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Planning Guidance: Economics
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Engineer Pamphlets (EPs) This pamphlet explains the benefits of, and requirements for, stakeholder engagement, collaboration, and coordination in Civil Works planning studies. These activities are critical to study success because they may foster trust and credibility between USACE and the communities we serve; increase collective understanding of problems; reduce controversy and litigation risks; and improve the quality and execution of our decisions. Note: This EP replaces the existing Appendix B of the Planning Guidance Notebook. Institute for Water Resources This manual, IWR Report 2013-R-05, describes flood risk management benefit evaluation procedures, and is intended for use in project feasibility planning and evaluation. Guidance Memos Institute for Water Resources This deep draft navigation NED manual is one of a series of guides to assist Corps field economists in computing National Economic Development benefits. The Manual describes accepted economic analysis procedures for deep draft navigation projects. Webpage Engineer Circulars (ECs) This circular provides guidance for a comprehensive evaluation of vertical datum on flood control, shore protection, hurricane protection, and navigation projects. Engineer Regulations (ERs) This regulation provides guidance for proper and accurately referenced materials for flood forecasting, inundation modeling, flood insurance rate maps, navigation charting, and topographic mapping. This ER was later supplemented by Engineer Manual 1110-2-6056: Standards and Procedures for Referencing Project Elevation Grades to Nationwide Vertical Datums (2010). Institute for Water Resources The Corps has recognized that there are many implementation issues that need to be addressed if OSE factors are to play a greater role in water resources planning. IWR was directed to provide tools to Corps planners to help integrate OSE analysis into project planning. This manual provides an overview of basic economic concepts and measures underlying the use of National Economic Development (NED) analysis in civil works planning studies. It was developed to complement the series of separate Procedures Manuals that provide detailed procedural guidance on computing NED benefits for various NED purposes. As the Corps of Engineers strives to improve its planning and decision making, economic analysis is one of its most reliable and important tools. A critical element of successful economic analysis is communication with others in gathering data, making assumptions, developing models, and presenting results. This Economics Primer presents the rudiments of the science of economics and its use in the Corps of Engineers. NETS Mississippi River Locks 12-25 (UMR 556 to 241) are critical to navigation on the Upper Mississippi River. In 2007 Lock 12 passed about 18 million tons, and Lock 25 passed about 30 million tons. Between June 13 and July 5, 2008, these locks were sequentially closed to navigation traffic for an unscheduled shutdown of the river due to flooding. A survey of the shippers and carriers affected by the emergency lock closures was conducted between 14 January and 6 March for the purpose of discerning industry reactions to the closures and the associated costs. Visiting Scholar Program Water and energy are the two renewable resources that are most essential for human livelihood. Whereas we have been mostly concerned with non-renewable resources, as the human population grows in size and in terms of the impact that it has on the biosphere, the renewable resources become equally important. The water sector, including treatment and conveyance, is presently one of the largest users of energy, comparable to the paper and refining industries. As it becomes increasingly difficult to provide additional supply, demand will need to be managed. By providing expertise and technology for integrated water management, as well as by discharging its regulatory missions, the Army Corps of Engineers is uniquely placed to recognize energy/water interactions and to contribute to demand reduction efforts. White Paper This paper summarizes experiences in the field along with challenges to the Panama Canal Expansion project. The paper also provides several recommendations for follow-up studies, which should ultimately lead to standardized assumptions and a revised framework for National Economic Development analyses considering the canal's expansion. NETS NETS: Ohio River Basin Shipper Response Survey Visiting Scholar Program "Environmental Valuation and Decision Making for Water Project Investment and Operations: Lessons from the FERC Experience" is of strong interest as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) was addressing the same kinds of issues that increasingly face the Corps reviewing the viability and/or operational practices of water control projects that were built years ago, before the new emphasis on river restoration. The approach provides useful insights for the Corps as it seeks to advance its environmental restoration mission in the context of its emphasis on collaborative planning. Guidance Memos In accordance with the Corps Actions for Change (ref.la), to more accurately identify and mitigate cost and schedule