USACE Revises and Renews Nationwide Permits

On February 15, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced revised and renewed nationwide permits (NWPs) necessary for work in streams, wetlands and other waters of the United States under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. The permits are necessary to replace existing permits,which expire on March 18, 2012. The new NWPs will take effect March 19, 2012. Click here to read more.

It is important to note, however that there is a grandfather provision currently in place for expiring NWPs. In accordance with 33 CFR part 330.6(b), activities authorized by the current NWPs issued on March 12, 2007, that have commenced or are under contract to commence by March 18, 2012, will have until March 18, 2013, to complete the activity under the terms and conditions of the current NWPs. For further information about this provision, contact Vince Messerly.

Senate Bill 294 Provides Options for Mitigation

On February 9, Ohio Senator Tim Schaffer introduced Senate Bill 294 which addresses a number of changes to many chapters of the Ohio Revised Code. S.B. 294 allows more options for protective wetland development including creating a mechanism to allow for an In-Lieu fee program for wetland mitigation. The bill will establish a process to facilitate wetland mitigation resulting from impacts to isolated wetlands, and modify ORC 6111.0381 to ensure that it can be used for the jurisdictional wetlands as well. The bill will improve the likelihood of success of mitigation projects and remove the burden of conducting the mitigation from the applicant.

 

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