Summary: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined: (1) whether the Corps of Engineers' Arkansas River Basin Operation Plan accurately reflected the authorized purposes and actual uses of the Basin's 11 reservoirs; (2) the Corps' methodology for estimating benefits and damages resulting from a July 1986 plan modification that called for slowing the rate of water release after flood events; and (3) the Corps' compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act in adopting the modification, especially whether the Corps provided sufficient opportunity for public comment.
GAO found that the Corps: (1) planned to operate all 11 reservoirs for navigation, but legislation authorized such use for only 3 reservoirs; (2) lacked sufficient authority to operate 8 of the 11 reservoirs for navigation unless it could show that such operation was not detrimental to an authorized purpose; (3) was conducting a study to determine the compatibility of authorized and unauthorized uses; (4) used incomplete data in its analysis of the benefits and damages resulting from the July 1986 plan modification, causing understated hydrologic and economic estimates; and (5) did not have to comply with Administrative Procedure Act requirements for public notice and comment, but solicited comments from interested organizations and individuals, and formed a committee to recommend necessary changes to the plan.
