner’s potential veto of any planning
activity very clear. Some of the feasibility study money is the partner’s, too.
If they have no interest in a potential solution, there is a strong temptation to
give it no consideration. This may or may not present a problem. The
screening process is supposed to eliminate plans that are not good enough to
implement. Thus, the simple act of eliminating a plan is not necessarily a
problem. The problem arises when potential solutions are rejected out of
hand. If a plan has not been developed to the point that it can be rationally
eliminated, this could be a problem.

Too often, the planning process begins with a misunderstanding of

what an acceptable plan is. To many planners, a plan that the non-Federal
partner does not like is an unacceptable plan. That is not the case. The
“likability” of a plan is a far more subjective characteristic than one might suspect,
as the last sidebar indicated. Partners tend to like reasonable plans more or less
rather than yes or no. As circumstances change, the desirability of plans can
change and planners must guard against eliminating plans from
consideration without good cause.

To avoid this problem, planners need to sell the non-

...planners need to Federal partner on the value of planning. It is one thing to
convey the necessity of planning, “We’re required to do this.”
sell...the value of
It is quite another thing to convince someone that what the
planning. planning process does for them is to protect their investment
and assure them that, from all the possible solutions to their
problems, the very best one is selected. It is especially
difficult when this planning is going to cost them more. But if you do that,
good planning will come a lot more easily.

AVOIDING BIAS

Biases in the planning process are inevitable. Some are more serious
than others. The choices for dealing with biases are living with them or
eliminating them. Some of the above biases are simpler to eliminate than others.
The starting point in each case, however, is for planners to understand the planning
process.

Planners need to see the “big picture;” to know what planning is, how
it is done by the Corps, and what its advantages are. If planners don’t know
how to plan, other biases aren’t going to matter a great deal. Knowing how to

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 plan is the most straightforward way to deal with the biases mentioned in this
chapter.

To assure elimination of biases, the big picture

of planning then has to be sold to the non-Federal
partner and key stakeholders as well. Planners need
...information is the
to do a better job of informing those for whom they
best way of dispelling
are planning, of the value of planning. As always,
the biases... information is the best way of dispelling the biases
that are so often at the root of many of the more
common planning constraints.

SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD

Lesson One. Planning is a messy process beset with numerous biases.

Lesson Two. Good planning minimizes the mess and eliminates the
biases.

There is a real need for people doing planning work to take their role
as planners seriously. This means they have to know and use the planning
process. The next chapter turns to some of the important people issues in the
planning process: public involvement and teamwork.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING

This chapter deals with some of the unique and practical concerns of
doing planning. They are not found in the literature. Practical experience is
the sole source of wisdom on these topics. To find out more about these and
other practical issues, talk to other planners. Networking with other planners
both in and out of your district can be an invaluable source of the kinds of
useful information you’ll never find in the literature.

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214
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT AND
TEAMWORK
“Perhaps if there has been one failing within our organization
over the years, it is that we haven’t tried to dispel the notion
that our success comes out of a computer. It doesn’t. It
comes out of the sweat glands of our coaches and players.”
Tom Landry, former Head Coach, Dallas Cowboys.

Who Is the Public? INTRODUCTION

The public includes any individual The P&G (Section IV) requires public
interested in your study. In the broadest involvement. As a result, the Corps is required
sense, the public is anyone not on your to coordinate with State agencies and the
study team. There are special types of Governor or his designated agency, interested
publics like partners, stakeholders, and cost- and affected agencies, groups, and individuals.
sharing partners. In this broadest sense, Plans that affect the land or resources of another
there are Corps publics such as the rest of country must be coordinated with the affected
the district, field offices, division, and country. In addition, the review of any plans
headquarters. must be consistent with all applicable Federal
statutes, such as the CEQ NEPA regulations. For
Interested individuals often band purposes of this manual. the public is any person,
together in groups of like-minded people. group or agency that is not the Corps of Engineers.
Hence, groups can often be significant Even if such extensive coordination with the
portions of your public. Some potential public were not required, it makes sense.
groups and individuals that can be part of
the public include Audubon Society, In addition to public involvement, the
Chamber of Commerce, County same section of the P&G recommends the use of
Commissioners, Environmental Interest an interdisciplinary approach to planning. The
Groups, Federal Emergency Management agency is encouraged to have all appropriate
Agency, Flood Control District, Governor, disciplines present and to supplement their
Homeowners’ Association, Mayor, Pilots expertise as necessary with outside sources.
Association, Port Authority, School District, These, public involvement and teamwork, are
Sierra Club, State Fish & Game Department, the primary people issues of the planning
State Transportation Department, U.S. Coast process. For that reason, they are both
Guard, U.S. Environmental Protection addressed in this chapter.
Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and
so on.

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 PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT 19

Public involvement is a process by which interested and affected

individuals, organizations, agencies, and government entities are consulted
and included in the decision-making process of a planning effort. Public
information is not public involvement. Public information is intended to inform
the public. Public involvement is intended to both inform the public and to
be informed by them by actively soliciting public response regarding their
problems, needs, values, ideas about solutions, and reactions to proposed
solutions to problems. Public involvement is a two-way communication
process.

Public Involvement and the Local Sponsor

Why do we need a public involvement program when we have a local sponsor

who knows what he wants? The answer is simple, good planning requires it.
Identifying problems, specifying objectives and constraints, gathering information,
formulating plans, evaluating, comparing, and selecting plans -- all require the
involvement of the public to be done well. If the local sponsor’s desires meet the
needs of the public this will become evident. If they do not, it’s best to find that out as
soon as possible.

What role should the local sponsor assume in the public involvement
program? Each planning partnership is different. The local partner’s desire to be
involved in the process will largely determine the role they are given. Each
partnership will bring different strengths to the planning process. If you are fortunate
enough to have a partner with the capability and willingness to develop and execute
a good public involvement program, it would be foolish not to use them.

A public involvement program has to provide people from diverse

backgrounds and interests multiple opportunities to ask questions and offer
suggestions. The public involvement program has to be responsive to public
concerns, though this need not mean acting favorably on everything the
public says.

GOALS OF PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT

There are three primary goals of public involvement:

19
The bulk of the material in this section has been adapted from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s
Public Involvement Manual, January 1980.

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 Credibility. An open and visible decision-making process accessible
to all on an equal basis makes the planning process credible to groups with
diverging points of view.

Identifying Public Concerns and Values. Because various groups have

different points of view and values, they will evaluate any proposed action
from different perspectives. Public involvement allows the planning team to
understand the problems, issues, and possible solutions from the perspectives
of the various interests.

Developing a Consensus. An implication of the many divergent

points of view is that there is no one philosophy that can guide the planning
team’s decisions. Consensus must be formed on an issue by issue basis.
Public involvement provides a process for evolving such consensus.
Consensus, then, allows the team to move forward and solve the problem.

ATTITUDES TOWARD PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT

Why do public involvement? It meets planning requirements and

builds consensus. It’s needed to make a plan happen. A philosophical
commitment to the role of public involvement coupled with practical
experience suggest some general observations about how public involvement
should be approached.

Program Design Shows Public’s Value

No amount of rhetoric or
backpedaling will cover up a poorly
designed public involvement
Closing the Loop with the Public
program. Actions speaks louder than
words when it comes to public
Public involvement is a
involvement. If the public is not
two-way communication process.
involved from early in the planning
One of the most important
process, if participation never
aspects of such a process is
results in any tangible change, if the
closing the loop. It is important
alternatives considered are only the
to tell the public how the
ones the partners want, the public
information they provided was
will get the message “we’re going
considered and used. Be sure to
through the motions of public
do a lot of “Here’s what you told
involvement; don’t expect anything
us...and here’s how we used it,”
to come of it.” Good public
communicating at meetings, in
involvement is much more than
press releases, reports and at
“letter-of-the-law” involvement.
every opportunity.

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Maintain Visible Program

A process that can’t be seen can lead to suspicion. Seeing is believing.

The best way to establish the credibility of your study is to create complete
visibility of everything you do. If you know there will be six months of data
collection and analysis before the next meeting, set up a home page on the
World Wide Web. Let people visit your site and get weekly updates. Send
out a newsletter. Send progress reports to the local media. Form an observer
committee and have them represented at meetings. Stay visible to the public.

Don’t Sell

Planners often find they feel defensive when dealing with the public.
They are defending the agency, defending a decision, defending an
alternative, and so on. Defensiveness is a major barrier to good
communication.

The defensiveness problem often arises

when the agency is in a selling posture, i.e., they
have a proposed course of action they are trying to ...inform and be
get people to accept. When public involvement is informed.
used to push a point of view, it cannot succeed. Use
your public involvement to inform and be informed.

Recognize Limits of Expertise

Professional expertise may qualify the study team to estimate plan

impacts or to design project features. However, decision-making comes
down to values and what people believe is good and bad for them. When it
comes to values, experts are just like everybody else. The planning team is not
more expert than anyone else when it comes to value judgments. When experts
push their value judgments too hard, they can expect the public to challenge
them vigorously and frequently.

Expertise Should Create Not Close Options

Professional expertise is best used to help the public figure out what
they can do to help themselves; not to tell the public what they cannot do.
Because the Corps’ planning process is often technical and complex it is not
difficult for the planning team to slip into a mode in which they are
constantly telling the public what they cannot do. The result is too often
frustration and resentment on the part of the public.

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 Speak the Public’s Language

All professionals have their own language, which

is well understood by members of the same group. It is
...language can make
efficient to talk about BCRs, NEPA, and FONSI’s because
the study team seem the terms are understood and make for a very convenient
like a cult... short-hand from of communication. The problem is such
language can make the study team seem like a cult
practicing arcane rituals in a strange language. Try to
remember your first week on the job. The responsibility of communication
is clearly the agency’s. It is the team’s job to translate their jargon and acronyms
into plain language so the public can understand. It is not the public’s obligation
to learn your language. Do not use the jargon when talking to the public.

Feelings Are a Source of Valuable Information

Sometimes public involvement is biased toward solicitation of factual,

rational, logical information. Although this information can be very valuable,
it is not wise to set up conditions under which the public can begin
communications. When people are telling you their feelings, biases, and concerns
without factual support, they are doing what they can. They are telling you how
things ought to be. From this information, the team can glean insights into
the values and philosophies that should guide agency decisions.

Identify Limits of Your Authority

The public may have unrealistic expectations of what you are able to
do in any given situation. They may be unaware of the agency’s authorities.
They may also be unaware of the fact that the study team is not usually the
decision-maker. Your process is not going to be well understood by the
public. You can’t eliminate the problems of unrealistic expectations but you
can limit them by making your authority as clear as possible as often as
possible from the very beginning.

Be Creative

Public involvement is still a new and exciting

field. Be creative. Experiment. Don’t be afraid to
break away from the traditional public meeting format. Be creative.
Use the Internet. Use radio, television, newspapers.
Get a booth at the local fair. Set up a display in the
mall. Use flip charts and 3 x 5 index cards to collect information at meetings
with the public. Run focus groups. Interview key individuals. Roam the

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 neighborhood and do a little door-to-door. Sponsor an outing for the public.
Set up a hotline. Meet, talk, and listen anyway you can.

Designing a Public Involvement Program

We offer four general observations about public involvement

programs. First, different publics will be involved at different stages of the
decision-making process. The definition of your publics will grow and contract
throughout the study’s progress. During technical stages of the study, you

Stakeholders

Stakeholders is a word used in water resources planning that has come to

mean a person or group of persons who can stop you or whose support is necessary
for success. A stakeholder is someone with something to lose or gain from a
recommended course of action. The stakeholders are crucial to the specification of
problems and opportunities. Identifying the stakeholders is the first important step in
involving them in this process.

The Federal and non-Federal partners are two obvious stakeholders in a

study. Government agencies at all levels of government are frequent stakeholders.
Organizations and individuals that have an interest in the project should be included
as should public interest groups with a particular point of view that bears on the
project. These groups might include civic, social, environmental, economic,
recreational, public health, political, educational and other interests. All other
individuals and organizations who have an apparent interest in the project should
also be invited to participate.

Stakeholders are identified in a number of ways. They may identify

themselves by coming forward to express their interest or concerns. Third-parties can
identify groups or individuals who may be stakeholders. A review of District mailing
lists, associations in the area, user groups, newspaper articles, and so on may suggest
individuals or groups the planning team should consult with throughout the planning
process.

can expect more professional groups and agencies. When problems are
identified or potential solutions reviewed, there will be a much broader
public.

Second, there are appropriate levels of involvement at each step in the

decision-making process. It is possible to do too much too soon. Don’t burn out

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public interest by stirring up a level of interest that cannot be sustained. Save
the more intense public involvement for the appropriate spot.

Third, the participation of the public will usually increase as the decision-
making process progresses. Although participation waxes and wanes
throughout the study, the overall pattern is that more people get involved as
the study approaches a decision. The closer you are to a decision, the more
information there is for people to react to. This inevitably means you are
going to have to spend a lot of time explaining what has already happened.
It is great practice for telling your story, part of which is the public
involvement program. (See the next chapter.)

Fourth, public involvement programs must be integrated with the decision-

making process. Each component of a public involvement program should be
designed with an eye to what information exchange is needed at each
decision-making stage in the study. Public involvement activities should not
be a series of ad hoc events. They should serve a purpose that fits the
decision-making process. That is what the public involvement program is all
about, involving the public in the decision-making process.

SOME PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT TECHNIQUES

There is no one right way to involve the public in decision making

that will work in all cases. However, there are three points when public input
can be especially helpful. Early in the study, ask the public what they think the
problems and opportunities are. Do they agree with those in your study
authorization? Are there others? Ask people how they would recognize a
successful resolution of the problem? Responses to such early public
involvement provide the bases for planning objectives and constraints.

Later, you can ask the public to help you identify alternative measures and
plans based on the study’s planning objectives and constraints. What solutions do
they think will work? What solutions would they not like to see
implemented? This information will provide ideas for your formulation
activities.

Near the study’s conclusion, ask the public to help you evaluate and compare
alternative plans. What do they think will happen if different plans are
implemented? What do they like and dislike about the plans’ effects you’ve
identified? Public views can aid in the evaluation and comparison of plans.

Following are brief descriptions of techniques that can be used to

gather these and other kinds of information from the public.

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 Meetings Advisory Committees

There are all kinds of The Federal Advisory

meetings you can use for public Committee Act, or FACA, puts
involvement. A mix of these or many limitations on any advisory
other techniques would probably committee that may be formed to
be best. Meetings can be very assist you in planning. Advisory
formal public hearings or large committees have special approval,
group meetings that could include membership, notification and
briefings, question and answer reporting requirements that must
sessions, town meetings, or panel be met. If you are considering
formats. Small group meetings, using an advisory committee,
discussion groups, or focus consult with your local Office of
groups may provide viable Counsel for more information and
alternatives in some cases. guidance.

