News Release
| Release Number: | 04-161 |
| Dated: | 8/26/2004 |
| Contact: | Diana J. Fredlund, 503-808-4510 |
PORTLAND, Ore.- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is announcing new mitigation guidelines and monitoring requirements for the Corps Regulatory Program in Oregon and at some Washington ports along the Columbia River.
Corps and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations authorize the Corps to require compensatory mitigation for unavoidable impacts to wetlands and other jurisdictional waters of the United States.
The Corps is aware of challenges associated with past compensatory mitigation sites and is committed to improving the success of future compensatory mitigation projects. The new guidelines and requirements are designed to assist the regulated public with all aspects of the mitigation process and to provide information to ensure future mitigation sites successfully replace lost functions and values of impacted waters of the United States.
The new guidelines are available at https://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/op/g/regs/MGMR.pdf. If you have any question regarding the guidelines, please contact Kathryn Harris at Kathryn.L.Harris@usace.army.mil.
The Department of the Army regulatory program is one of the oldest in the federal government. Initially it served a simple, straightforward purpose: to protect and maintain the navigable capacity of the nation's waters. In 1972, the Clean Water Act was signed into law and the Department of the Army was directed to administer Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which pertained to the regulation of certain activities undertaken in waters of the United States.
In 1975, the Corps of Engineers' jurisdiction was increased by court order to include wetlands as part of its definition of waters of the U.S. In its evaluation of applications, the Corps is required by law to consider all factors involving the public interest. These may include environmental concerns, economics, historical values, fish and wildlife, aesthetics, flood damage prevention, land use classifications, navigation, recreation, water supply, water quality, energy needs, food production and the general welfare of the public.
To find out more about the Corps of Engineers Regulatory Program in Oregon, please visit https://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/op/g/.