404 Permit The Low-down on

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404 Permit The Low-down on Gittin-er-done!

• Brought to you By
• Tom Gocksch, P.E. Environmental Bureau

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Overview of the 404 Permit

• Who?
• Why?
• What?
• How Long?
• When????

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Who Issues the Permit?

• United States Army Corps of
• Engineers
• Allen Steinle Regional Director

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Why are 404 Permits Necessary?

• Section 404 of the Clean Water Act
• 33 CFR 320 330
• 330 Nationwide Permit Program
• 404(b)(1) Guidelines

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What Work Requires a 404 Permit?

• Depositing fill or dredged material in Waters of
  the US (WUS).
• Construction of Abutments and Piers in WUS.
• Placement of Riprap in WUS.
• Placement of Culverts in a WUS.
• Anything that requires that material be placed in
  a WUS.

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What is a Water of the US?

• Defined as Any Surface water that flows INTO a
  Named Stream or River.
• Lakes, Rivers, Streams, and Creeks
• Intermittent Drainages
• Irrigation Canals
• Wetlands Associated with these Waters

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What Types of Permits Are Available?

• Nationwide
• Individual

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What Is a Nationwide Permit?

• Regulate many low impact activities en masse,
  Authorizing them by Regulation.

When Were They Developed?

• 1977 10 NWP under Section 404
• 1982 Expanded to include both Section 404 and
  section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act.
• Present 44 Nationwide Permits

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What NWPs Apply to MDT Activities?

• On a Regular Basis
• 3 Maintenance
• 13 Bank Stabilization
• 14 Linear Transportation Crossings
• 23 Approved Categorical Exceptions
• 33 Temporary Construction Access and Dewatering

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How Long Does It Take?Normal Time Lines

• Nationwide Permit
• 45 days from Receipt of Complete Preconstruction
  Notification.

• Individual permit
• District Engineers will decide on all
  applications not later than 60 days after receipt
  of a Complete Application.
• 15-30 day comment period may be extended up to 30
  additional Days.
• 30 Days to Complete Permit and MDT Responses to
  Conditions
• Total (up to) 120Days

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What is a Complete Package?

• Complete Description of Proposed Activity
• Location, Purpose and Need of Proposed Activity
• Scheduling of Activity
• Names and Addresses of Adjoining Property Owners
• Location and Dimensions of Adjacent Structures
• Type, Composition, and Quantity of Material
• Plans sufficient for Public Notice

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Additional Information

• Final Biological Assessment/Biological Resources
  Report
• Wetland Delineation Report
• Environmental Document (CE(x),FONSI, ROD)
• Scope of Work PFR
• Project plans
• Preliminary Special Provisions
• Project Cross-sections
• Quad Location Map
• Mitigation Plan

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When Should the Application Happen?

• Only After These Things are Done
• The Wetland Impacts Must be finalized
• Fill Quantities within the WUS Must be finalized
• Pier Size, Type, Location
• Culvert Size
• Riprap Quantities
• Any Fill Material in a WUS on a Project
• Mitigation Plan Must be finalized

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What is Mitigation?

• Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Defines
  Mitigation as
• Avoiding the Impact altogether by not taking a
  certain action or parts of an action.
• Minimizing Impacts by limiting the degree or
  magnitude of the action and its implementation.
• Rectifying the impact by repairing,
  rehabilitating, or restoring the affected
  environment.
• Reducing or eliminating the impact over time by
  preservation and maintenance operations during
  the life of the action.
• Compensating for impact by Replacing or providing
  substitute resources or environments.

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MDT Specific Mitigation

• On Site Mitigation
• Avoidance and Minimization
• Pulling in R/W limits
• Salvaging and replacing Hydric Soils
• Reducing the number of piers in a river
• Pulling the Riprap slope back away from OHW
• Compensating
• Design channel changes of equal or additional
  channel length
• Returning Hydrology to historic wetlands within
  the new R/W
• Off Site Mitigation
• Wetland Reserves/In-Lieu Fee

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How MDT Plans to Git-er-done
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SpecificallyWhen Do We Submit Our 404 Permit
Applications?
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Answer

• Applications are Submitted Only when all the
  necessary design information has been Finalized.

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Discussion?