diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241024-154518.yaml b/.changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241024-154518.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f1871d03
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changes/unreleased/Fixes-20241024-154518.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+kind: Fixes
+body: Always make behavior flags available for evaluation
+time: 2024-10-24T15:45:18.114936-04:00
+custom:
+  Author: mikealfare
+  Issue: "338"
diff --git a/dbt/adapters/base/impl.py b/dbt/adapters/base/impl.py
index 593b0f2b..41481535 100644
--- a/dbt/adapters/base/impl.py
+++ b/dbt/adapters/base/impl.py
@@ -303,12 +303,13 @@ def behavior(self) -> Behavior:
     @behavior.setter  # type: ignore
     def behavior(self, flags: List[BehaviorFlag]) -> None:
         flags.extend(self._behavior_flags)
-        try:
-            # we don't always get project flags, for example during `dbt debug`
-            self._behavior = Behavior(flags, self.config.flags)
-        except AttributeError:
-            # in that case, don't load any behavior to avoid unexpected defaults
-            self._behavior = Behavior([], {})
+
+        # we don't always get project flags, for example, the project file is not loaded during `dbt debug`
+        # in that case, load the default values for behavior flags to avoid compilation errors
+        # this mimics not loading a project file, or not specifying flags in a project file
+        user_overrides = getattr(self.config, "flags", {})
+
+        self._behavior = Behavior(flags, user_overrides)
 
     @property
     def _behavior_flags(self) -> List[BehaviorFlag]:
diff --git a/tests/unit/behavior_flag_tests/__init__.py b/tests/unit/behavior_flag_tests/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e69de29b
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_behavior_flags.py b/tests/unit/behavior_flag_tests/test_behavior_flags.py
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/unit/test_behavior_flags.py
rename to tests/unit/behavior_flag_tests/test_behavior_flags.py
diff --git a/tests/unit/behavior_flag_tests/test_empty_project.py b/tests/unit/behavior_flag_tests/test_empty_project.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f9fd7a76
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/behavior_flag_tests/test_empty_project.py
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+from types import SimpleNamespace
+from typing import Any, Dict, List
+
+from dbt_common.behavior_flags import BehaviorFlag
+from dbt_common.exceptions import DbtBaseException
+import pytest
+
+from dbt.adapters.contracts.connection import AdapterRequiredConfig, QueryComment
+
+from tests.unit.fixtures.credentials import CredentialsStub
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def flags() -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    return {
+        "unregistered_flag": True,
+        "default_false_user_false_flag": False,
+        "default_false_user_true_flag": True,
+        "default_true_user_false_flag": False,
+        "default_true_user_true_flag": True,
+    }
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def config(flags) -> AdapterRequiredConfig:
+    raw_config = {
+        "credentials": CredentialsStub("test_database", "test_schema"),
+        "profile_name": "test_profile",
+        "target_name": "test_target",
+        "threads": 4,
+        "project_name": "test_project",
+        "query_comment": QueryComment(),
+        "cli_vars": {},
+        "target_path": "path/to/nowhere",
+        "log_cache_events": False,
+    }
+    return SimpleNamespace(**raw_config)
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def behavior_flags() -> List[BehaviorFlag]:
+    return [
+        {
+            "name": "default_false_user_false_flag",
+            "default": False,
+            "docs_url": "https://docs.com",
+        },
+        {
+            "name": "default_false_user_true_flag",
+            "default": False,
+            "description": "This is a false flag.",
+        },
+        {
+            "name": "default_false_user_skip_flag",
+            "default": False,
+            "description": "This is a true flag.",
+        },
+        {
+            "name": "default_true_user_false_flag",
+            "default": True,
+            "description": "This is fake news.",
+        },
+        {
+            "name": "default_true_user_true_flag",
+            "default": True,
+            "docs_url": "https://moar.docs.com",
+        },
+        {
+            "name": "default_true_user_skip_flag",
+            "default": True,
+            "description": "This is a true flag.",
+        },
+    ]
+
+
+def test_register_behavior_flags(adapter):
+    # make sure that users cannot add arbitrary flags to this collection
+    with pytest.raises(DbtBaseException):
+        assert adapter.behavior.unregistered_flag
+
+    # check the values of the valid behavior flags
+    assert not adapter.behavior.default_false_user_false_flag
+    assert not adapter.behavior.default_false_user_true_flag
+    assert not adapter.behavior.default_false_user_skip_flag
+    assert adapter.behavior.default_true_user_false_flag
+    assert adapter.behavior.default_true_user_true_flag
+    assert adapter.behavior.default_true_user_skip_flag