The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is proposing to amend its nationwide permit regulations so that district engineers can issue nationwide permit verification letters that expire on the same date the nationwide permit expires. This amendment will allow district engineers to issue that nationwide permit verifications are valid throughout the period of time the nationwide permit is in effect, to provide regulatory flexibility and efficiency. The Army Corp of Engineers are also proposing to increase the 30-day pre-construction notification review period to 45 days, to conform with nationwide permit general condition 13. Since the nationwide permit regulations were last amended in 1991, there have been changes to related regulations and policies that have generally increased the complexity of reviews of nationwide permit pre-construction notifications. The 45-day pre-construction notification review period will provide district engineers with time to effectively review proposed nationwide permit activities that require notification, as well as compensatory mitigation proposals, to determine whether those activities meet the terms and conditions of the nationwide permits and result in minimal adverse environmental effects.
Submit comments on or before January 31, 2005. Written comments should be sent to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: CECW-MVD (David B. Olson), 441 G Street NW., Washington, DC 20314-1000, or by e-mail to david.b.olson@hq02.usace.army.mil. Electronic comments should be submitted in ASCII format or portable document format to ensure that those comments can be read. Consideration will be given to all comments received within 60 days of the date of publication of this notice.
For more information, contact Mr. David Olson at 202-761-4922 or access the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Home Page at www.usace.army.mil/inet/functions/cw/cecwo/reg/.