Workshops are for small

groups and they have a specific task or goal to accomplish. For example, a
plan formulation workshop could involve the public in brainstorming ideas
for potential solutions. Charrettes are intensive workshops usually geared
to resolving differences among interest groups.

Coffee klatches or kitchen meetings can be held in private homes.

These are very small (up to 20 people) and quite informal. This is more a
person-to-person discussion than an official function.
Walk-in information sessions are a kind of open house.
Questionnaires These rely on the use of exhibits, displays, models, and
personnel to provide and take information.
Any set of questions that the
Corps of Engineers asks of ten or more Meetings should have a specific purpose: information
respondents outside the Federal giving, information receiving, interaction, consensus forming
government must originate from or negotiation, or summarizing. Know your audience. That
questionnaires approved by the Office means anticipating the size, intensity of feeling about an
of Management and Budget (OMB). issue and the credibility of the agency. Seating
OMB has already approved a large arrangements and the time and place of the meeting can
number of questionnaires for use in be strategic considerations. Pre-meeting publicity is also
planning studies, and the approved an important consideration.
questions are periodically distributed
throughout the Corps. The latest
distribution was “Questionnaires for Non-Meeting Techniques
U.S. Army Engineer Planning Studies”
(October 1995). For more information There are any number of other techniques that
about approved questionnaires, contact can be used to provide opportunities for the public to
the Corps Headquarters Civil Works become involved in your study. Interviewing key
people is an effective way to gather information quickly.

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Opening a field office can overcome the barriers set up by operating a study
from a district office hundreds of miles away. Establishing a study hotline
can help people get the information they need as efficiently as possible. Toll
free numbers and e-mail addresses can give people a way to get their
questions answered or their information submitted when the need or desire
arises.

Displays and exhibits at malls, state fairs, or anywhere a large group

is likely to gather can be an effective way to reach many people. They can
also be used over and over. Newspaper inserts with response forms can be
used to solicit opinions at a modest cost.

Reports, brochures, newsletters, and information bulletins can be

prepared and distributed at appropriate points through the study process.
For example, it might be advantageous to distribute such a report after
problems have been defined, when preliminary alternatives have been
identified, or when the effects of alternatives have been identified.

Participatory television or radio programs can reach a large number

of people. Booths at fairs or other large public gatherings can be used to
reach people who may not show up at public meetings. Conducting a contest
or event to stimulate public interest in an issue or study area can be very
effective. Fishing contests, canoe trips, photo contests, and so on may
stimulate public interest in a study. Mediation, Delphi techniques,
simulations, and games are other ways to involve different publics. In some
cases, it may be beneficial to form an observer or advisory group.

The computer offers a tool that has hardly been tapped to involve the
public. Establishing a home page on the World Wide Web provides the
public with an instant source of information around the clock. People can
vote on issues via the web site, they can register for electronic mailing lists,
they can download data or the text of reports and newsletters. Mailing list
entries can then be listed so that a news group could selectively read the
discussions that have involved study issues.

One of the greatest advantages of the computer’s Internet capabilities

is that it allows people to participate at their convenience. It may also be
possible to broadcast public meetings via the Internet if radio or television
stations with this capability cover the event. Thus, long-distance
participation is possible.

In short, there is no limit to the opportunities that can be afforded to

the public to become involved in your study. Although time and money must
be allocated up front for the public involvement program, it need not be an
expensive burden. It can be an exciting opportunity to do good planning and
make a difference.

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 TEAMWORK
WHY A TEAM?

There are two primary reasons planning should be done by a team.

The first and simplest reason is that two heads are better than one. The
second and more enduring reason is that late twentieth century America is
extremely complex and only a team structure can
respond to the needs of customers and
organizations in this complex environment.
...two heads are
better than one.
Two Heads Are Better than One

No one person, no one discipline, no one group has all the answers.
No one person, discipline, or group must be involved in every aspect of the
planning effort all the time. Roles change and evolve with the ebb and flow
of planning. Sometimes the questions require scientific inquiry and
professional judgments. How many core borings should be made? What is
a reasonable number for a roughness coefficient? Is the site likely to yield
new information about previous cultures? Other times, questions will
address matters of public value judgments. What level of residual flood
damage is acceptable? How much mitigation is desirable? Who should
review the report?

As a result of the proliferation of goals and objectives that must be

addressed by water resources planning studies, it is impossible for any single
discipline to adequately address the more complex issues that arise in a world
that is multiobjective in its outlook. Many disciplines are needed for planning.
No one has the background, experience, and knowledge necessary to plan
alone.

From the largest river basin studies to the smallest planning activities,
a multiplicity of people and expertise is needed. A large planning effort may
consist of one or more disciplines. A military planning effort may consist of
a contractor, a military installation point-of-contact, and a Corps planner.
Large or small, they are teams and no one plans alone.

In addition to a diversity of disciplines the planning team should include a

diversity of interests. Some districts feel it is their job to do all of the planning.
That is what the non-Federal partner is paying for, they contend. Other
districts insist that the non-Federal partner actively participate in the process;
it’s their community, and their money too. Clearly, there can be no best
balance of partner roles that works for all studies in all districts. However, it

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is essential that the non-Federal partner be afforded as much a role on the
planning team as it is willing to assume.

An often overlooked point is that the team should be interdisciplinary, not

just multidisciplinary. The disciplines are to be integrated. It is not sufficient
to assemble a group of diverse experts. They must communicate their various
viewpoints and work together to fashion plans that truly reflect a diversity
of viewpoints on the problems and opportunities that confront the planning
area.
We are all trained in our specific disciplines. These disciplines have,
over time, developed their own specific and occasionally peculiar way of
looking at the world. At times we have been trained to screen out those
aspects of the world that conflict with our disciplines’ way of looking at
things. If we are to have an effective plan formulation process, we must have an
interdisciplinary team involved in the planning process from the very beginning of
step one.

Some major characteristics of interdisciplinary planning include:

C Group meetings with all disciplines and interests represented.

C Participation by environmental specialists in development of

alternatives.

Teams Take Time

Teams need to learn how to run meetings effectively.

Teams need to learn to function as a team.

These things take time. Once these skills are mastered, teams can
respond very quickly.

C High degree of communication and informal coordination

among all team members, especially engineers, economists, and
environmental specialists.

If two heads are going to be better than one, both must speak and both must
listen. Answers to questions need to be forged from the best that each has to
offer. Teams do a better job than individuals. That alone is sufficient reason
for using planning teams.

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 Today’s Complexities Require Team Solutions

Individuals do not know enough to develop good solutions to wicked

problems on their own. Teams are needed. Large bureaucratic organizations
are too rigid, too slow, and too costly to respond effectively in today’s
environment. Teams are needed. Teams are a sensible and efficient compromise
between the limitations of individuals and the inefficiency of large organizations.
They make sense.

In a world of increasing demands and

Three Key Team Characteristics complexity and shrinking resources, where better,
faster, cheaper is the challenge and the credo; teams
An effective team must utilize are essential. The modern organization no longer
three key characteristics. builds on individual competencies and roles; it builds
on teams. Teams are central to meeting the unique
Effort. A team must work long needs of organizations.
enough, hard enough, effectively and
efficiently. The structures and assumptions of traditional
workplace management are being challenged.
Talent. A good team needs the Stovepipe functions, rigid bureaucracies, chain-of-
skills, knowledge and experience command reporting relationships, and encumbering
necessary to get the job done. policies and regulations are becoming obsolete in the
private sector. This kind of workplace once resulted
Task performance strategies. in remarkable organization, control, and efficiency.
A team needs specific strategies for As the workplace and the world change, however,
accomplishing study tasks. many of these structures have proven too slow, too
expensive, and too unresponsive to be either
competitive or effective. The private sector is moving
toward less hierarchy, flatter structures, and a more
empowered workforce. There is going to be more reliance on teams, not less.
As the Corps gets in step with these business trends, the reliance on teams
will transcend the planning team we’re discussing here.

Today, any organization that can’t produce high-quality work quickly and
economically is at serious risk of extinction. An organization might get away
with being good, fast, and expensive for awhile.
Or maybe even good, economical, and slow to the
market for awhile. But to survive and prosper in ...an
the modern business environment, an organization organization
must be able to deliver quality, speed, and price. must be able to
Countless business are using teams as the means deliver quality,
to become better, faster, cheaper.
speed, and price.
In this respect, teams are going to be an
essential component of the Corps’ continued
success. As planning activities become more customer oriented, the Corps

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becomes more and more like any other large, modern organization. Effective
teams are essential to the survival of any modern organization. For more
background information on the role of teams in modern organizational
management, see any of the books cited at the end of this chapter.

WHO SHOULD BE ON THE TEAM?

The composition of a study team is a critical step in determining the

planning effort’s ultimate effectiveness. As a planning effort is identified, the
study manager should be able to determine the kind of personnel required to
do the work. A military installation’s plan to collect and store all pesticides
on the base in a central location may not require a hydrologist or a
geographer. A coastal project is going to need knowledge of coastal
processes a fluvial flooding study won’t require. A wildlife biologist may be
needed for ecosystem restoration work while one may not be needed for
mobilization planning.

The composition of the team depends on the nature of the planning

effort. While the mix of disciplines required for a team varies from study to
study, there are some generic characteristics of good team members. Good
team members should:

C Possess the skills necessary to perform the required work at the

speed needed to meet deadlines;

C Have their needs met through participating in the planning

effort;

C Have the temperament to fit in with other team members, the

study manager, and the public;

C Work with funding limits, tight timetables, or other project

work requirements.

Team members must possess the necessary disciplinary background and

knowledge of planning required to be a contributing member of the planning team.
New planners will need time and support to grow into the job. It is generally
preferable that there be some experienced members on the planning team.

In order to have committed team members, the work has to be

rewarding, both personally and professionally. This can mean allowing some
team members to stay within their comfort zones while allowing others to
expand theirs. Sharing the responsibility and the glory is important.

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 Interpersonal skills
are a critical intangible for Goals, Roles, Procedures, and
the most successful Relationships
planning teams. Working
well with people you Do team members agree to and
respect and like is a luxury understand their goals? Do they
few teams enjoy. Liking
articulate them in the same words? Do
other members of the study
they all own the planning objectives?
team is not absolutely
essential, but when it can be
Do team members understand
achieved, the team’s
their role and what’s expected of them?
potential will be greatly
Do they accept and value that role?
enhanced.
Does the role fulfill them?

Team Structure Has the team developed

effective operations and procedures
There is no such that enable them to move along toward
thing as a typical planning their objectives? Do they use a set of
team. But there are some ground rules and structured procedures?
elements common to so
many study teams that we What is the quality of
have presented a very relationships among team members?
generalized generic
structure for a study team
in Figure 11. The figure
depicts three levels of commitment to the study team. There are core members
of the team. There is an extended study team and there are occasional members of the
study team.

Every team has a core. This comprises the people assigned to the
study. These are the people who, all other things equal, will be involved with
the study on a day-to-day basis until it is completed. They are the ones who
will be doing the bulk of the planning work. This may or may not include
non-Corps members, such as representatives of the non-Federal sponsor, a
contractor’s representative, or a military installation point-of-contact.

The extended team consists of those people with a regular and on-
going involvement with the study that might not be on a day-to-day basis.
For example, technical reviewers from the district or elsewhere in the Corps’
organization or representatives of natural resource agencies.

The occasional members of the study can change throughout the

course of a study. This might include the Corps’ field survey team when it
gets involved in survey work for a few weeks during the study or, it might

228
 involve a community association that gets involved long enough to assure
that its concerns are being addressed. Occasional members may be involved
in the study once for a varying length of time, or they may drift into and out
of the sphere of the study team as the situation warrants. Some members of
the public will serve as occasional team members.

The distinction we
Table 36: Selected Publics and Team Members draw between occasional
team members and the
“Publics” “Experts” general public is the level of
Audubon Society archeologists commitment. Hundreds or
Chamber of Commerce attorneys thousands of people may be
County Commissioners biologists involved in the planning effort
Jane and John Doe chemists at one point or another.
Flood Control District civil engineers Simple involvement does not
Governor ecologists constitute team membership.
Homeowner’s Association economists A continuing commitment to
Mayor geographers the planning effort in a
Port Authority geologists significant way does however
School District hydraulic engineers confer some level of team
Sierra Club hydrologists membership on a group or
State Fish & Game Department landscape individual. Table 36 presents
architects some examples of the types of
State Transportation Department planners people or groups that might
U.S. EPA psychologists occupy one or more of these
U.S. FWS sociologists levels of membership.
etc. etc.

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 HOW TO WORK LIKE A TEAM

If you had bacon and eggs for breakfast, the chicken was involved in
your breakfast, the pig was committed. Planning teams need people to be
committed not simply involved. This can be a problem in an organization like
the Corps in which team members are actually members of functional groups
who have their own bosses but also have a study manager to whom they
report.

Where does one’s

loyalty lie? With engineering Avoid Bandwagons
division, planning division,
real estate division, or with A bandwagon develops when an
the study team? Often it’s to idea is put forward and is bolstered by a
the functional group. That’s series of positive comments. Pretty
where the boss who may have soon the idea gains momentum that
hired the team member is and may not be commensurate with its
that is where their paycheck value. Always make sure you step back
is sent. This reality requires and consider the downside of any idea
study managers to work extra before a bandwagon effect takes over.
hard to win the loyalty of Bandwagons should never replace
such team members. A team
critical assessment of ideas.
consists of two or more
people who must coordinate
their activities to accomplish a

Are You on a Team?

Ask yourself the following questions:

C Do the members of your group have common goals or tasks that require
working together?

C Do the actions of any one member of the group impact upon the work of
other members?

C Is your work most effectively accomplished by members of the group

working together?

C Must activities be coordinated on a daily/weekly/monthly basis?

If you answer yes to these questions, you are a member of a highly

interdependent team.

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 common task.20 Teams just don’t happen; they’re built. Team building is the
deliberate process of creating a successful team from among a group of
people. Ultimately, people willingly and enthusiastically engage in an
activity only if it is personally rewarding in some way. But when the activity
is rewarding of itself, the individual engages in it without expecting
additional rewards.

James H. Shank in his 1982 book Working in Teams, a Practical Manual

for Improving Work Groups21 presents a list of characteristics of good and poor
teams. Compare your team’s performance to these two slightly adapted lists
and see how your team is doing.

Characteristics of a Good Team

1. Team members are in close physical proximity and able to meet

regularly.
2. The appropriate skills are represented on the team.
3. The appropriate levels of organizational authority are present
within the team.
4. Team members are involved in the setting of objectives.
5. Objectives are understood by all members.
6. All individuals support the objectives.
7. Objectives are set and met within realistic time frames.
8. Roles are clearly defined and do not overlap.
9. Team members and their leaders know their assignments.
10. Roles are understood by all and are supported.
11. There is a strong, effective leadership with clearly defined
responsibilities.
12. Members and leaders are accessible to each other.
13. Decisions are made by consensus.
14. Meetings are efficient and task-improvement oriented.
15. Emphasis is on problem solving, versus blaming the individual
responsible for the problem.
16. All members participate in discussions and meetings.
17. Minutes of meetings are promptly distributed.
18. Members listen well.
19. There is frequent feedback to individuals regarding performance.
20. All members are kept informed.

