33 U.S.C. § 540
Section 540 · Investigations and improvements; control by Department of the Army; wildlife conservation
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 16 court decisions — leading case Environmental Defense Fund, Inc. v. Corps of Engineers of United States Army (1972)
Most recently applied in MS Tabea Schiffahrtsgesellschaft MBH & Co. KG v. Board of Commissioners (March 2011)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Federal investigations and improvements of rivers, harbors, and other waterways shall be under the jurisdiction of and shall be prosecuted by the Department of the Army under the direction of the Secretary of the Army and the supervision of the Chief of Engineers, except as otherwise specifically provided by Act of Congress, which said investigations and improvements shall include a due regard for wildlife conservation.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Prior Provisions
Acts Aug. 30, 1935, ch. 831, 49 Stat. 1028; Aug. 26, 1937, ch. 832, 50 Stat. 844, contained similar provisions.
Change of Name
Department of War designated Department of the Army and title of Secretary of War changed to Secretary of the Army by section 205(a) of act July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title II, 61 Stat. 501. Section 205(a) of act July 26, 1947, was repealed by section 53 of act Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 641. Section 1 of act Aug. 10, 1956, enacted “Title 10, Armed Forces” which in sections 3010 to 3013 continued Department of the Army under administrative supervision of Secretary of the Army.
Waterway Improvements Study and Report; Availability of Data to National Transportation Policy Commission
Pub. L. 94–587, §158, Oct. 22, 1976, 90 Stat. 2933, directed the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to make a comprehensive study and report on the system of waterway improvements under his jurisdiction, including a review of emergency and defense requirements and an appraisal of additional improvements necessary to optimize the system and its intermodal characteristics, and to submit a report to Congress within three years after funds were first appropriated and made available for the study, together with his recommendations. The Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, was to make available to the National Transportation Policy Study Commission established by section 154 of Public Law 94–280 [set out as a note under section 101 of Title 23, Highways], the information and other data developed as a result of the study.
Reimbursement of States for Water Resources Projects; Study
Pub. L. 89–298, title III, §314, Oct. 27, 1965, 79 Stat. 1096, authorized the Secretary of the Army, through the Chief of Engineers, to study the need for and feasibility of Federal reimbursement of certain public entities for their expenses incurred in connection with authorized projects for improvements of rivers, harbors, and certain other waterways, for various purposes, and to submit a report to Congress no later than Jan. 31, 1967, together with his recommendations in connection therewith.
Cross References
Flood control projects, supervision of, see section 701b of this title.