The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) was directed by Chapter 4 of Public Law 113-2, Disaster Relief Appropriations Act 2013, to evaluate the performance of existing USACE projects impacted by Hurricane Sandy, with the purpose of determining their effectiveness and recommending improvements thereto. The Hurricane Sandy Coastal Projects Performance Evaluation Study's primary focus is an evaluation of 75 constructed coastal storm damage reduction projects in the North Atlantic Division. In addition, the study includes evaluations of 31 projects in the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division and nine (9) projects in the South Atlantic Division.

The performance of each of these projects was reviewed to determine the effectiveness of the project with respect to both the engineering performance and the projects' ability to provide safety, economic benefits, and to recommend improvements as necessary.