20
Mark Plovnick, Ronald Fry, and Irwin Rubin. “New Development in O.D. Technology: Programmed
Team Development,” Training and Development Journal, April 4, 1975.

21
Shank’s book is a useful resource for anyone seeking to improve team performance. It has chapters
devoted to team development, analyzing team performance and other practical subjects.

231
21. Deadlines and milestones are clearly established and agreed to by
the team.
22. There is team identity or esprit de corps and pride.
23. There is tolerance for conflict with an emphasis upon resolution.
24. Conflict is openly discussed, often resulting in growth or learning.
25. Members enjoy each other.
26. Team members support each other.

If there are good teams there are, of course, poor teams. Some of the
characteristics of a poor team follow.

Characteristics of a Poor Team

1. Physical separation prevents members from meeting frequently.

2. Team is not given adequate resources to do the job.
3. There is no recognition of team effort.
4. There is a lack of recognition by the organization or its leaders that
a team exists.
5. Members do not participate in setting goals.
6. Goals are unclear.
7. Goals are not communicated.
8. Everyone is doing his own thing without attention to team goals.
9. Responsibilities are poorly defined.
10. No clear leader is identified.
11. There is buck-passing of responsibility.
12. Members engage in power plays for authority and control.
13. Members refuse to recognize their interdependence and act as if
they were independent.
14. Decisions are always a crisis situation.
15. Decision making is dominated by one person.
16. Communications are one way--from top down--and channeled
through the leader.
17. Minor points are debated endlessly.
18. Meetings are unproductive with the issues unresolved.
19. Meetings cover trivia, versus significant issues.
20. Actions are taken without planning.
21. Members work individually and ignore each other.
22. Members are late for meetings or do not attend.
23. Members are unwilling to be identified with the team.

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 24. There is covert conflict between members.
25. There are severe personality conflicts.
26. Relationships are competitive.
27. Members are defensive.

Teams that do more of the things found on the former list and fewer
of the things on the latter list are more effective.

THE TEAM LEADER

Every team has a leader. Is the study manager

the planning team leader? He need not be. A team Every team
leader can emerge from virtually anywhere in the has a
team. Normally, the study manager, by virtue of his
leader.
experience, demonstrated ability, and responsibilities,
will be the most logical candidate to be the team leader.
The best team leaders have what Fisher22 calls behavior
competencies. These behavior competencies are leader, living example,
coach, business analyzer, barrier buster, facilitator, and customer advocate.
These competencies or roles describe behaviors that would be valuable
characteristics of any Corps study manager.

The leader unleashes energy and enthusiasm by creating a vision that

others find inspiring and motivating.

The living example serves as a role model for others by “walking the
talk” and demonstrating the desired behaviors of team members and leaders.

The coach teaches others and helps them develop to their potential,
maintains an appropriate authority balance, and ensures accountability in
others.

The business analyzer understands the big picture and is able to

translate changes in the business environment to opportunities for the
organization.

The barrier buster opens doors and runs interference for the team,
challenges the status quo, and breaks down artificial barriers to the team’s
performance.

22
Kimball Fisher. Leading Self-Directed Work Teams, a Guide to Developing New Team Leadership Skills,
McGraw-Hill, Inc. New York, 1993. The discussion that follows is taken from his work.

233
 The facilitator brings together the necessary tools, information, and
resources for the team to get the job done, and facilitates group efforts.

The customer advocate develops and maintains close customer ties,

articulates customer needs, and keeps priorities in focus with the desires and
expectations of the customers.

The leader on a study team may change from time to time. As the
study begins, the person most familiar with the people and places of the
study area may be the team leader. At certain points during the study, team
leadership may migrate to other shoulders based on the technical expertise
of the team member. As schedules tighten, money runs short, and the
frequency and import of contact with the public increases, the study manager
is more likely to resume the role of team leader.

It is less important who leads the team than it is that it be lead.

ARE YOU A TEAM PLAYER?

Successful teams need team players. Following is a ladder of team

player skills, knowledge, and attitudes.23 The ladder begins with basic skills
and proceeds through the skills outstanding team members possess. See how
many of these skills you already possess and which you might want to
improve.

1. Attends team meetings regularly.

2. Participates in team brainstorming.
3. Works effectively as a team member by:

C Sharing communication
C Negotiating
C Facilitating
C Participating
C Cooperating
C Trusting
C Working toward and accepting consensus
C Functioning as a teacher and learner
C Valuing and using leadership skills
C Using conflict resolution skills

23
Adapted from Andrew J. DuBrin’s The Breakthrough Team Player, Becoming the M.V.P. on Your Workplace
Team, AMACOM, New York, 1995.

234
4. Makes original contributions to team issues; builds upon others’
contributions.
5. Volunteers to handle action items or to participate in new teams.
6. Actively participates in establishing team’s purpose, direction,
strategy, or goals.
7. Positively questions and challenges others; utilizes conflicting views
in a constructive manner.
8. Acts to create and promote team cohesiveness.
9. Offers to relieve a team member’s heavy workload.
10. Considers impact on external relationships when influencing team
outcomes.

The lists presented in the preceding paragraphs can serve the very
practical purpose of guiding a team in its functioning. Nonetheless, they
remain lists. For additional details on the subject matter, see some of the
books referenced at the end of the chapter or others of your own choosing.

SUMMARY AND LOOK FORWARD

Lesson One. Public involvement and teamwork are the two most
important people issues in the planning process.

Lesson Two. Public involvement is required; there are many publics

and many ways to involve them. There is no one best way to do public
involvement.

Lesson Three. Teams are needed because today’s problems are far too
complex for any individual to handle, and because two heads are better than
one.

Lesson Four. Good teams don’t just happen; they take a lot of work.

When the planning is finished there is one more very important thing
to do; tell your story. If you can’t explain what you have done and how you
arrived at your conclusions in a concise and transparent fashion, then the
entire planning process may have been for nought. The next chapter tells a
little story about how to tell your story.

SUGGESTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL READING

There is no definitive book on teams, teamwork, or leading a team.
However, there are any number of very good books available, they are

235
usually found in the organizational management section of an academic
library. Some suggestions for getting started in this field follow.

DuBrin, Andrew J. The Breakthrough Team Player Becoming the M.V.P. on Your
Workplace Team. New York: American Management Association,
1995.

Fisher, Kimball. Leading Self-Directed Work Teams. New York: McGraw-Hill,

Inc., 1993.

Hartzler, Meg and Jane E. Henry. Team Fitness a How-to Manual for Building
a Winning Work Team. Milwaukee, WI: ASQC Quality Press, 1994.

Lewis, James P. How to Build and Manage a Winning Project Team. New York:
American Management Association, 1993.

Shonk, James H. Working in Teams a Practical Manual for Improving Work

Groups. New York: American Management Association, 1982.

Tjosvold, Dean. Working Together to Get Things Done. Lexington, MA:

Lexington Books, 1986.

Zenger, John, Ed Musselwhite, Kathleen, and Craig Perrin. Leading Teams

Mastering the New Role. New York: Irwin Professional Publishing,
1994.

IWR has produced a number of publications that will be particularly

useful in the area of public involvement:

Environmental Manager’s Handbook on Public Involvement. Spring 1995.

(Report available through the Institute for Water Resources).

Partnering. IWR Pamphlet 91-ADR-P-4, December 1991.

Public Involvement Techniques: A Reader of Ten Years Experience at the Institute

for Water Resources. IWR Report 82-R1, May 1983.

Tri-Service Committee: Air Force, Army Navy. Partnering Guide for

Environmental Missions of the Air Force, Army and Navy. July 1996.
(Report available through the Institute for Water Resources).

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237
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: TELLING YOUR STORY
“The difference between the right word and the almost right
word is the difference between lightning and the lightning
bug.” Mark Twain, American Author.

INTRODUCTION
When the planning is done, you’ve got to tell someone. That means
a report. Too often a report becomes a massive compilation of every bit of
data and correspondence generated by the study. The report outline
frequently mimics the six steps of the planning process and that rarely tells
the story of a planning effort to best advantage.

A common criticism of government reports is that they are

unreadable. To have value, your report must be read and understood. It doesn’t
matter if it is a letter report, a reconnaissance report, a feasibility report, an
environmental assessment or impact statement, or any other kind of report
(see Table 37). If it is not read, it’s a waste of time.

Identify the primary

Table 37: Types of Planning
reader for your report. Are
you writing for the general Reports
public? The non-Federal
partner? Corps reviewers? C Reconnaissance
The Office of Management and C Feasibility
Budget? Yourself? Future C General Reevaluation
planners? Decide who you are C Limited Reevaluation
writing for, then keep that reader C General Design Memorandum
in mind at all times. Then tell C Environmental Impact Statement
your story. Tell the reader C Special Studies
what happened. Tell the story
in simple language and in a
time-ordered process. Organize the report carefully. Use visuals. Enumerate
ideas and points. Make effective use of headings and subheadings. Try to
keep the main report short -- can you do it in 50 pages? Put only the essential
details in the appendix. Keep the rest of them in carefully organized files.
Make maximum use of other communication venues, like Issue Resolution
Conferences, review meetings, public meetings, and the like to convey
additional detail and complex issues.

Tell your story. Make it a story you wouldn’t mind hearing if you
were the reader.

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 This chapter is about documenting the decision-making process by
telling your story. It begins with a discussion of documentation and the need
for it. It then addresses the writing of the report with an emphasis on simple
points like always keeping the reader in mind and making sure your report
has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Hints are offered for good writing,
effective presentation, and for revising your story. The chapter ends with a
few thoughts about the length of a report and other ways to get your story
across.

WHY IS DOCUMENTATION NEEDED?

Let’s begin with the obvious. A planning effort is initiated at the
request of someone else. It is likely that substantial resources have been
dedicated to the purpose of finding solutions to problems and answers to
questions. Decisions have to be made based on the results of the planning
effort. The planners have an obligation to report their findings so decisions
can be made. Generally, these findings will be reported in writing.

This need to document creates an interesting role for the planning

report. In its earlier versions it serves as an analytical report. It identifies a
problem; analyzes, synthesizes, and interprets pertinent information; and
presents conclusions and recommendations for appropriate action. As
decision-makers concur or dissent with the recommendations, the report
becomes a decision document. At this point, its intention is no longer to
convince the reader but to inform her of a decision that has been made.
During the course of a study, the role of the study documentation will evolve.

WHAT IS DOCUMENTATION?
To document means to provide factual or substantial support for
statements made or a hypothesis proposed. Documentation simply means
communicating the results of the planning effort. Most often this is done
through a study report. Typically, depending on the type of planning effort
undertaken, there will be some document that contains a summary of the
entire planning process. This may be a letter report of a few pages or a main
report that can run hundreds of pages. For Civil Works planning studies, the
main report is often accompanied by an environmental assessment or
environmental impact statement and one or more technical appendices.

Among the Corps reports used in the preparation of this manual is a

reconnaissance report with appendices that is 4.75 inches thick and a
feasibility report with appendices that is 6.0 inches thick. With maps,
graphics, editing, writing, printing, distribution and related costs,

239
 documentation can be an extremely expensive part of the planning effort. If
it is true that few if any people are reading these voluminous documents,
maybe it is time to rethink what documentation is.

In the introduction to this chapter we ask who the

reader is. The likely answer is that there are many
...ask who the
different readers. If so, doesn’t it make sense that there
reader is. might be many different kinds of documentation? Does
John Q. Public need the same kind of documentation that
a technical reviewer is going to need? Certainly not.

Thus, we propose that you think of documentation as a set of different

documents that authenticate and support the findings of the planning effort. The
composition depends on the intended audience. For example, technical reviewers
are likely to want to have the most detailed documentation. In a flood
damage reduction study, this might mean stream flow data, backwater
profiles, rating curves, damage functions for each reach by type of damage,
detailed calculations of expected annual damages, and interest during
construction calculations and so on.

These details of the planning effort can be documented in a variety of

ways including the current method of including them in a technical appendix.
If better, faster, and cheaper products are one of the goals of Corps planning
efforts, then it might be advisable to think of new ways of documenting these
efforts. One alternative could be to include a sample calculation in the
printed technical appendix. That could mean, for example, one expected
annual damage calculation for one type of damages for one reach, rather than
dozens of sets of such calculations. Additional details can be provided to
technical reviewers or other interested parties directly from project files.

Devoting more effort to carefully documented project files might

prove to be a viable alternative to devoting extensive resources to the
preparation of voluminous technical appendices at the cost of better
documented project files. It is not uncommon for report preparation to
absorb so much time and energy that little energy is left to carefully organize
and document the raw data in project files. This is precisely the
documentation that can be so essential to the replication and authentication
of study results that is repeatedly required prior to implementation.

In other words, documentation need not

mean put it in the report. Documentation could ...documentation
as easily mean keep it in your files. Results may need not mean
often be better communicated to special interest
put it in the
audiences, like technical reviewers, in meetings,
workshops and issue resolution conferences. There is report.

240
more than one way to communicate the results of a study to special interest
groups.

WRITING THE REPORT

Because planning teams usually do the work, reports are often written
by the various team members. Many of the reports they produce read like it
too. Not all writers are equally gifted. Not all use the same writing style.
Nothing can be more annoying to a reader trying to understand a complex
issue than to try to wade through a poorly organized report written by a
dozen people who apparently never spoke to one another or bothered to read
what the others had written.

The part of the report that really “Planography”

should be read by everyone interested in
understanding the planning process and the If we could invent a
decision that resulted from it should be easy word for this chapter it
to read and understand. That does not would be planography, the
mean it must be written by one person, biography of a plan. That is
but it probably should be. The report is a the essence of a good
diary. It’s the story of the plan. It should report. It’s a diary. Start
not be held until all the work is done. writing it from day one,
don’t wait until the end of
In this section of the chapter, we the study.
offer some suggestions for report writing
that have been culled from experience
and a number of authors of books on
report writing. For more detailed information and some excellent how-to
books, see the suggestions for further reading at the end of the chapter.

WHO IS THE READER?

The first and most important question the planning team

Who is must ask itself is who is the primary reader of this report. Who is
the the intended audience? If the answer is the technical
intended reviewer, the content of the report will be quite different from
audience? what it would have been in a report written for John Q.
Public.

If the reader is an installation commander with

intimate knowledge of the problem you have been asked to address, it may
be quite possible to document your findings in a few pages. If the reader is

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 a vast and varied public it is going to take more effort and pages to tell your
story.

The purpose of a report is to communicate ideas to another person. Once

you have identified the reader, empathize with her throughout the writing
process. Put yourself in the reader’s position. Don’t write for the study team
or for your own personal glory. Write for that person who is going to be
reading. Tell her your story in a way that she can understand it.

