Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers September 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Nationwide Permits (NWPs) authorize certain activities under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is proposing to reissue its existing NWPs and associated general conditions and definitions, with some modifications. We are also proposing to issue five new NWPs. Two of those proposed new NWPs would authorize certain categories of mariculture activities (i.e., seaweed and finfish mariculture) that are not authorized by NWP 48. We are proposing to divide the current NWP that authorizes utility line activities (NWP 12) into three separate NWPs that address the differences in how different linear projects are constructed, the substances they convey, and the different standards and best management practices that help ensure those NWPs authorize only those activities that have no more than minimal adverse environmental effects. Specifically, we are proposing to modify the current utility line NWP 12 to authorize only oil and natural gas pipeline activities. Two proposed new NWPs would authorize activities associated with the construction, maintenance, repair, and removal of electric utility lines/telecommunication lines and utility lines that convey water, sewage, and other substances. The fifth proposed new NWP would authorize discharges of dredged or fill material into jurisdictional waters for the construction, expansion, and maintenance of water reuse and reclamation facilities. We are proposing these modifications to simplify and clarify the NWPs, reduce burdens on the regulated public, and continue to comply with the statutory requirement that these NWPs authorize only activities with no more than minimal individual and cumulative adverse environmental effects. The Corps is requesting comment on all aspects of these proposed nationwide permits.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Baltimore District, is notifying interested parties that it has withdrawn the notice of intent (NOI) to develop an EIS for the proposed Upper Susquehanna River Basin, New York, Comprehensive Flood Damage Reduction Feasibility Study.

The Department of Defense (DoD) published a notice on July 6, 2020 that announced the third meeting of the Table Rock Lake Oversight Committee was to take place on July 16, 2020. In addition, Meeting 4 would also be rescheduled. DoD is publishing this notice to announce the revised schedule for Meeting 4 of the Federal advisory committee meetings of the Table Rock Lake Oversight Committee (TRLOC).