risk to our customers and Congress, this memorandum directs the use of specific cost risk analysis methods for the development of contingency on Civil Works Total Project Cost. This is applicable for all decision documents requiring Congressional authorization for projects exceeding $40 million. Initiatives to improve accuracy of total project costs in Civil Works feasibility studies requiring Congressional authorization NETS NETS Report: Modeling Preferences for Upper Mississippi Grain Movements: The Mid-American Grain Study NETS Report: Modeling Preferences for Upper Mississippi Grain Movements: The Mid-American Grain Study NETS Report: Modeling Preferences for Upper Mississippi Grain Movements: The Mid-American Grain Study NETS activity: Analysis of Towboat Operating Areas NETS activity: Towboat Operating Areas NETS HarborSym paper Engineer Regulations (ERs) Contains information on Project Management Plans, Independent Technical Review, and Risk Management. NETS NETS Navigation System Simulation Model report NETS activity: Event Studies: Hannibal Locks and Dam NETS report NETS activity: Navigation System Simulation Design NETS activity: New Measures of Port Efficiency Using International Trade Data NETS Port Development, Internal Transport Systems and International Trade Report NETS activity: Lock 27 NETS activity: Lock 27 NETS activity: Transportation Demands in the Columbia-Snake River Basin NETS HarborSym Paper NETS activity: 2005 Depaepe-Willems Contest Submission: Determining Economic Efficiency in Harbors NETS activity: Columbia/Snake River Transportation Study NETS Report: Determining System Capacity to Accommodate Grain Flows by Rail to the Mississippi River at St. Louis NETS activity: Econometric Analysis of Stated-Preference Experiments Constructed from Revealed-Preference Choices Engineer Regulations (ERs) This regulation describes how to acquire geospatial data, how to implement geospatial data technology, reduce data duplication, and how to comply with Executive Order (EO) 12906, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-16. NETS NETS activity: Estimation of Demands at the Pool Level NETS activity: Event Study of the August 2004 McAlpine Lock Closure NETS activity: HSAM: An Interactive Immersive Animation Deep-Draft Maritime Traffic Simulations NETS activity: Market Adjustments Over Transportation Networks: A Time Series Analysis of Grain Movements on the Mississippi Inland Waterway System NETS activity: McAlpine Lock Closure in August 2004: Shipper and Carrier Response Results of Surveys NETS activity: A Model of Spatial Market Areas and Transportation Demand NETS activity: Patterns in Geographic Elasticity Estimates of Barge Demand on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers NETS activity: Shipper and Carrier Response to the September-October 2003 Greenup Main Lock Closure NETS activity: Spatial Competition, Supply, and Transportation Demand: A Study of Elevator Competition and Waterway Demands with Geographically Varying Elasticities and Spatial Autocorrelation NETS activity: A Survey of the Freight Transportation Demand Literature and a Comparison of Elasticity Estimates NETS activity: System-Wide Lock Reliability Analysis Phase 0: Proof of Concept NETS activity: Tradeable Permit Markets for Locks on Inland Waterways NETS activity: Transportation Market Equilibrium: A Theoretical Approach NETS activity: Vessel, Firm, and Lock Efficiency Measures in Lock Performance National Shoreline Management Study In July 2002, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (Corps) Institute for Water Resources (IWR) jointly sponsored a workshop with the Center for Economic Research, The George Washington University (GWU), to identify and discuss economic and financial considerations associated with shoreline protection. These proceedings provide a record of the workshop activities, including an overview of each speaker's presentation, copies of any slides or overheads used, and references to related readings or papers provided by the speakers. NETS NETS activity: A Discrete Event Simulation Model of a Congested Segment of the Upper Mississippi River Inland Navigation System National Shoreline Management Study This report reviews 100 studies and reports pertaining to the economic consequences of shoreline change and related issues. This document will serve as a resource for the National Shoreline Management Study (NSMS) and is the first step towards developing a comprehensive bibliography of literature relevant to assessing the economic impacts of shoreline erosion and accretion and to inform eventual NSMS recommendations on appropriate levels of Federal and non-federal participation in shoreline protection at the NSMS completion. This literature search focused mostly on three topics for the NSMS: (1) market and policy incentives related to public and private shoreline use and management decisions, (2) identification of the benefits and costs of shoreline protection, and (3) consideration of the fiscal impacts and financing of shoreline protection. Engineer Regulations (ERs) This appendix provides guidance and procedures for the management and conduct of planning studies, activities, and programs. NETS NETS activity: Long-Term Forecasting of World Grain Trade and U.S. Gulf Exports: Submitted to the Transportation Research Board for Publication