News Release
| Release Number: | 04-039 |
| Dated: | 3/3/2004 |
| Contact: | Public Affairs Office, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore.-The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is evaluating a Regional General Permit (RGP) application from the Oregon Department of Transportation to repair and replace highway bridges nearing the end of their lifespans throughout Oregon.
An RGP is valid for five years and authorizes activities that are substantially similar in nature and cause minimal individual and cumulative environmental impacts. Once the RGP is issued, the individual activities falling within the authorized categories do not have to be further authorized, only verified for qualification. Individual projects would be eligible provided they are primarily for bridge replacement and repair and meet the necessary criteria. Proposed activities may include widening, realigning and removing lanes and performing other activities associated with bridge construction and repair, such as building detour routes and providing scour protection.
Qualifying activities would allow no more than 1 acre of fill in wetland or waters of the United States and with no more than .5 acre of permanent fill per single project.
For a copy of the Corps' Public Notice 2004-00035, which describes the proposed RGP in detail, please write to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: CENWP-OP-GP (Susan Sturges), P.O. Box 2946, Portland, OR 97208-2946 or call (503) 808-4381. A copy of the public notice, including photocopies of supporting drawings, is posted on the Corps' Internet site at https://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/op/g/notices/200400035.pdf.
Written comments must reach the Corps by March 11, 2004, and should be mailed to the above address. Send e-mail comments to Susan.M.Sturges@usace.army.mil. Comments must reference the public notice number.
The Corps is also soliciting input from federal, state and local agencies and officials, Indian Tribes, and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the impacts of this proposed activity on endangered species, cultural resources, water quality, general environmental effects, and other public interest factors.
The Corps will evaluate the permit request under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, for work in or affecting navigable waters of the United States and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, for discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States.
A permit will not be issued until the state has issued certification required under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act and has concurred with the applicant's certification that the described activity affecting land or water uses in the coastal zone complies with State Coastal Zone Management Program.
Also, because the proposed project may affect an endangered or threatened species or its critical habitat, permit for the proposed activity will not be issued or denied until the consultation process under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act is complete. The Federal Highways Administration is the lead Federal agency and will initiate the consultation with the resource agencies.
Proposed activities will be reviewed individually to determine if they affect properties listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. This notice has been provided to the State Historic Preservation Office.