To help you empathize with the reader, here are some questions you
might ask of the study team before you begin to write. Who will read this
report? Who will be affected by the report? What will the reader look for in
the report? How will the report be used? Why do the readers need the
report? When will the report be used? Where will the report be used and
where will it be stored? How can the report be made most useful for all
readers?

Ask and answer these questions24 and you’ll be well on your way to
writing a report that people will read.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR REPORT EFFECTIVE

To make your report effective, keep the reader in mind at all times.
Don’t try to say it all at once. Choose a logical method of presentation and
stick to it. Don’t make conclusions in the introduction or introduce new
material in the conclusions. Explain each point you make. Tell why you did
the things you did, explain the procedures you used. Use specifics. Give the
reader the facts. Don’t say you did a survey of
selected flood plain properties, say you
interviewed owners of 57 commercial properties
and surveyed 200 residences. Providing specifics
A chronological
does not mean providing all the specifics. Avoid story is best.
burdensome detail. A report should have a
beginning or introduction followed by the body of
the report. It should end with conclusions. A chronological story is best.

Beginnings

Most readers focus their attention on the beginning of a report. If they

don’t find what they need there they look at the end of the report. Pay special

24
The questions were adapted from Phillip V. Lewis and William H. Baker. Business Report Writing, Grid,
Inc., Columbus, Ohio, 1978.

242
attention to beginnings and endings. They are crucially important, given the
way people really read.

In the beginning, tell the reader where you are going. The more the
reader understands where you are going, the more likely he is to understand
your message. Take care to let the reader know how the report is organized.
Let him know where he will find what.

A good beginning should accomplish at least three things. First, it

should compel the reader to read on. Second, it should provide enough
information for the reader to understand your basic findings or
recommendation. Finally, it should establish the writer’s rapport with the
reader.

Because communication of your ideas to another is the major function

of the report, compelling the reader to read on may be the most important
function of the beginning. To compel the reader to read on, every beginning
should include what the document is about, explain how you will develop
your argument, and tell him why the document is important. This latter
point is not accomplished by saying, “This is an
important report.” It is accomplished by striking
a chord in the reader; by revealing to him
... “this is what
something that he recognizes as important and in
we did, this is his interest to be informed about. It is not likely
why we did it, that beginning with a study authority and a long
and this is how dry list of previous studies and reports is going
it turned out.” to want to make anyone read on. Consider
putting such technical material in an appendix.
Tell your story from the beginning. Don’t clutter
it up with “requirements” that add nothing to your main point, which should
be some variation of “this is what we did, this is why we did it, and this is
how it turned out.”

The Body of the Report

Organize the body of your report in a way that best tells your story.
Keep in mind you do have a story. First, this happened. Then, that
happened, and so on. Most planning stories are best told as a narrative of
events. When a story is a narrative of events, use time order to organize it.
Chronology is your friend.

Forget the outline that begins with problem identification, followed

by inventory and forecast. Report organizations that follow the six steps of
the planning process impose a narrative order that is artificial and likely to
be confusing to the reader. If the study began when the non-Federal sponsor

243
presented a plan and said, “This is what we’d like you to build,” then begin
your story there. Tell the reader how the study unfolded. Tell the story of
how you went from that first day to the recommendation in your study.
Don’t worry if you did not execute each planning step in proper sequence.
Planning is a messy, chaotic process. The six step process is a framework for
doing planning studies; it is not a report outline.

Endings

Endings need to provide a sense of closure. There should be nothing

important left unsaid. All loose threads in the report must be tied up by now.
Clear, unambiguous endings are best. Planning studies have a natural
ending: the recommendations and steps necessary for implementation.

SOME HINTS FOR GOOD WRITING

Write so your reader can understand you. The Gunning Fog Index
is a handy tool to gage how appropriate your reports are for your readers.

Gunning Fog Index

The following description has been taken verbatim from Raymond V.

Lesikar’s book How to Write a Report Your Boss will Read and Remember, p. 48.

The ease with which the Gunning Fog Index can be used is
obvious from a review of the simple steps listed below. Its
ease of interpretation is also obvious in that the index
computed from these simple steps is in grade level of
education. For example, an index of seven means that the
material tested is easy reading for one at the seventh-grade
level. An index of 12 indicates high school graduate level of
readability. And an index of 16 indicates the level of the
college graduate.

The simple steps for computing the index are as follows.

Select a sample. For long pieces of writing, use at least 100 words. As
in all sampling procedures, the larger the sample, the more reliable the results
can be. So, in measuring readability for a long manuscript, one would be
wise to select a number of samples at random throughout the work.

244
 Determine the average number of words per sentence. That is, first
count words and sentences in a sample selected. The divide the total number
of words by the total of sentences.

Determine the percentage of hard words in the sample. Words of

three syllables or longer are considered to be hard words. But do not count
as hard words (1) words that are capitalized, (2) combinations of short easy
words (grasshopper, businessman, bookkeeper), or (3) verb forms made into
three-syllable words by adding ed or es (repeated, caresses).

Add the two factors computed above and multiply by 0.4. The
product is the minimum grade level at which the writing is easily read.

Let’s apply this index to the first two paragraphs of this chapter.
There are 102 words in 8 sentences, an average of 13 words per sentence.
There are 11 words with three or more syllables for 11 percent of the total
words. The sum of these two factors is 13 + 11 = 24; and 0.4 x 24 = 9.6. Thus,
the introduction to this chapter should be easily read by a high school
sophomore.

245
 Ten Commandments for Effective Written Communication

Following are ten commandments for good writing, taken from

the Lewis and Baker book. Commandments eight and nine have been
adapted to make them more relevant. The original book is chock full
of practical suggestions for how to obey the commandments and is
well worth a look.

1. Keep average sentence length within 18 words and use no more

than 10 long words in each 100 words.

2. Don’t waste words; make each pay its own way.

3. Write so your reader will believe you and can’t misunderstand

you.

4. Write in a friendly informal style whenever possible.

5. Use words of action when you want action and when you want
your reader to know you are taking the action he desires.

6. Write so that your words and sentences will stick together.

7. Use a variety of expressions to avoid monotony and to increase

reader interest.

8. Acquire proficiency as a typist. Learn a word processing package.

9. Make sure the physical appearance of your report impresses your

reader favorably.

10. Continue to improve the thought content of your writing.

A Few More Writing Rules of Thumb

First, and foremost, avoid acronyms and jargon. You may find NEPA,
NED, CERCLA, HTRW, ASA and other acronyms second nature. No one
outside the Corps has a prayer of understanding that last sentence, however.
Likewise, mitigation measures, expected annual damages, and so on make
your message unclear. Avoid words you wouldn’t use in everyday speech.

Fight ambiguity and abstractness. Words mean different things to

different people. If you describe the design level for a wetlands restoration

246
project as -1 foot we don’t know if that is mean sea level, national geodetic
vertical datum, mean low water or mean high water. Be clear.

Don’t hide behind foot and a half long words. Obfuscation does not imply
profundity.

Kill those euphemisms. A flood is not a wet water event. A gas station
attendant is not a petroleum transfer engineer and a school bus is not a
motorized attendance module.

Check the logic of your sentences. Inane

combinations of words often result when we ...make common
write in haste, are distracted or careless. sense.
Make sure all your sentences make common
sense.

Avoid cop-out phrases. If an alternative is unacceptable to local

interests say so. Don’t say an alternative was sub-optimal.

Don’t mummify your thoughts. A common mistake in reports and other

kinds of writing that are intended to inform and enlighten the reader, is to
take a good basic idea and then wrap so many meaningless, empty,
extraneous words around it that the meaning of your thought gets lost.

Don’t attempt humor in a report. Humor is a very personal thing and

you are not likely to hit the target with every reader. See the last paragraph
for an example. Did you find it funny? (We enjoyed it.)

Avoid sexist language. Whether you agree or disagree, it attracts

attention these days. On the other hand, avoid nonsensical solutions to this
modern sensitivity like (s)he, S/he, or she/he. If it is natural to use gender
neutral words, do so. Alternate male and female pronouns now and then if
gender neutrality becomes clumsy.

Keep explanatory material on target. If you are telling your story, make
sure what you are writing contributes to the tale you are telling. Concentrate
more on telling your story and less on reporting requirements. Get to the
point. Eliminate excess words; avoid redundancies.

Don’t let the subject and verb get too far apart. This is a simple problem
that plagues writers dealing with technical subject matter.

As the Gunning Fog Index suggests, write short sentences.

247
 Always use spell check. Then, proofread your work. Never send
anything out for editing or review until you have re-read what you’ve
written. Ask someone else to read it. Does it make sense to them?

SOME HINTS FOR PRESENTATION

Headings and Subheadings

Use headings and subheadings to organize your report. The reader

should be able to look at the headings and subheadings in your report and get
a basic feel for your story. If it is chronologically developed and has
descriptive titles, the essence of the story should come through.

The headings give order to your story. Subheadings tell the reader
which ideas are subordinate to others. The format you use does not really
matter as long as it is consistent throughout the report. If you’ve seen
something you like, use it.

Enumerate

Enumerate facts, ideas, instructions, questions and the like. Lists of

things have more visibility than text. Lists are a good way to conserve space and
they can be powerful ways to convey ideas.

Visuals

Anyone can dress up a report by adding maps, charts, graphs,

figures, and tables. They can be used effectively, but they should never be
used gratuitously. Each visual should serve a clear and distinct purpose. In
a main report there should never be a visual of any kind that is not both introduced
and concluded. Introducing a visual means tell the reader it is coming. Make
reference to every visual you use. For example, “Containerized cargo
forecasts are shown in Figure A.” Concluding a visual means pointing out its
significance. For example, “Containerized tonnage is expected to peak at 100
million tons in 2010.”

Visuals are easy to produce with today’s software but very few people
have ever received formal training in their usage. There are many good
books that deal with business communications or making presentations.
Detailed discussions on the use of visuals can be found in these and in some
of the books referenced at the end of the chapter.

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 Following are basic rules of thumb to follow in the use of visuals of
any kind:

1. Always include a map that shows the locations of the places and
things you discuss in your report.

2. Use tables and charts that make a single point in the text. Insert the
visual next to the text that introduces it. Avoid placing all visuals
together at the end of a report.

3. Keep tables and charts as brief as possible.

4. Signal the reader when a table or chart is coming up. Introduce it in

the text.

5. Don’t interrupt the text with a chart. Lead the reader into it and out
of it.

6. Conclude the chart. Point out the significance of the chart to the
reader. Steer the reader to the significance of the chart by
summarizing the most important point it is making.

7. Label charts clearly and specifically. Number them consecutively,

but number charts and tables separately.

8. Use a chart or table only if it helps the reader understand your

point.

9. Keep the chart or table as simple as possible.

10. Use white space and labeling to make the visual attractive--make
the reader want to look at it.

11. Consider using tables and charts in the appendix as a way of

summarizing your significant data in a convenient form.

12. Use a consistent method in titling, captioning, and sourcing visuals.

Common Chart Forms

Charts are visual graphics. The line graph may be the most
frequently used of all charts. It shows movements or changes of a continuous
series of data, often over time. Time is conventionally plotted on the
horizontal axis. When comparing two or more series on the same chart, take
care to distinguish the lines by color or form (dots, dashes, and so on). If the

249
different series have different scales, be sure to show both on the vertical axis.
Tick marks on the axes should be fairly proportionate. Make sure the values
on the vertical axis make sense, e.g, use 25, 50, 75, rather than 21, 48, 72.

Alternatively, a line graph may be used to display the relationship

between any two variables. For example, relationships between container
cargo in tons and the number of container vessels calling at a port can be
shown with a line chart. Care must be taken in using a line graph in this
fashion. If there is no relationship between the variables, the graphs can look
like an incomprehensible mess.

A scatter diagram is a useful device for showing the relationship or

lack of a relationship between two variables. It is a simple plot of points in
space; one point is plotted for each pair of variable measurements. This is
most appropriate when one or both of the variables are not time series
variables.

Bar charts run a close second to the line graph in popularity. They
compare simple magnitudes by the lengths of equal-width bars. They are
used to show quantity changes over time, quantity changes over geographic
distance, or quantitative distances. The principal parts of the chart are the
bars and the grid. The bars can run vertically or horizontally. They can be
individual bars, they can be grouped (or compounded) or they can be stacked
(or subdivided). The grid should be sufficiently detailed to facilitate easy
comparisons. Bar charts are better suited for simple comparisons than for
analytical purposes like lines.

A histogram is a bar graph used to depict data in a frequency

distribution. Usually the bars are vertical. By convention, the bars are
usually adjacent and touching.

A pictogram is a bar chart that uses pertinent pictures rather than bars
to display the information. For example, the number of ships calling at a port
could be shown in a bar chart or a line of ships where each picture of a ship
stands for 1,000 vessels, could be used to display the same information.
Generally, the same rules applied to bar charts are applied to pictograms.
There are two special rules to note. First, each picture must be the same size;
comparisons are based on the number of pictures. Second, the pictures
should appropriately depict the quantity to be illustrated. For example,
vessel calls should not be represented by a line of cattle.

Pie charts (or circle graphs) are area charts used to show the
percentage composition of variables. The magnitude being displayed is
shown as a pie and its component parts are shown as slices of the pie. The
slices may be individually labeled, cross-hatched, or colored. An explanatory
legend should be used. You can’t show more than a whole thing or indicate

250
 changes over time with a pie chart. Its use should be limited to situations in
which the subdivisions of a single thing is called for.

Statistical maps can be used to show the spatial distribution of

information. Weather maps are a common example. The information is
overlain on a clearly outlined map in a variety of ways. Different colors or
cross-hatching; placing quantities in numerical form within a geographic
area; dots of varying size representing different quantities; and some form of
chart, like a bar chart arising from a geographic region, are among the most
common forms. With the advent and spread of geographic information
systems (GIS), the ability to create statistical maps is markedly easier.

Flow charts are a favorite tool for displaying sequences in natural

processes, organizational operations, lines of command in organizations, time
stages in development, the structure of programs and other systems, and the
like. Band or strata graphs are used to show time sequences. Study schedules
are most often displayed in this fashion.

The high-low-close (or high-low) chart is a good way to display the

variations in a variable within a designated time period. For example, these
charts are often used to show the daily performance of a stock price. A
boxplot (or box-and-whiskers plot) displays summary information for a
distribution. It displays median, 25th and 75th percentiles values as well as
minimum and maximum values of non-outliers. Outliers are also presented
in the graphic.

There is virtually no limit to the ways that information can be

effectively displayed. Pictures, diagrams, cross sections, design drawings,
maps, photographs, and drawings are but some of the more obvious ways
you can help tell your story with visuals. Make judicious and effective use of
as many of these techniques as is appropriate.

Reader Guides

Make sure you have a good table of contents. If you use a lot of headings
and subheadings consider including a “Contents in Brief” that include only
chapter titles and main headings. Include a list of tables, a list of charts, a list
of maps, and a list of every kind of visual you use. These lists should include
titles, numbers, and page location.

