Water resources projects

This executive order requires all federal agencies to submit water resources project reports, proposals, and plans to the OMB Director before sending them to Congress. The OMB Director must review them for consistency with presidential policy, planning guidelines, and applicable laws, and agencies must include OMB's advice when submitting materials to Congress. It also revokes the previous executive order on this topic (EO 12113).

46 FR 46561

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Key directives

Agencies must submit water resources reports/proposals/plans to OMB Director before congressional submission
OMB must examine consistency with presidential policy and planning guidelines
Agencies must include OMB advice statement in congressional submissions
EO 12113 revoked

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

EO 12113 revoked
OMB review requirement takes effect for all future submissions

Near term (90d)

agencies must begin routing water resources materials through OMB

Long term

persistent OMB gatekeeping over water resources policy
potential shifts in project priorities based on presidential policy alignment

Risks & tensions

Centralizes water resources policy control in OMB and White House, potentially politicizing technical projects
No explicit deadline for OMB review creates bottleneck risk
Vague phrase 'as shall hereafter be issued' for planning guidelines creates uncertainty about binding standards
Amended in 1987 suggesting ongoing relevance but original text lacks specificity on enforcement