in Transportation Research Record NETS activity: Long-Term Forecasting of World Grain Trade and US Gulf Exports Policy and Special Studies Program NETS NETS activity: Seasonality and Geographic Trends for Grain Shipment on the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway NETS activity: Shippers' Responses to Changes in Transportation Rates and Times: The Mid-American Grain Study NETS activity: Spatial Modeling in Transportation: Congestion and Mode Choice NETS activity: A Study of Short-Run Movements in Grain on the Inland Waterway System NETS activity: Transportation Demand for Grain Shipment: A Revealed and Stated Preference Approach NETS activity: Understanding Grain Movements for Demand Estimation: The Columbia-Snake River System in Washington State Policy and Special Studies Program Engineer Regulations (ERs) This regulation provides guidance on the implementation and integration of the Environmental Operating Principles across management initiatives and business processes. Policy and Special Studies Program This study examined ecological and economic concepts relevant to improving environmental benefits analysis, and recommends a strategy for improving related tools, application capabilities, policy and guidance. NETS NETS activity: Recent Trends in Output, Industrial Organization, and the Willingness to Pay in the United States Inland Waterborne Commercial Transportation Industry Institute for Water Resources This report examines some of the cost effectiveness and incremental cost analyses done to date and to determine how the regulations are being interpreted and applied, whether recurring problems exist, and if further guidance or instruction (in the form of new procedures, manuals or training, for example) is needed to streamline or simplify the process. Engineer Regulations (ERs) This appendix provides policy and planning guidance for project purposes of navigation, flood damage reduction, hurricane and storm damage reduction (shore protection), ecosystem restoration, hydroelectric power, recreation, water supply and multiple purpose projects. This regulation provides guidance for updating the Civil Works Digital Project Notebook (DPN) using the Internet. Institute for Water Resources Engineer Pamphlets (EPs) Appendix E of the Water Resources Policies and Authorities Digest lists interagency agreements related to water resources (as of 1999). A summary of Corps administrative and legislative water resources policies and authorities. Engineer Pamphlet lists references in "Digest of Water Resources Policies and Authorities." Engineer Pamphlet lists pertinent legislation in "Digest of Water Resources Policies and Authorities." Engineer Pamphlet lists pertinent executive orders in the "Digest of Water Resources Policies and Authorities." Engineer Pamphlet lists Office of Management and Budget Circulars in the "Digest of Water Resources Policies and Authorities." Engineer Pamphlet provides an index for "Digest of Water Resources Policies and Authorities." Engineer Pamphlet provides information on the policies that guide Corps decision making and policy making. Digest of Water Resources Policies and Authorities. Engineer Pamphlet provides an in-depth look at how cost sharing and repayment applies to different types of Corps projects. Digest of Water Resources Policies and Authorities Engineer Pamphlet provides a detailed look at all facets of Corps project construction. Digest of Water Resources Policies and Authorities Engineer Pamphlet provides a detailed look at many facets of Corps project management. Digest of Water Resources Policies and Authorities Engineer Pamphlet describes the Corps' role in navigation, federal policies covering navigation, and the construction aspects of navigation projects. Digest of Water Resources Policies and Authorities Engineer Pamphlet provides basic background on flood plain management, including structural and nonstructural measures. Digest of Water Resources Policies and Authorities Engineer Pamphlet discusses the federal interest in beach erosion, flood protection, beach nourishment and emergency protection, among other topics. Digest of Water Resources Policies and Authorities Engineer Pamphlet discusses the Corps' responsibilities, how the projects get built,and how the power is sold. Digest of Water Resources Policies and Authorities Engineer Pamphlet discusses federal recreation policy and philosophy, different types of recreation projects, project evaluation, and project finance. Digest of Water Resources Policies and Authorities Engineer Pamphlet discusses ecosystem restoration, environmental authorities within WRDA, wetland policy, other applicable federal policies, and project management. Digest of Water Resources Policies and Authorities Institute for Water Resources Policy and Special Studies Program Institute for Water Resources Engineer Regulations (ERs) This regulation defines engineering policies for selection of all systems, components, and materials for Civil Works projects. Institute for Water Resources Evaulation of Environmental Investment Research Program Engineer Manuals (EMs) Procedures described in this manual lead to estimation of expected benefits of proposed flood damage reduction plans using risk and uncertainty analysis. Engineer Pamphlets (EPs) Engineer Pamphlet evaluates procedures for