An index is a pain to create, but it really helps

the reader. Include all the words, phrases, and topics
An index...really that you suspect will be of interest to the reader in an
helps the reader. index. This will help people find the things they are
most interested in and it will help them locate things

251
they found while reading your report. Many word processing programs can
help you build an index.

If you are going to use acronyms of any kind, make sure you include
a list of all acronyms used at the beginning of the report. If jargon is
unavoidable, include a glossary. Maybe writers will find plain speaking
preferable to the effort required to construct a list of acronyms or a glossary.
Not a bad trade-off.

A list of references should be included at the end of the text and

before any appendices. Footnotes are easier on the reader than end notes.

SOME HINTS FOR REVISING

Editing or revising a report is quality control. Never write a report that

you or someone else does not edit and revise at least once. Want to know
how your report will sound to the reader? Try reading it out loud. Does it
hold your interest? If it doesn’t, it won’t hold the reader’s interest either.

Begin revising by looking at the organization and structure of the

report. This is your story outline. Does the structure jump out at you? Is the
structure of your story clear? Can you instantly tell the main point of your
story from the structure? Can you find things easily? This is where the
organization, headings, lists, table of contents, and index are most useful.

Is the purpose of your report clear? Is the beginning effective? Is the

organization logical? Do you include all important points? Are key
paragraphs well organized? Do you answer the what, why important and
how questions? Does your structure keep the reader moving forward or do
you keep backtracking?

When you have examined the overall organization of your report and
addressed questions like these, then it’s time to begin revising and editing
words. You know what you want to say, you need to find the best words to
say it. Go through the draft literally word by word and ask yourself whether
each word is necessary. Then work on each sentence, applying the same
tests. Do the same for each paragraph. Be merciless. Throw out the words,
sentences, and paragraphs that do not contribute to the telling of your story.

IS SIZE IMPORTANT?
Think about how USA Today presents its information. Color graphics,
maps, charts, drawings, and so on. These are the standards that have been set

252
 for communicating information effectively today. Do not underestimate the
importance of appearance, if you want your report to be read. If communicating
your ideas to the reader is important to you, if you want your story to be
heard, then the size of your report is also important.

Few if any people are going to tackle a report that ...be clear,
is four to five inches thick, even if it is written well. No one concise,
is going to read and absorb a 200-plus-page report, the and
present manual excepted if you’ve made it this far. Your compact.
story needs to be clear, concise, and compact. There are
also cost advantages to shorter reports. But it still must be
complete.

How long should the report be? Unlike term paper requirements,
there are no minimum or maximum page requirements. The report must be
long enough to tell the whole story, but not so long that no one will read or
understand it. Nonetheless, we are going to throw out a 50 page challenge for
a reconnaissance report and under 100 pages for a feasibility report. These
are not suggestions and they are certainly not guidance. They are challenges.
Try to tell your story in 50 pages. With visuals, headings and subheadings,
and a well-written story, it is not unreasonable to expect an interested party
to read 50 pages. On the other hand, you can get a great deal of information
into a well thought-out 50-page report.

OTHER MEDIA
Are there other ways to tell your story besides a printed report? Indeed
there are. At the present time, these alternatives must be considered
complementary ways to tell your story. In time,
they may become substitutes. Experimenting with
other story telling media is encouraged, however,
Experimenting with other story
because communication is the end goal and
telling media is encouraged... multiple media should be used whenever feasible.

VIDEO REPORTS

High schools have been using video yearbooks as a substitute for

printed books for over a decade. Video reports could well be an effective
means of telling your story. A carefully scripted 20 or 30 minute video could
convey a great deal of information effectively. It can be conveyed to a lot of
people in a short amount of time. The video offers the options of going on
site and illustrating problems explicitly. A wide variety of points of view can
be displayed as well.

253
 Producing effective video reports can be expensive. They can be
broadcast quality, corporate quality or more amateur attempts. If you think
writing a report is difficult, try scripting an effective video. This is a job that
requires expertise. That expertise can be purchased or acquired through the
school of hard knocks.

RADIO AND TV

Local radio and television are effective ways of reaching interested

audiences. Appearances on radio talk show programs can be an effective
way to initiate two-way communication with the interested public. Public
service programming on radio and television shows can provide another
opportunity to present information to the public. Press conferences can also
attract media coverage. Appearances on local television news programs in
brief interview segments can be effective. If you cultivate a relationship with
local media, it may be possible to generate occasional reports as your story
unfolds.

The more people know about your story from other sources, the more
interested they will be in how it ends.

NEWSPAPERS

Press conferences, press releases, and regular contact with reporters

can be effective ways of getting coverage of your story. Anyone who is going
to try to involve the local media in telling their story would be well advised
to coordinate with their public affairs officers well in advance to initiating
such contact. There is an art and science to how this is best done, and doing
it poorly can be a disaster.

INTERNET

How about a website or homepage for your study? If you set up a site
early in the study and keep it updated, it can become an effective
supplementary means of communication with a growing segment of the
public. Websites can be used for two-way communication. Including an e-
mail address for the study manager can encourage immediate feedback on
the information you put out to the public. Reports can be published and
made available over the Internet. This could be a great place to make
databases or technical appendix-type material available without going to the
trouble and expense of preparing a five-inch-thick report.

254
 If you have a study that has
generated a great deal of interest, it ...a mailing list...can be
may be advisable to establish a mailing an effective forum for free
list. Using a list server, a mailing list
and open discussion...
ensures that everyone who subscribes
to the mailing list gets copies of all e-
mail that is sent by anyone on the list.
This can be an effective forum for free and open discussion of study issues.
It also provides the study team with a cheap and efficient alternative to mass
mailings.

An alternative to the mailing list is a newsgroup. It is the electronic

equivalent of posting every e-mail message sent over a mailing list to a
message board. The reader can enter the newsgroup area whenever she
wants and read only those things of interest to her. The newsgroup
subscriber does not get inundated with e-mailings on a daily basis.

MEETINGS, WORKSHOPS AND THE LIKE

If you want to get your story out to people, tell it as often as you can.
Meetings with other Corps interests can facilitate the technical review of your
report. Meetings with stakeholders and the public allow you to hone and
perfect your story. As people learn what is going on and you learn what
people are interested in hearing, you get better at telling your story. If people
are familiar with some of the details, it makes it easier to understand your
story.

Special meetings and workshops also allow you to deal directly with
those issues that may not be of general interest to the reader. Meetings and
workshops could be a viable alternative to including voluminous detail of
interest to very few people in a report.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Lesson 1. Planners must report their findings so decisions can be
made.

Lesson 2. Always write with your reader clearly in mind.

Lesson 3. Chronology is your friend. Tell your story.

Lesson 4. Write a report that people will read.

255
 Lesson 5. Experiment with other story-telling media.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING

Bookstores are full of books that purport to teach good writing. Find
one you like and use it. If you’re interested in report writing, your best bet
would be to look in the writing for business section of an academic or well-
stocked public library. These books provide a wealth of hints, to-do lists, and
a variety of helpful, easy-to-absorb suggestions for writing effective reports.

A few books you might find useful include these:

Ewing, David. Writing for Results in Business, Government, the Sciences, the
Professions. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1979.

Holcombe, Marya W. and Judith K. Stein. Writing for Decision Makers:

Memos and Reports with a Competitive Edge. New York: Van Nostrand
Reinhold Co., 1987.

Lesikar, Raymond V. How to Write a Report Your Boss Will Read and Remember.
Homewood, IL: Dow Jones-Irwin, 1974.

Lewis, Phillip V. and William H. Baker. Business Report Writing. Columbus,

OH: Grid, Inc., 1978.

Weaver, Patricia C. and Robert G. Weaver. Persuasive Writing: A Manager’s

Guide to Effective Letters and Reports. New York: The Free Press, 1977.

256
257
258
 REFERENCES

259
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Scodari, Paul F. Wetlands Protection: The Role of Economics. Environmental

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Institute, 1990.

Shonk, James H. Working in Teams a Practical Manual for Improving Work

Groups. New York: American Management Association, 1982.

Simon, H.A. Models of Discovery. Dordrecht-Holland: D. Reidel, 1977.

Smith, Garry D., Danny R. Arnold, and Bobby G. Bizzell. Business Strategy
and Policy. 2nd Ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1988.

Spliid, I. “Use of Correspondence Analysis in a Planning Procedure for Local

Governments.” Paper Third Advanced Karlsruhe Summer Institute
in Regional Science, Karlsruhe, 1974.

Stein, Jay M. (Ed.). 1995. Classic Readings in Urban Planning: An

Introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc. 592 pages.

Task Committee on Federal Policies in Water Resources Planning. Federal

Policies in Water Resources Planning. New York: American Society
of Civil Engineers, 1985.

Tjosvold, Dean. Working Together to Get Things Done. Lexington, MA:

Lexington Books, 1986.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Institute for Water Resources. 1991. An

Overview Manual for Conducting National Economic Development
Analysis. IWR Report 91-R-11. Alexandria, VA.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Institute for Water Resources. 1995.

Evaluation of Environmental Investments Procedures Manual,
Interim: Cost Effectiveness and Incremental Cost Analyses. IWR
Report 95-R-1. Alexandria, VA.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Institute for Water Resources. 1993. National
Economic Development Cost Manual. IWR Report 93-R-12.
Alexandria, VA.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Institute for Water Resources. 1987. National
Economic Development Manual - Agricultural Flood Damage. IWR
Report 87-R-10. Alexandria, VA.

268
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Institute for Water Resources. 1991. National
Economic Development Manual - Coastal Storm Damage and Erosion.
IWR Report 91-R-6. Alexandria, VA.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Institute for Water Resources. 1991. National
Economic Development Manual - Deep Draft Navigation. IWR
Report 91-R-13. Alexandria, VA.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Institute for Water Resources. 1991. National
Economic Development Manual - Overview Manual for Conducting
National Economic Development Analysis. IWR Report 91-R-11.
Prepared by The Greeley-Polhemus Group, Inc. for the Institute for
Water Resources, Alexandria, VA.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Institute for Water Resources. 1993. Survey
Questionnaire Items for the Collection of Planning Data. IWR Report
93--2. Alexandria, Va.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Institute for Water Resources. 1988. Urban
Flood Damage. IWR Report 88-R-2. Alexandria, VA.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Institute for Water Resources. 1991. Volume
II: Primer for Surveying Flood Damage for Residential Structures and
Contents. IWR Report 91-R-10. Alexandria, VA.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Institute for Water Resources. 1986. Volume
I: Recreation Use and Benefit Estimation Techniques. IWR Report 86-
R-4. Alexandria, VA.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Institute for Water Resources. 1986. Volume
II: A Guide for Using the Contingent Value Methodology in
Recreation Studies. IWR Report 86-R-5. Alexandria, VA.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Institute for Water Resources. 1990. Volume
III: A Case Study Application of Contingent Value Method for
Estimating Urban Recreation Use Benefits. IWR Report 90-R-11.
Alexandria, VA.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Institute for Water Resources. 1991. Volume
IV: Evaluating Changes in the Quality of the Recreation Experience.
IWR Report 91-R-7. Alexandria, VA.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Undated. Report on the Federal Civil Works
Program as Administered by the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army:
Appendix D: Policies and Procedures of Investigating and Planning
Civil Works.

269
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “The History of the US Army Corps of
Engineers.” EP 360-1-21. Washington, D.C., January 1986.

U.S. Water Resources Council. “Economic and Environmental Principles and

Guidelines for Water and Related Land Resources Implementation
Studies,” 1983.

VanGundy, Arthur. Techniques of Structured Problem Solving. New York:

Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1981.

Viessman, Warren and Kyle E. Schilling, eds. Social and Environmental

Objectives in Water Resources Planning and Management:
Proceedings of an Engineering Foundation Conference. New York:
American Society of Civil Engineers, 1986.

Wayland III, Robert H. “Comprehensive Watershed Management: A View

from EPA.” Water Resources. No. 93, Autumn, 1993: 23-26.

Weaver, Patricia C. and Robert G. Weaver. Persuasive Writing a Manager’s

Guide to Effective Letters and Reports. New York: The Free Press,
1977.

Wheelwright, Steven C., Spyros Makridakis. Forecasting Methods for

Management. 4th ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1985.

Yoe, Charles. The Declining Role of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the
Development of the Nation’s Water Resources. Fort Collins, CO:
Colorado Water Resources Research Institute, 1981.

Yoon, K. Paul, Ching-Lai Hwang. Multiple Attribute Decision Making, An

Introduction. Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences Series.
University of Iowa: Sage Publications, Inc., 1995.

Zeleny, Milan. Multiple Criteria Decision-Making. New York: McGraw-Hill

Co., 1982.

Zenger, John, Ed. Musselwhite, Kathleen, and Perrin, Craig. Leading Teams
Mastering the New Role. New York: Irwin Professional Publishing,
1994.

Zwicky, F. Discovery, Invention, Research Through the Morphological

Approach. New York: MacMillan, 1969.

270
 APPENDIX I:
PLANNER’S LIBRARY

271
272
APPENDIX I: PLANNER’S LIBRARY
This is a selected list of planning-related publications. Updates may be
available on Headquarters’ websites:

Planning:
http://www.usace.army.mil/inet/functions/cw/cecwp/guidance.htm

Policy:
http://www.usace.army.mil/inet/functions/cw/cecwa/guidance.htm

INDEX OF PUBLICATIONS

EP 25-1-1, Index of Publications, Forms and Reports. CEIM-IV, 30 June 1995.

This pamphlet list: Corps’ supplements to Army Regulations (AR),

Engineer Circulars (EC), Engineer Manuals (EM), Engineer
Pamphlets (EP), Engineer Regulations (ER), Office Memoranda
(OM), Technical Letters (TL), and miscellaneous publications and
forms.

REGULATIONS AND PAMPHLETS

U.S. Water Resources Council. 1983. Economic and Environmental Principles and
Guidelines for Water and Related Land Resources Implementation Studies.
Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office (March 10, 1983).

The Principles and Guidelines guide the formulation and evaluation

studies of the major Federal water resource development agencies,
including the Corps’ Civil Works studies. The full text of the P&G
are included in ER 1105-2-100 (see Chapter Four of this manual).

ER 1105-2-100, Guidance for Conducting Civil Works Planning Studies. CECW-P,

28 December 1990 (under revision at this writing).

This regulation provides guidance for the conduct of Civil Works

planning studies and related programs by the Corps.

ER 1105-2-101, Risk-Based Analysis for Evaluation of Hydrology/Hydraulics,

Geotechnical Stability, and Economics in Flood Damage Reduction Studies. CECW-
P and CECW-E, 1 March 1996.

This regulation provides guidance on the evaluation framework to be

used in Corps flood control and flood damage reduction studies.

273
EP 1165-2-1, Digest of Water Resources Policies and Authorities. CECW-A, 15
February 1996.

The “Policy Digest” provides a brief summary of the administrative

and legislative water resources policies and authorities that apply to
the Corps’ Civil Works activities.

