Engineers Corps March 2, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (as amended), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District, Regulatory Division (Corps), in coordination with the California Department of Fish and Game, Habitat Conservation Branch, South Coast Region (Department), has completed a Final Program Environmental Impact Statement/ Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) (Volume IIIEvaluation of and Response to Comments/ Errata) for the Special Area Management Plan/Watershed Streambed Alteration Agreement (SAMP/WSAA) Process for the San Diego Creek Watershed, Orange County, California. The SAMP/WSAA Process establishes alternative permitting procedures for projects within the San Diego Creek Watershed that would alter the bed, bank, or channel of rivers, streams, and lakes and associated riparian habitats under the Department's jurisdiction, and discharge dredged or fill material into waters of the United States subject to the Corps jurisdiction. The SAMP/WSAA Process permitting procedures will improve the Corps and the Department's ability to evaluate such projects, as compared to the process each agency would normally follow in permitting such projects on a case-by-case basis. The SAMP is comprised of the following four elements: an Analytical Framework that characterizes aquatic resource conditions for the San Diego Creek Watershed; modified watershed-specific permitting processes, including watershed-specific and resource-based permitting protocols and a mitigation framework; a Strategic Mitigation Plan that is based upon a riparian ecosystem restoration plan for the Watershed; and a Mitigation Coordination Program to achieve implementation of the Strategic Mitigation Plan and foster a coordinated approach to aquatic resource management in the San Diego Creek Watershed.