major rehabilitation where risk-based benefit-cost analysis is used. This guidance provides a conceptual approach for analyzing rehabilitation. It requires risk-based benefit-cost analysis and criteria. This appendix outlines basic procedures that can be used to evaluate rehabilitation for navigation and hydropower project purposes. Institute for Water Resources This study investigates how understanding the perspectives of stakeholders in USACE environmental projects might improve the identification and communication of project benefits. The purpose of this report is to support Corps planners by identifying Evaluation of Environmental Investments Research Program (EEIRP) products that can be used in applying the six-step planning process to environmental projects. This report introduces Corps personnel involved in the planning of environmental restoration projects to the basics of risk and uncertainty analysis. In addition, it presents a sample incorporation of risk analysis in the application of a habitat evaluation procedure, through a habitat suitability index model. Engineer Pamphlets (EPs) This EP identifies floodproofing measures and techniques that can be followed to regulate private and public building construction in riverine flood hazard areas, and provides for a diversity of floodproofing methods and techniques Institute for Water Resources The purpose of this manual is to serve as a guide for conducting cost effectiveness analysis and incremental cost analysis for the evaluation of alternative environmental restoration and mitigation plans. This study, under the Monetary and Other Valuation Techniques work unit, is critical to meeting the Corps aim to consider the socioeconomic impacts of environmental efforts. Its specific objectives are to describe services provided by environmental resources and systems and methods for their measurement or valuation; review existing research programs and products; and evaluation the resource constraints on field applications of measurement and valuation tools. Policy and Special Studies Program Institute for Water Resources This study explores the literature for analytical techniques that can support the complex decision-making process surrounding Corps environmental projects. Specifically, this literature review focuses on opportunities for using trade-off methodologies in the plan formulation process. Policy and Special Studies Program This document was developed to help USACE planners conduct cost effectiveness and incremental cost analyses in planning for environmental restoration and mitigation. It presents step-by-step instructions about how to conduct the analyses, using an example to illustrate their application to a planning problem. Engineer Pamphlets (EPs) Engineer Pamphlet describes study processes performed by USACE for Federal flood damage reduction cost projects. Institute for Water Resources Federal Infrastructure Strategy Program Institute for Water Resources Reviews non-federal financing instruments and revenue sources for water resources projects. Assesses benefits of careful financial analysis and planning for water projects. Reviews financing and cost recovery techniques applicable to each water project purpose. This is the first in a series of reports that document application of public survey techniques to obtain information for Corps of Engineers planning studies. This paper demonstrates the use of a modified mail survey method to estimate household content values. The Bussey Lake demonstration illustrates the application of incremental cost analysis for environmental planning in a real world planning situation. Engineer Pamphlets (EPs) Engineer Pamphlet improves the technical expert's skills in communicating information about flood risk to local officials and the public. Institute for Water Resources This work unit focuses on investigating the issues, problems and techniques relevant to conducting incremental cost analysis for mitigating fish and wildlife losses resulting from Corps water resources projects. This manual describes coastal storm damage erosion prevention benefit evaluation procedures based on principles included in the U.S. Water Resources Council's Economic and Environmental Principles and Guidelines for Water and Related Land Resources Implementation Studies. The report 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 benefit evaluation. This is the fourth of a series of manuals designed to provide recreation evaluation procedures to further implement the "Principles and Guidelines" of the U.S. Water Resources Council. The emphasis of the first three volumes of this series was, primarily, on the evaluation of providing new or additional facility developments. This manual emphasizes the evaluation of qualitative differences in the recreation experience. The primary purpose of this manual is to describe procedures and methodologies for valuating changes in recreation use values that result from management decisions impacting on recreation facilities and services and on the related natural resource base. This is the second in a series of manuals designed to provide procedures and techniques to measure flood damage and to further implement the "Principles and Guidelines" of the U.S. Water Resources Council. 