Council on Environmental Quality. 1978. Regulations for Implementing the

Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act. 40 CFR Parts
1500-1508. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office (November 29, 1978).

These regulations tell Federal agencies what they must do to comply

with the procedures and achieve the goals of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended.

ER 200-2-2, Environmental Quality, Procedures for Implementing NEPA. CECW-

RE (now CECW-A), 4 March 1988.

This regulation provides guidance for implementation of the

procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act for
the Corps’ Civil Works Program. It supplements the Council on
Environmental Quality’s regulations in 40 CFR 1500-1508 (see
above).

GUIDANCE LETTERS

Guidance letters are informal and early statements of new and evolving
policies, procedures or other guidance. They are issued by several functional offices
in the Corps’ Civil Works Headquarters.

Planning Guidance Letters (PGL) were first issued by the Headquarters

Planning Division (CECW-P) in Fiscal Year 1995. Applicable guidance from these
letters will be included in subsequent revisions to ER 1105-2-100. Planning Guidance
Letters to date are:

Planning Guidance Letter 95-1, Expediting Reconnaissance Certification (7 October

1994).

Planning Guidance Letter 95-2, Alternative Review Process (25 July 1995).

Planning Guidance Letter 95-3, Processing Reconnaissance and Feasibility Reports

Recommending No Further Federal Action (11 August 1995).

Planning Guidance Letter 96-1, Reducing the Cost and Duration of Feasibility Studies
(12 October 1995).

Planning Guidance Letter 96-2, Section 933 Study Requirements (29 April 1996).

274
Planning Guidance Letter 96-3, Expedited Reconnaissance Study Phase (16 August
1996).

Policy Guidance Letters are issued by the Headquarters Office of Policy

(CECW-AR). The latest release was “Policy Guidance Letter Number 45,
Responsibility for Alterations of Railroad Bridges - Flood Control” (27 April 1995).
Applicable guidance from Letters Number 1 through Number 45 was included in the
latest edition of EP 1165-2-1 (see above).

RESEARCH REPORTS

The following reports provide additional information on a wide variety of

planning topics. Most of these publications were prepared by the Institute for Water
Resources (IWR) and can be ordered by contacting:

Publications Manager
Institute for Water Resources
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
7701 Telegraph Road
Alexandria, Virginia 22315-3868
[Fax orders to 703/428-8171]

General Planning

Project Partnership Kit. IWR Report 96-R-10, March 1996.

This report presents “Corps 101" for State, county and local
governments and agencies interested in sponsoring a civil works study
or project. It covers partners’ rights and responsibilities; Corps
missions and programs; who’s who in the Corps; phases of project
development; funding and financing; negotiable items; and project
documents.

Handbook of Forecasting Techniques. IWR Report 75-7, December 1975.

This report is designed to help planners improve their expertise in

long-range forecasting. It presents twelve basic methods for
forecasting that are described and illustrated with examples.

Handbook of Forecasting Techniques, Part II, Description of 31 Techniques.

Supplement to IWR Report 75-7. August 1977.

This report describes thirty-one of the most popular techniques used

by forecasters in the early 1970s.

275
Public Involvement and Related

Public Involvement Techniques: A Reader of Ten Years Experience at the Institute

for Water Resources. IWR Report 82-R1, May 1983.

This is a collection of articles on public involvement programs,

defining the public, public meetings, techniques and methods, and
other public involvement related topics. A second Reader covering
recent experience is in preparation.

Environmental Manager’s Handbook on Public Involvement. Spring 1995. (Report

available through the Institute for Water Resources).

This report provides practical information on public involvement

activities at Army installations, and much of it is applicable to Civil
Works and other planning. Topics covered include public
involvement requirements, designing public involvement programs,
designing and conducting workshops, and working with advisory
groups.

Partnering. IWR Pamphlet 91-ADR-P-4, December 1991.

This pamphlet describes concepts and the implementation of

partnering, an approach designed to create a positive, disputes-
prevention atmosphere during contract negotiation. Partnering uses
team-building activities to help define common goals, improve
communication, and foster a problem-solving attitude among
individuals who must work together.

Tri-Service Committee: Air Force, Army Navy. Partnering Guide for Environmental
Missions of the Air Force, Army and Navy. July 1996. (Report available through the
Institute for Water Resources).

This report addresses partnering in the Department of Defense

environmental mission, who are partners, a “how to” guide to
partnering, frequently asked questions, and case studies.

National Economic Development Analyses

An Overview Manual for Conducting National Economic Development Analysis.

IWR Report 91-R-11, October 1991.

This manual provides an overview of the National Economic

Development principle that is essential in determining whether the
Federal government will construct any water resource development
project. Analysts working within this framework and decision makers
who must understand it are the manual’s intended audience.

276
National Economic Development Cost Manual. IWR Report 93-R-12, June 1993.

This manual provides a framework for thinking about National

Economic Development (NED) costs and their various uses by the
Corps. The intent is to furnish the reader with the tools necessary to
understand what NED costs are, how they are used, and how they
differ from other definitions of costs. To understand NED costs, it is
essential that the nature of these other costs be considered as well.

Deep Draft Navigation. IWR Report 91-R-13, November 1991.

The two purposes of this manual are: to explain the concept and
application of National Economic Development evaluation to harbor
project sponsors, and to assist the individuals who perform evaluation
studies to expeditiously comply with Principles and Guidelines’
requirements. The procedures are designated “Deep Draft
Navigation” in the Principles and Guidelines, but apply to all
commercial navigation projects not a part of the “Inland Waterways
System”. The manual covers theoretical and practical aspects of
benefit evaluation, provides sources of information to identify and
estimate future project use, and contains examples of benefit
calculations.

Urban Flood Damage. IWR Report 88-R-2, March 1988.

The primary purpose of this manual is to provide an expanded

description of the benefit procedures described for urban flood
damages in the Principles and Guidelines. It provides specific
procedures for the entire process of estimating National Economic
Development urban flood damage reduction benefits and is intended
for use in project feasibility planning and evaluation. It is intended to
be a reference guide to questions an analyst might have in conducting
an urban flood damage evaluation.

Urban Flood Damage - Volume II: Primer for Surveying Flood Damage for
Residential Structures and Contents. IWR Report 91-R-10, October 1991.

This manual is a primer for conducting comprehensive flood damage

and related surveys. It explains how basic principles of survey
research can be applied to data collection for flood damage studies.
Two prototype questionnaires (one face-to-face and one mail with a
preliminary telephone supplement) for collecting residential flood
damage and related information are presented. Examples from
previous applications of these questionnaires provide insight as to
how they may be adapted and implemented for future flood damage
studies.

277
Coastal Storm Damage and Erosion. IWR Report 91-R-6, August 1991.

This manual provides a description of benefit evaluation procedures

for the prevention of coastal storm damage and erosion, based on
principles included in the Principles and Guidelines. It presents
selected, specific procedures for the entire process of benefit
estimation and is intended for use in project feasibility planning and
evaluation. It is intended to serve as a reference guide to questions
posed by an economic analyst in conducting a coastal storm damage
and erosion prevention evaluation.

Agricultural Flood Damage. IWR Report 87-R-10, October 1987.

This manual provides an expanded description of the agricultural

benefit evaluation procedures recommended in the Principles and
Guidelines. It presents specific procedures for the entire process of
agricultural benefit estimation and is intended for use in project
feasibility planning and evaluation. It is intended to be a reference
guide to questions an analyst might have in conducting an agricultural
benefit evaluation.

Recreation - Volume I: Recreation Use and Benefit Estimation Techniques. IWR

Report 86-R-4, March 1986.

The primary purpose of this manual is to provide an expanded

description of the recreation evaluation procedures recommended in
the Principles and Guidelines. It summarizes the conceptual basis
of procedures for recreation valuation associated with water and
related land resources planning, describes the mechanics of acceptable
recreation valuation methods, and offers criteria for determining the
applicability of various methods to particular planning situations.

Recreation - Volume II: A Guide for Using the Contingent Value Methodology in
Recreation Studies. IWR Report 86-R-5, March 1986.

This manual is designed to assist Corps planners in using the

contingent value method (CVM) for the evaluation of National
Economic Development recreation benefits. Along with the travel
cost method, the CVM is recommended in the Principles and
Guidelines for evaluating the recreation benefits of water resources
development projects. In addition to presenting the concepts and
background required for using the CVM, several examples are
provided to further describe the basic process required in its
application.

278
Recreation - Volume III: A Case Study Application of Contingent Value Method for
Estimating Urban Recreation Use Benefits. IWR Report 90-R-11, November 1990.

This manuals documents, through a case study demonstration, the

practical application of the contingent value method (CVM) in an
actual recreation planning study. The case study description serves
as a practical guide and, therefore, emphasizes what was done more
than the concepts behind the techniques used. Specific objectives
include: illustration of the CVM in the estimation of recreation use
and benefits in an urban application; illustration of the development
of regional valuation models; and discussion of the potential
transferability of the process and findings to other planning
applications.

Recreation - Volume VI: Evaluating Changes in the Quality of the Recreation

Experience. IWR Report 91-R-7, July 1991.

This manual emphasizes the evaluation of changes in quality of the

recreation experience (shifts in the demand schedule). The primary
purpose of this manual is to describe procedures and methodologies
for valuating changes in recreation use and value resulting from
management decisions impacting on recreation facilities and services
and on the related natural resource base.

Public Surveys - Volume I: Use and Adaptation of Office of Management and Budget
Approved Survey Questionnaire Items for the Collection of Planning Data. IWR
Report 93-R-2, January 1993.

This manual provides guidance for the use of the Office of

Management and Budget approved survey questionnaire items. It
provides specific guidance on cross referencing the compendium of
approved survey questionnaires by: topic of study, methods of data
collection, and types of survey questions. It also provides general
survey implementation and analysis guidance, supplementing
coverage of the survey process contained in earlier National Economic
Development Manuals.

Environmental Analyses

Compilation and Review of Completed Restoration and Mitigation Studies in

Developing an Evaluation Framework for Environmental Resources, Volumes I and
II. IWR Reports 95-R-4 and 95-R-5, April 1995.

This two-volume set describes important environmental restoration

and mitigation planning issues currently facing Corps planners.
Findings are based on ten field case studies, including interviews of
both Corps and non-Corps study team members, and a focus session

279
 conducted with Washington level reviewers. Volume I includes a
description of the research approach, and findings and
recommendations for future research. Detailed summaries of the
focus session and the individual case study interviews are in Volume
II.

Environmental Valuation: The Role of Stakeholder Communication and

Collaborative Planning. IWR Report 96-R-14.

This report describes how understanding the perspectives of

stakeholders in Corps environmental projects might improve the
identification and communication of project benefits. This report is
based, in part, on three case studies of current Corps environmental
projects as well as interviews with Headquarters personnel involved
in policy making for or review of environmental projects.

An Introduction to Risk and Uncertainty in the Evaluation of Environmental

Investments. IWR Report 96-R-8, March 1996.

This report introduced Corps personnel involved in the planning of

environmental restoration projects to the basics of risk and
uncertainty analysis. The taxonomy of terms described in this report
provides the new risk analyst with a way to think about the
knowledge, model, and quantity uncertainty that is present in
environmental planning. Selected tools and broad concepts are
introduced as a means of addressing these uncertainties. An example
introducing risk-based analysis to the estimation of habitat unit
changes is offered to demonstrate the feasibility of some of the
methods presented in this report.

Incorporating Risk and Uncertainty into Environmental Evaluation: An Annotated

Bibliography. IWR Draft Report 96-R-9.

This report summarizes the applicability of existing Corps of

Engineers guidance (on risk-based analysis of flood damage reduction
projects and major rehabilitations of hydropower and navigation
projects) to environmental projects. In brief, while the sources of
uncertainty in the evaluations of these kinds of projects obviously
differ from environmental projects, addressing such topics as the
decomposition of risk among constituent parts and analytical
techniques for dealing with uncertainty do provide valuable insight
into how risk analysis might be applied to environmental investment
planning. The report also reviews literature dealing with general risk
and uncertainty assessment and management techniques and specific
examples of risk analysis applications with an environmental
emphasis.

280
Resource Significance: A New Perspective for Environmental Project Planning.
IWR Report 95-R-10, June 1995.

Resource significance is one metric that can be used in the selection

and prioritization of environmental projects for implementation. This
report provides a brief discussion of the concept of resource
significance in terms of scientific or technical, institutional, and
public criteria. It provides a summary of a review of 95 existing
programs that have been developed for purposes of ranking projects,
with more detailed summaries of selected programs that assist in
determining environmental significance. Included in the review are
examples of Federal, regional, state, and nonprofit programs and
programs for historical properties.

Prototype Information Tree for Environmental Restoration Plan Formulation and

Cost Estimation. IWR Report 95-R-3, March 1995.

This report focuses on three specific objectives: 1) developing a

prototype information tree to provide and organize information useful
for formulating and estimating the costs of environmental restoration
and mitigation plans; 2) describing the contents and linkages within
the tree; and 3) beginning the process of building the tree database
and identifying data deficiencies and data sources. Preliminary
implementation of the tree is provided with illustrative linkages of
broad problem area/management approaches to management
measures to management techniques to major environmental
engineering features for lakes and ponds, rivers and streams, non-tidal
wetlands, and tidal wetlands.

National Review of Non-Corps Environmental Restoration Projects. IWR Report 95-

R-12, December 1995.

This report has compiled and compared management measures,

engineering features, monitoring techniques, and detailed costs for a
representative sample of non-Corps environmental projects or
engineering projects (39) with environmental features. This report is
part of the series of reports that will help build into the Prototype
Information Tree for Environmental Restoration Plan Formulation
and Cost Estimation report. The projects are categorized into sixteen
types, based on the project’s primary features.

Review of Monetary and Nonmonetary Valuation of Environmental Investments.

IWR Report 95-R-2, February 1995.

Placing value on the environment, whether through monetary-based

methods or through other evaluation techniques, has been and will
continue to be a widely debated topic. The conceptual foundation and
institutional setting for pursuing further study are developed in this

281
 report. Specific objectives are to: 1) describe services provided by
environmental resources and systems and methods for their
measurement or valuation; 2) review existing research programs and
products; and 3) evaluate the resource constraints on potential Corps’
field applications. Independent expert views from an economist,
engineer, ecologist, and psychologist as to environmental outputs and
valuation techniques are included as appendices.

Linkages Between Environmental Outputs and Human Services. IWR Report 96-R-4,
February 1996.

This report identifies relevant socioeconomic use and nonuse values

associated with environmental projects and also improves the linkages
between environmental output measures and necessary inputs for
socioeconomic evaluation. It answers the question: What are the
possible changes in the ecosystem that may result from Corps
environmental mitigation and restoration projects, and what outputs
and services do these changes provide society? The report includes
a suite of tables which link management options, to ecological inputs,
to ecological outputs, and then finally to human services. Also,
indirect effects of management options are identified.

