Title 33, Navigation and Navigable WatersRelease 119-102
§1252a Reservoir Projects, Water Storage; Modification; Storage for Other Than for Water Quality, Opinion of Federal Agency, Committee Resolutions of Approval; Provisions Inapplicable to Projects with Certain Prescribed Water Quality Benefits in Relation to Total Project Benefits
Title 33 › CHAPTER 26 — WATER POLLUTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL › SUBCHAPTER I — RESEARCH AND RELATED PROGRAMS › § 1252a
Summary
When the EPA Administrator finds under 1252(b) that reservoir storage for water‑quality control is not needed or should be changed, the federal agency may modify the project and use the freed storage for other purposes. If water‑quality benefits are 15%–25% of the total, changes need approval by Senate and House committees; the rule does not apply if those benefits exceed 25%.
Full Legal Text
Title 33, §1252a
Navigation and Navigable Waters, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
In the case of any reservoir project authorized for construction by the Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, or other Federal agency when the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency determines pursuant to section 1252(b) of this title that any storage in such project for regulation of streamflow for water quality is not needed, or is needed in a different amount, such project may be modified accordingly by the head of the appropriate agency, and any storage no longer required for water quality may be utilized for other authorized purposes of the project when, in the opinion of the head of such agency, such use is justified. Any such modification of a project where the benefits attributable to water quality are 15 per centum or more but not greater than 25 per centum of the total project benefits shall take effect only upon the adoption of resolutions approving such modification by the appropriate committees of the Senate and House of Representatives. The provisions of the section shall not apply to any project where the benefits attributable to water quality exceed 25 per centum of the total project benefits.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Codification Section was not enacted as part of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act which comprises this chapter.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
33 U.S.C. § 1252a
Title 33, Navigation and Navigable Waters
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102