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) are presented. Examples from previous applications of these questionnaires provide insight as to how they may be adapted and implemented for flood damage studies. Engineer Regulations (ERs) This regulation describes the Coastal Field Data Collection (CFDC) Program Institute for Water Resources The purpose of this report is to illustrate, through case study description, the practical application of the CVM method to recreation evaluation in an actual planning study. The case study description is meant to serve as a practical guide and, therefore, emphasizes what was done more than the concepts behind the techniques used. It is not intended to be a detailed guide of the entire planning process, but rather highlights the activities or outcomes from this process that involved the development, conduct, and application of the CVM analysis. Specific objectives of this manual are: to illustrate an urban application of the CVM method to recreation demand and benefit estimation, to illustrate the development of regional valuation models, and to describe the potential transferability of the procedures and/or findings of this case study to other planning applications. Engineer Regulations (ERs) This regulation gives instruction on implementation of Section 103(M) as it applies to flood control projects. This regulation provides policies and guidelines for determining the extent of federal participation in potential federal projects for protection from shore erosion, hurricanes, and abnormal tidal and lake flooding that result in damages or losses to coastal resources and/or development. Institute for Water Resources The primary purpose of this report is to provide an expanded description of the urban benefit evaluation procedures recommended in the Water Resources Council's Economic and Environmental Principles and Guidelines for Water and Related Land Resources Implementation Studies. The report presents specific procedures for the entire process of urban 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 urban benefit evaluation. The nation's inland waterways infrastructure is aging and in need of rehabilitation and replacement. Economic analyses to date have overlooked the value of increased mean productivity, which results from lock rehabilitation. Productivity increases are measured in terms of decreases in the mean time it takes to transit a lock. The analysis develops a dynamic model for estimating these values. The primary purpose of this report is to provide an expanded description of the agricultural benefit evaluation procedures recommended in the Water Resources Council's Economic and Environmental Principles and Guidelines for water and Related Land Resources Implementation Studies. The report 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. The primary purpose of this report is to provide an expanded description of the recreation evaluation procedures recommended in the Water Resources Council's "Economic and Environmental Principles and Guidelines for Water and Related Land Resources Implementation Studies." The report summarizes the conceptual basis of procedures for recreation valuation associated with water and related land resource planning, describes the mechanics of acceptable valuation methods, and offers criteria for determining the applicability of various methods to particular planning situations. The theme and reason for the workshop was to provide a wide range of views on cost sharing so that everyone could better understand the benefits, requirements and hazards of the new cost-sharing policies. The workshop took place in Baltimore, Maryland at the Days Inn on 27-30 May 1986. The object of this research was to assess the current Corps procedures used in the economic evaluation of flood plain relocation and evacuation plans for flood damage mitigation. Based on this assessment, the report offers a theoretically sound framework to evaluate the NED benefits from evacuation and relocation plans. Engineer Regulations (ERs) This regulation defines objectives, philosophies, and policies for the planning, development, and management of outdoor recreation and wildlife at USACE projects. Contract Report This report reviews several analytical models that can be used for estimating the regional economic development impacts of water resource projects. A review of the history of the Corps of Engineers' efforts to introduce a working concept of economic development in various regions of the United States is also included. The final section of the report presents the theory, techniques and data sources for three analytical models and evaluates each model. Engineer Regulations (ERs) This regulation establishes policy, provides background, and discusses management of the Cooperative Stream Gaging Program. Contract Report This report documents over 50 substantial studies of the response of municipal and industrial water use to price in an attempt to correct the poorly understood phenomenon of the sensitivity of water use to price. Most likely price elasticity ranges are given for non-seasonal and seasonal residential water use; average residential water use; and reported elasticities for industrial and commercial water use. Engineer Regulations (ERs) This regulation provides policy and guidance for participation in urban flood damage reduction projects. This regulation provides policies and guidelines