Trends and Patterns in Cultural Resource Significance: An Historical Perspective

and Annotated Bibliography. IWR Report 96-EL-1, January 1996.

This report offers a broad, analytical review of the literature

concerned with the challenging subject of evaluating cultural resource
significance. The review of significance includes an annotated
bibliography and an analysis section. The literature summarized is
extensive and is not accessible widely to the archeological and
cultural resource management communities. Twenty-one major
themes or concepts were established to characterize the breadth of
archaeological views and ideas about significance. A review of each
theme was undertaken, including both a discussion and a graphical
presentation of trends through time.

Cost Effectiveness Analysis for Environmental Planning: Nine EASY Steps. IWR
Report 94-PS-2, October 1994.

The report presents step-by-step instructions about how to conduct

cost effectiveness and incremental cost analyses for environmental
restoration and mitigation, using an example to illustrate their
application to a planning problem.

282
Bussey Lake: Demonstration Study of Incremental Analysis in Environmental
Planning. IWR Report 93-R-16, December 1993.

The report presents the results of a demonstration study that tested

the procedure for cost effectiveness and incremental cost analyses
using data from the Bussey Lake habitat restoration study.

Evaluation of Environmental Investments Procedures Manual Interim: Cost

Effectiveness and Incremental Cost Analyses. IWR Report 95-R-1, May 1995.

This manual is a guide for conducting cost effectiveness and

incremental cost analyses for the evaluation of alternative
environmental restoration or mitigation plans. It presents a
procedural framework for conducting the cost analyses and discusses
how they fit into, and contribute to the water resources planning
process. Discussed are the conceptual underpinnings, practical step-
by-step procedures, and implications for decision making.

ECO-EASY, Cost Effectiveness and Incremental Cost Analyses, Beta Version 2.6.
May 1995.

This software automates the step-by-step procedures for cost

effectiveness and incremental cost analyses, as described in IWR
Report 95-R-1.

Trade-off Analysis for Environmental Projects: An Annotated Bibliography. IWR

Research Report 95-R-8, August 1995.

This study explores the literature for analytical techniques that can
support the complex decision-making process associated with Corps
environmental projects. The literature review focuses on
opportunities for using trade-off methodologies and group processes
in environmental plan formulation and evaluation. An annotated
bibliography is included.

Development of an Integrated Bio-Economic Planning System for Corps of

Engineers Planning Projects: Conceptual Design. IWR Report 96-EL-2, February
1996.

This report describes the conceptual design of an Environmental

Decision Support System (EDSS) that would give planners the ability
to design multiple management scenarios and assess the biological
outputs associated with each scenario in a “user-friendly”
environment. The EDSS would allow comparisons of multiple
scenarios and combinations of scenarios using a cost effectiveness
and incremental cost strategy. Four major components would be
combined to produce the EDSS: 1) spatial information and analysis;
2) environmental benefit and cost evaluations; 3) cost effectiveness

283
 and incremental cost analyses; and 4) multiple management design
analyses.

Civil Works Environmental Desk Reference. IWR Report 96-PS-3, July 1996.

This contains summary profiles of 62 Federal environmental laws

applicable to the Civil Works Program. Each profile includes: legal
citations, common names, statute summaries, references to related
Corps guidance, general compliance requirements, and suggestions
for restoration-related management opportunities. Full text copies of
22 Executive Orders related to the environment are also included.

284
 INDEX

285
286
INDEX
1928 Flood Control Act, 31
308 Reports, 33
acceptability, 40, 60, 77, 81, 85, 154, 158, 163, 170
accuracy, 100, 107, 117
acid mine drainage, 93, 138, 139, 187, 195
activities, 1, 8, 11, 13, 20, 24, 25, 33, 48-50, 52, 53, 62, 66, 87, 93, 94, 103, 109, 118, 123-125, 161, 169, 185,
195, 204, 205, 208, 210, 213, 214, 254, 256
advisory committee, 205
advisory groups, 256
affected area, 65, 107
alternative(s), 3, 11-13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 23, 35, 36, 39, 40, 48, 49, 59, 61, 62, 65, 67, 79, 80, 82, 84-86, 95,
97,101-104, 108-110, 113, 115-119, 121, 122, 124-126, 128, 129, 131, 134-137, 140-143, 145, 149,
151,
152, 154-157, 159, 160, 165-167, 169, 170, 173, 175-179, 181-190, 195, 201, 202, 205, 206, 208, 223,
229, 235-237, 244, 254, 263
alternative means, 35, 140
alternative plan(s), 3, 11, 12, 15, 20, 35, 39, 40, 48, 49, 61, 62, 65, 67, 79, 80, 82, 85, 86, 95, 97, 102, 103,
108-
10, 115, 117, 119, 121, 122, 124-126, 128, 129, 131, 136, 137, 141, 142, 145, 149, 151, 154-157, 159,
160, 165-167, 169, 170, 175-177, 181, 195, 205, 244
analysis of interrelated decision areas, 140
analysis of needs, 35
analytical hierarchical process, 178
appraisal, 145, 147, 148, 151, 152, 154, 158, 165, 167, 247
array of alternative plans, 128, 137
assessment, 13, 16, 19, 20, 49, 51, 58, 61, 118, 145, 147, 148, 150, 151, 161, 165, 167, 214, 221, 222, 261
available resources, 13, 35
bar charts, 232
barrier buster, 216
base condition, 100, 101, 115
base year, 99, 101-103
benefit-cost analysis, 13, 34, 35, 153, 171, 176, 183
benefit-cost ratio, 123, 164
biodiversity, 148
Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, 33
booths, 206
boxplot, 233
briefings, 205
brochures, 206
Bureau of Reclamation, 34
Bureau of the Budget, 34, 36
business analyzer, 216
charrettes, 206

287
chart, 231-233
Circular A-47, 34-37
Circular Letters, 33
circumstances change, 187, 197
coach, 199, 216
coffee klatches, 206
combinability, 128, 129, 131, 137, 141
commensurable, 172, 174, 176, 185
comparing plans, 171, 176
comparison, 3, 9, 15, 34, 40, 58-61, 75, 86, 97, 100, 102, 115, 116, 118, 121, 128, 145, 147-150, 152-154,
158-161, 166, 167, 169-174, 176, 178-182, 184, 185, 194, 205
comparison of plans, 3, 152, 153, 166, 167, 169, 172-174, 179, 180, 184, 205
completeness, 40, 60, 154, 155, 163, 170
complex comparisons, 178
composition, 127, 128, 210, 223, 232
comprehensive, 2, 17, 23, 31, 33, 35, 42, 43, 52, 59, 89, 94, 96, 117, 128, 142, 194, 195, 258
comprehensive study of the watershed, 33
concordance analysis, 178
conjunctive method, 178
consensus, 9, 77, 81, 97, 201, 206, 214, 217
conservation movement, 30, 32
constraints, 3, 13, 15, 60, 63, 70, 75, 79-82, 84, 85, 87, 89, 93-97, 104, 106, 109, 118, 121-124, 131, 132, 142,
146, 148, 151-153, 163, 170, 183, 191-194, 198, 200, 205, 262
construction materials, 66
contest, 206
continuing authority, 18, 31, 42, 51, 126
continuing authority programs, 18, 51, 126
Corps of Engineers, 1, 2, 5, 11, 26, 27, 31, 34, 45, 49, 52, 53, 59, 64, 80, 140, 192, 199, 206, 241, 245,
247-250, 255, 261, 264
correspondence analysis, 177, 248
cost allocation, 35, 48
cost-effectiveness, 13, 157, 176, 185
creative problem solving techniques, 135
credibility, 61, 85, 89, 103, 139, 200, 201, 206
cross sections, 233
current conditions, 70
customer advocate, 216
data collection, 99, 105-107, 194, 201, 258, 259
decision-maker(s), 9, 38, 84, 89, 101, 115, 117-119, 128, 159, 167, 169, 179-181, 184-186, 188, 222
Delphi techniques, 207
dependency, 129, 131, 141
design drawings, 233
development, 2, 3, 7, 8, 12, 16-18, 21, 24-32, 34-39, 41-43, 45, 46, 48, 49, 59, 65, 69, 73, 78, 79, 86, 87, 94,
95, 101, 103, 106, 110, 118, 123, 140, 146, 152, 158, 160, 161, 164, 165, 167, 178, 187, 190, 191,
208,
214, 233, 241-244, 247-250, 253, 255, 257, 259, 260, 264

288
diagrams, 233
dimensions, 58, 71, 73-75, 100, 107, 112, 126, 128, 157
discount rate, 38, 67
discrepancy analysis, 178
discussion groups, 205
disjunctive method, 178
displays, 48, 90, 166, 206, 233
doing nothing, 71, 116, 181, 182
dominance, 178
Dominance criterion, 178
drawings, 90, 166, 233, 234
drought preparation study, 17
duration, 56, 66, 77, 81-84, 127, 150, 151, 254
ecosystem function, 20
ecosystem restoration, 11, 16, 17, 20, 42, 87, 90, 104, 113, 127, 141, 143, 153, 183, 185, 210
effect, 12, 40, 55, 63, 82, 83, 100, 102, 113, 132, 146-152, 160, 175, 177, 214
effectiveness, 13, 20, 40, 60, 96, 113, 141, 154-156, 163, 164, 170, 176, 185, 186, 210, 248, 263, 264
effects matrix, 175
efficiency, 20, 35, 36, 38, 40, 60, 154, 156, 157, 163, 170, 209
ELECTRE, 178
elimination by aspect, 178
e-mail addresses, 206
Endangered Species Act, 170
Engineer Bulletins, 33
Engineering Regulation (ER) 1105-2-100, 3
environmental impact assessment, 20, 49, 51
environmental movement, 32, 37
environmental planning, 20, 37, 40, 50, 113, 246, 247, 260, 263
environmental quality, 13, 20, 32, 38, 39, 41, 42, 49, 87, 92, 158, 160, 161, 165, 254
EQ, 38-41, 48-50, 87, 160, 161, 165, 167
EQ plan, 39, 40
ER 1105-2-100, 18, 47, 50, 51, 68, 119, 166, 253, 254
evaluation, 3, 7, 11-13, 15, 20, 22, 26, 34-36, 39-41, 44, 48-51, 53, 58-61, 86, 97, 102, 115-117, 121, 128,
131,
141, 143, 145, 147-149, 151-154, 156-160, 162, 163, 165-172, 176-180, 183-185, 194, 205, 244-248,
253, 257-264
evaluation of environmental effects, 20
event, 111, 162, 163, 206, 207, 229
explanatory methods, 113, 115
external data, 109
external environment, 89, 110, 111
extrapolation methods, 114
facilitator, 216
favored alternative, 179
feasibility, 1, 12, 13, 17, 25, 42, 64, 87, 107, 110, 157, 160, 164, 189, 192, 194, 197, 221, 222, 235, 254, 257,
258, 260

289
Feasibility Cost-Sharing Agreement, 64
feature(s), 68, 123-126, 126, 142, 161, 162, 202, 261, 262
Federal/non-Federal partnership, 64, 69, 82
Federal Inter-Agency River Basin Committee, 35
field office, 206
figures, 99, 230
fish and wildlife conservation, 20
Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1958, 20
flood control, 18, 29-34, 38, 45, 66, 86, 87, 90, 118, 159, 199, 213, 241, 247, 253
Flood Control Act of 1917, 31
Flood Control Act of 1936, 31, 33
Flood Control Act of 1944, 31
Flood Control Act of 1970, 38, 159
flood control acts, 18, 32
flood insurance, 138, 139
flow charts, 233
focus groups, 203, 205
forecast, 3, 12, 15, 40, 48, 50, 59, 61, 99, 101, 103, 111, 113, 115, 119, 129, 147-149, 155, 167, 190, 226
forecasts, 56, 60, 61, 90, 99, 101, 103, 109-111, 113, 114, 117, 186, 230
formal methodology, 140
formulate, 9, 10, 12, 39, 41, 48, 80, 84, 86, 116, 122, 124, 129, 131, 132, 135, 142, 172, 195
formulation of alternative plans, 3, 15, 40, 121, 122
four accounts, 38, 40, 48, 159, 160, 166, 167
function, 17, 20, 29, 47, 128, 129, 146, 196, 206, 208, 209, 226
future oriented, 100, 117, 118
Gallatin report, 29
games, 207
Geologic Survey, 109
Gibbons vs. Ogden, 29
goals, 10, 12, 15, 17, 27, 63, 67, 69, 70, 75-79, 86, 87, 114, 177, 200, 208, 211, 213, 215, 217, 223, 244, 254,
256
goals-achievement method, 177
graphs, 166, 230, 232, 233
Green Book, 35, 37
Guidance for Conducting Civil Works Planning Studies, 3, 47, 50, 253
Gunning Fog Index, 227, 229
headings, 221, 230, 233-235
high-low-close, 233
historic condition(s), 74, 99, 100, 101, 104
home page, 201, 207
homogeneous, 107
honesty, 118
House Document No. 308, 31
human satisfactions, 35
idealized design, 140
IDEALS concept, 140, 245

290
identification of problems and opportunities, 3, 15, 58, 69, 89
identify, 9, 12, 21, 49, 50, 56, 58, 59, 62, 63, 70, 73-75, 83, 84, 87, 91, 93, 94, 96, 99, 101-103, 108, 112,
113, 116, 118, 119, 123, 131, 134, 137, 143, 147, 148, 153, 156, 164, 167, 169, 171-173, 191,
203-205, 221, 257
implementability, 158
implementation is blocked, 187
implementation studies, 3, 15, 41, 47, 48, 65, 250, 253
inclusive, 24, 117, 118
incremental cost analyses, 141, 164, 176, 183, 185, 248, 263, 264
information bulletins, 206
information gathering, 99, 100, 105, 108, 110, 133, 192
information gathering and management, 105
information gathering strategy, 107, 108, 110, 113, 119
inland navigation, 29, 49
inland waterways, 29, 42, 257
inserts, 206
interdisciplinary team, 67, 136, 196, 208
internal data, 109
internal environment, 112
interviewing key people, 206
inventory, 3, 12, 15, 40, 48, 50, 58, 90, 97, 99, 111, 115, 226
inventory and forecast of resources, 3
irrigation, 28, 30, 31, 129
issue-based information systems, 140
iterative planning, 55, 57, 132, 142
judgmental methods, 113
kitchen meetings, 206
lateral thinking, 133, 134, 136
leader, 215-217
lexicographic method, 178
likely future, 59, 99, 101, 103, 115, 117, 148, 149
line graph, 231, 232
living example, 216
local benefit, 33
local cooperation, 33
locally preferred plan, 124, 161, 182-184
location(s), 19, 65, 71, 73, 74, 77, 81-84, 105-107, 125, 127, 128, 150, 151, 165, 210, 231, 233
logistics planning, 1, 19
macroenvironment, 111, 112
macroenvironmental, 111, 112
major rehabilitation, 1, 16, 18, 104, 261
management measures, 86, 95, 121, 124-126, 128, 129, 131, 134, 136, 137, 141, 142, 262
maps, 90, 106, 108, 222, 230, 232-234
master planning, 1, 16, 18, 19, 21
maximax criterion, 178
maximin criterion, 178

