Efforts to assess the impact of extreme weather events

This report explores how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) prepares for and responds to extreme weather events in its planning and operation of water resources infrastructure projects; and the extent to which the Corps has assessed whether existing water resources infrastructure is prepared for extreme weather events. It includes the review of executive orders and Corps guidance on planning, operations, and assessments of infrastructure relating to extreme weather. It examines reports, studies, and plans from the Corps, including annual Corps Climate Change Adaptation Plans and the Corps Climate Preparedness and Resilience Policy Statement.

The report also features outcomes from interviews with Corps headquarters officials to obtain additional information about the agency’s policies, procedures, and processes for planning, operations, and assessments of infrastructure to prepare for and respond to extreme weather events, as well as with officials from USGS, NOAA, and NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS), NRCS, and the Bureau of Reclamation to learn about how the Corps interacts with these agencies and what extreme weather data they obtain from these agencies.