for the apportionment of bridge alteration costs required in connection with navigation improvements. This regulation summarizes policy and procedures for identifying the costs of meeting improved standards when highways and housing are relocated due to construction of civil works projects. Institute for Water Resources This report presents refined procedural guidelines for estimating reservoir recreation use and benefits for planning of water resources developments. The general planning model described and tested herein consists of the development of regional estimators for predicting recreation use at proposed reservoir projects and the operation on these estimators to derive the individual project demand schedules for estimating recreation benefits. The methodology presented is theoretically and empirically more precise than estimating procedures currently employed and is consistent with other existing and proposed authoritative standards for evaluating water resource development. The study seeks (1) to develop a method of measuring the employment generation benefits from a federal water resource investment in a depressed area, (2) to relate such benefits to the social cost and economic benefit-cost ratio, and (3) to analyze the sensitivity of employment generation benefits to various types and locations of water project investment within areas designated as depressed regions. The Upper Licking River project in the Appalachian portion of Kentucky was chosen as the study area. The study carefully examines the sensitivity of a variety of assumptions about the character of the location in which projects are constructed, the composition of the demands for labor and materials in various types of engineering alternatives, and various patterns of response by otherwise unemployed factors of production. The report concludes that conventional B/C analysis should utilize otherwise unemployed resources, that those impacts should extend to the analysis of economic development induced by the project, that those benefits from utilization vary greatly with the type and location of the project with respect to the distribution of idle resources, with demand functions of production and the response pattern of idle resources to incremental demand. Finally and most importantly, the report concludes that public water resource investment decisions should be more discriminating in the type and location of investments. This requires investigation of the foregone benefits from alternative types and location of water projects and from competing public works projects. This report develops a procedure for estimating income losses, to a defined region, associated with varying degrees of water shortage resulting in a frequency-loss function. An empirical list of the procedure was developed for the York, Pennsylvania Water Service Area, which experienced a substantial water shortage in 1966. Study of community response to actual or potential drought reveals a number of different perspectives - the water manager, residential, commercial and industrial users and government. This study opens the way to an alternative method of assessing the benefits for adequate municipal water supplies; it distinguishes between short-run and long-run plans; and the role which each plays in resource planning. This report is designed to present in some detail the results of successfully applying a land value approach using a multiple linear regression technique to two study areas. The bulk of the monograph is not directed to analyzing the utility of the approach per se, although the strengths and weaknesses are reviewed. The main concern is with a rather detailed exposition of the statistical analysis of areas in the Wabash and Missouri River Basins. In this respect it is written primarily for use at the field levels of the Corps to serve as a guide to the use of the approach in terms of the types of data required, the form of the data for use in the regression model, and the interpretation of the estimated regression model. This report is devoted to evaluating alternative methodologies to the frequency damage procedure for estimating agricultural crop flood control benefits. The Economic Research Service Regional Linear Programming model has been extended to the case of project analysis. The RLP model operates in the same way as a basin-wide firm and estimates the change in production costs (out of pocket cost) as flood protection (and drainage) measures are provided. Efficiency benefits are equal to decreases in production costs, since output is held constant. Critical assumptions and several major empirical problems encountered during the study are discussed. Finally, Part IV is a synopsis of the utility of the land value approach, the regional linear programming approach, and the frequency-damage approach. This report is a survey and critique of the literature and practice of estimating use of and benefits from outdoor recreation for the purpose of determining the direction of further research efforts by the Corps of Engineers. The report outlines the conceptual and empirical difficulties associated with the various methodologies in use and suggests promising approaches to improved analysis within the framework of multiple objectives of water resources development.
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