291
maximizing net benefits, 35
measures, 7, 36, 42, 58-61, 66, 84, 86, 95, 100, 121, 122, 124-129, 131, 133, 134, 136-143, 145, 159, 162,
165, 167, 178, 185, 196, 205, 229, 262
median ranking method, 178
mediation, 207
military construction projects, 1, 19
military traffic management command, 19
Mississippi River Commission, 30
mitigation, 16, 18, 20, 96, 123, 124, 132, 162, 196, 208, 229, 260-263
mobilization master planning, 18
models, 11-13, 90, 141, 144, 180, 206, 248, 259
monetary evaluation methods, 176
monitoring methods, 113
morphological box, 140
most likely future conditions with a project, 99
most likely future conditions without a project, 99
most probable future, 101
multi-criteria evaluation methods, 176, 178
multi-dimensional scalogram analysis, 177
multi-objective planning, 41, 48, 95
multi-purpose, 30-32, 37, 96
multi-purpose planning, 31, 37, 96
multi-purpose projects, 30, 96
national benefits, 33
national defense, 35
national economic development (NED), 17, 37-42, 48, 49, 53, 76, 78, 79, 82, 86, 87, 92, 94, 95, 101, 110,
119, 123, 124, 143, 146, 148, 151, 153, 156, 158-162, 165, 167, 170-173, 176, 178, 180-186, 188,
191, 195, 196, 228, 248, 249, 257, 259, 260, 273
National Economic Development Procedures Manual(s), 49, 101, 151
national economic efficiency, 35, 38
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 20, 37, 41, 61-63, 92, 116, 146, 148, 159, 165, 181, 183, 189,
199, 202, 228, 254
navigation, 16-18, 28-31, 33, 49, 80, 87, 90, 96, 103, 104, 111, 123, 127, 131, 146, 155, 169, 196, 249,
257, 261
NED plan, 40, 41, 123, 124, 143, 161, 162, 164, 172, 178, 180-186, 188, 195
need a way to measure it, 150
net benefit analyses, 176
never funded, 187
news group, 134, 207
newsletters, 206, 207
nominal group methods, 115
nonstructural measures, 122, 126
normative methods, 114
no-action, 101, 116, 181, 186
no-action alternative, 101, 116, 181, 186
objective(s), 3, 10-12, 15, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23, 26, 29, 32, 35, 37-39, 41, 45, 48, 49, 58-60, 67, 69-71, 75-87,

292
 89, 91-97, 103-105, 107-109, 114, 121, 122, 124, 125, 131, 132, 134, 136-143, 146-149, 151-154,
156, 157, 159, 162-164, 166, 167, 170, 172, 175, 177-179, 182, 183, 185-187, 192, 194, 195, 200,
205, 208, 211, 214, 242, 244, 245, 250, 259, 261, 262
objectives-measures matrix, 136, 137, 139
observer, 202, 207
Office of Management and Budget, 64, 184, 187, 206, 221, 259
Omnibus bill, 18
opportunity, 60, 70, 71, 73-75, 82-84, 87, 91-94, 108, 109, 122, 128, 157, 162, 190, 195, 201, 207, 236
other planning functions, 2
other social effects, 13, 40, 87, 146, 160, 162, 166
overlapping, 9, 128, 129, 132, 146
P&G, 3, 7, 15, 27, 32, 33, 41, 42, 44, 47-51, 60-62, 64, 65, 67-69, 79, 86, 94, 99, 122, 124, 143, 145, 147,
154-160, 164-167, 169, 170, 181, 182, 194, 199, 253
P&S, 38-40, 44
pairwise comparison, 178
panel formats, 205
period of analysis, 65-67, 94
period of economic analysis, 65, 67
photographs, 106, 166, 233
physical data, 105
physical location, 125
physical properties, 127
pictogram, 232
pictures, 58, 115, 232, 233
pie charts, 232
plan(s), 1, 3, 7-13, 15-25, 30, 31, 34-42, 48-51, 56-62, 64-68, 70, 73-75, 79, 80, 82-86, 94-97, 99, 100-106,
108-113, 115-119, 121-129, 131-137, 139-143, 145-162, 164-190, 192-202, 205, 208, 210, 224, 226,
244, 261-264
plan evaluation, 3, 117, 160, 162, 167, 179
plan formulation, 3, 7, 23-25, 36-38, 58, 80, 84, 121, 123, 124, 128, 129, 132-135, 137, 139, 143, 151, 190,
192, 196, 205, 208, 261, 262, 264
plan is flawed, 186
plan selection, 3, 48, 60, 86, 99, 101, 148, 185, 187
planner, 2, 10, 12, 21-23, 47, 50, 60, 64, 71, 73, 84, 104, 105, 107, 109, 126, 135, 140, 147, 149, 151, 172,
179, 190, 195, 208, 274
planning, 1-3, 5, 7-42, 44-53, 55-71, 73-76, 78-80, 82-91, 93-97, 99-113, 115-119, 121-128, 131-134, 136,
137, 139-143, 145-154, 156-160, 162-164, 166, 167, 169-173, 175, 177-202, 204-213, 215, 216, 218,
221-224, 226, 227, 241-250, 253-261, 263, 264, 270-275, 277, 278
planning area, 15, 37, 40, 62, 65, 66, 82, 84, 99, 101, 102, 107, 109, 110, 119, 126, 164, 208
planning assistance to the states, 1
planning constraints, 80, 87, 121, 142, 163, 198
planning horizon, 65, 66, 116
planning model, 11-13, 15, 23
planning objectives, 3, 20, 23, 37, 49, 58-60, 70, 75, 76, 79, 80, 82, 86, 87, 89, 91, 93-95, 97, 104, 105,
107, 109, 121, 122, 124, 125, 131, 132, 134, 136, 137, 139, 141-143, 146, 148, 149, 151-154, 156,
162, 166, 170, 172, 175, 182, 183, 185, 186, 195, 205, 211

293
planning setting, 15, 39, 41, 63, 68, 69
political unity, 29
preliminary examination, 34
preservation, 21, 32, 37, 38, 65, 166
primarily non-structural plan, 40
primary data, 109
principle component analysis, 177
principles, 2, 3, 7, 15, 26, 27, 32, 35, 37, 38, 40, 41, 44-48, 50, 95-97, 121, 126, 131, 133, 184, 243, 246, 250,
253, 257-259
Principles and Guidelines (P&G), 3, 7, 15, 27, 32, 33, 41, 42, 44, 46-51, 60-62, 64, 65, 67-69, 79, 86, 94-96,
99, 121, 122, 124, 126, 131, 143, 145, 154-160, 164-167, 169, 170, 181, 182, 194, 199, 253, 257-259
principles of the partnership, 184
problem(s), 1, 3, 9-13, 15-17, 21, 23, 25-27, 31, 33, 35, 36, 39-41, 43, 56, 58-60, 62, 64, 69-75, 77, 81-85,
87-97, 102-110, 117, 119, 121-124, 126, 128, 131, 133-136, 140, 144, 146, 155, 166, 179, 186, 187,
189-197, 200-206, 208, 209, 213, 215, 218, 222, 224, 226, 229, 235, 241-243, 247, 250, 256, 261, 263
problem and opportunity statements, 75
problem definition, 13, 71, 73, 90, 92
problem statement, 71-73, 107
procedures, 2, 7, 11, 33-37, 39-41, 44, 48-51, 92, 101, 110, 141, 158, 164-167, 177, 211, 225, 227, 246, 248,
249, 254, 257-259, 263, 264
program(s), 1, 10, 11, 13, 16-20, 23, 27, 28, 31, 34-36, 40, 42, 43, 45, 50, 51, 53, 63, 78, 86, 87, 92, 93, 96,
108, 124, 126, 127, 140, 1422, 143, 155, 182, 186, 200, 201, 203-207, 233, 235, 236, 242, 244 249,
253-256, 261, 262, 264
project area, 65
project cooperation agreement, xxi, 64, 157
project development, 24, 25, 32, 59, 255
project validation assessment, 16, 19
public concerns, 74, 90, 200, 201
public hearings, 205
public involvement, 3, 15, 88, 108, 193, 198-205, 207, 218, 219, 256
public recognition, 146, 148, 149
public works project, 28
quality, 12, 13, 20, 21, 32, 37-42, 48, 49, 58, 64, 73, 74, 87, 92, 93, 96, 99, 103-107, 110-112, 118,
138, 146, 158, 160, 161, 165, 166, 169, 192, 210, 211, 218, 234, 235, 243, 249, 254, 259
quality of the environment, 20, 37, 38
quantitative methods, 113
quantity, 104, 105, 107, 112, 138, 232, 260
question and answer sessions, 205
questionnaires, 206, 207, 258, 259
radio, 203, 206, 207, 235, 236
ranking index, 174, 177
rankings, 150, 173, 178, 179
rational, 1-3, 5, 7-9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 20, 42, 57, 105, 117, 118, 142, 143, 160, 184, 185, 203, 242, 247
RD, 38
reclamation act, 30
reconnaissance, 1, 17, 25, 34, 87, 189, 192, 221, 222, 235, 254, 255

294
recreation, 17, 31, 49, 66, 96, 123, 162, 190, 249, 258, 259
refinements, 95, 122, 127, 128, 142, 176
reformulate, 131
reformulation, 131, 132
regional development, 37-39, 243
regional economic development, 35, 38, 87, 146, 160, 165, 167
relationships, 13, 24, 89, 104, 113, 114, 129, 177, 209, 211, 216, 218, 232
representative, 105, 107, 110, 212, 262
resource constraints, 80, 87, 89, 262
restoration, 1, 11, 16, 17, 19, 20, 38, 42, 87, 90, 104, 108, 113, 118, 127, 131, 139, 141, 143, 153, 160,
183, 185, 210, 229, 260-264
River and Harbor Act, 31, 33
River and Harbor Act of 1875, 31
River and Harbor Act of 1925, 31
River and Harbor Act of June 5, 1920, 33
River and Harbor Acts, 31
River and Harbor and Flood Control Acts, 32
river basins, 31, 37
role, 16, 27, 35, 42, 45, 105, 118, 135, 176, 193, 198, 200, 201, 208, 210, 211, 216, 217, 219, 222, 241,
248, 250, 260
sample data, 107
satisfaction, 158
scales, 35, 126-128, 159, 231
scatter diagram, 232
scoping, 55, 60-63, 68, 109, 146, 191
screening, 3, 32, 55, 58-62, 68, 129, 145, 151, 152, 154-156, 159, 169, 170, 172, 188, 194, 195, 197
secondary data, 109, 110
Section 107 of the River and Harbor and Flood Control Act, 31
Section 14 of Flood Control Act of 1946, 31
Section 205 of Flood Control Act of 1948, 31
Section 22, 17
Section 3 of River and Harbor Act of 1945, 31
Senate Document Number 97 (SD 97), 36-38, 44, 246
set of refinements, 128
Sierra club, 199, 213
significance, 19, 21, 28, 66, 80, 109, 146, 148, 151, 152, 169, 185, 197, 230, 231, 261, 263
significantly differentiated, 122
simple additive weighting, 178
simple comparisons, 178, 232
simple description, 173
simple weighting, 174, 175
simulations, 207
single-purpose, 96
siting, 128
six-step planning process, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 13, 15, 20, 25, 26, 39, 42, 48, 49, 55, 61, 62, 137, 147, 186, 189, 190,
192, 193

295
size, 18, 86, 102, 116, 127, 153, 206, 232, 234
social well-being, 37-40
Soil Conservation Service, 34
solution, 9, 10, 36, 70, 73, 77, 81, 83, 84, 86, 91, 124, 126, 127, 133, 142, 143, 156, 181, 194-197
special studies, 19, 221
stakeholder, 67, 79, 118, 149, 166, 177, 204, 260
standards, 7, 34-41, 44, 48, 51, 69, 74, 93, 97, 99, 100, 117, 121, 145, 147, 152-154, 234, 246
statistical maps, 232, 233
story telling, 10, 235
strategic choice approach, 140
strategic options development and analysis, 140
strategic planning, 1, 16, 19, 111
strategy, 10, 11, 26, 107-110, 112, 113, 119, 126, 217, 248, 264
structural, 40, 66, 122, 123, 126, 162, 193, 196
study area, 64, 65, 87, 91, 95, 100, 103, 105, 107, 109, 113, 115, 116, 124, 135, 138, 162, 177, 206, 217
study hotline, 206
study management, 24, 25
study-specific constraints, 80
subcommittee on benefits and costs, 35
subheadings, 221, 230, 233, 235
subject, 23, 28, 47, 52, 60, 74, 77, 81-83, 95, 97, 112, 113, 119, 142, 143, 160, 169, 180, 183, 188, 191,
218, 229, 263
subjective probability elicitations, 115
support for others, 16, 19
survey report, 34
sustainable development, 244
Swamp Acts of 1849 and 1850, 29
SWB, 38
tables, 80, 140, 166, 230, 231, 233, 262
technical recognition, 148
technological methods, 114, 115
television, 203, 206, 207, 235, 236
things to measure, 146
time series methods, 113
timing, 63, 82, 83, 105, 107, 113, 127
toll free numbers, 206
TOPSIS, 178
town meetings, 205
trade-off analysis, 176, 178, 180, 264
trade-offs, 39, 116, 167, 169, 174, 177, 179, 182, 183
unbiased sample, 107
universal constraints, 80
value judgments, 169, 174, 176, 202, 207
versions, 36, 126, 143, 158, 185, 222
vertical thinking, 133, 134
water conservation, 40

296
water power, 30, 33
Water Resource Development Acts, 18, 42
water resource planning, 3, 27, 28, 33, 38, 49, 62, 69, 97, 143, 153, 166, 182, 188, 197, 245
Water Resources Council, 7, 37, 38, 44, 246, 250, 253
water resources development planning, 16, 21, 38
water resources planning, 1, 2, 9, 26-28, 32, 37, 39, 40, 48, 63, 64, 67, 68, 106, 123, 167, 180, 188, 192,
195, 204, 208, 241-243, 247, 248, 250, 263
Water Resources Planning Act, 37
watershed planning, 16, 17, 93, 96
Waterways Experiment Station, 53
weighted product, 178
well-being of people, 37
what is important, 1, 60, 68, 82, 146, 152, 170
wicked problems, 1, 9, 11, 110, 190, 209
with condition, 101, 102, 116, 149
without condition, 101, 116-118, 149, 150
without-project condition, 34, 50, 58, 80, 97, 100-104, 109, 111, 112, 115-119, 147, 149, 150, 167, 196
with-project, 34, 50, 80, 100-103, 116, 119, 147-150, 167
with-project condition, 100-102, 116, 147-149, 167
workshops, 132, 205, 206, 223, 237, 256

297