Federal Laws and Regulations

The Civil Works Environmental Desk Reference was prepared by the Institute for Water Resources as a "desk top reference on environmental statutes and environmental executive policy for Corps of Engineers Civil Works personnel. It contains summary profiles of environmental laws…" The Web site is: http://www.usace.army.mil/inet/functions/cw/cecwa/envdref2/index.htm. The Federal laws are presented here as they appear in the Desk Reference, which was last updated in July 1997.

The laws are listed in alphabetical order. At the end of the listing are links to two tables that cross-reference the acts by popular name, public law number, etc. (Appendix B,) and provide implementing guidance for the various Corps elements (Appendix C)).

One Act of particular note is the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act as amended in 1996, which is summarized under "Sustainable Fisheries Act" in the Desk Reference. This legislation contains wording on "essential fish habitat," which is defined as "those waters and substrate necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding or growth to maturity." Additional information on the Magnuson-Stevens Act is available here. The full text of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Public Law 94-265) as amended through October 11, 1996 is also available at the NMFS site: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/magact/magact.html.

An additional law not in the desk reference is the Estuaries and Clean Waters Act of 2000 (PL 106-457) that provides cost-shared funds for estuary habitat restoration projects. It is a complex act and currently not funded.

The text of the Estuaries and Clean Waters Act will be available on the Web from the National Archives and Records Administration: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/publaw/106publ.html

Go to http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/publaw/ for an index of laws listed by Congress, or to http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/ for the main directory that includes access to the Code of Federal regulations and to the Federal Register.

Because a number of laws have been amended since publication of the Desk Reference, readers should consult with Office of Counsel regarding the current status. There may also have been other legislation and/or Executive Orders that may affect ecosystem restoration activities.