[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 91 (Thursday, May 12, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25021-25022]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-9465]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army


Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Preparation of a 
Special Area Management Plan and Associated 404 Permit Actions for the 
San Juan Creek and Western San Mateo Creek Watersheds, Orange County, 
CA

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.

ACTION: Revised Notice of Intent (NOI).

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SUMMARY: The Corps of Engineers (Corps) published a Notice of Intent to 
prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) in the Federal 
Register (Vol. 66, No. 76, pages 20135-20136) on April 19, 2001, for a 
Special Area Management Plan (SAMP) within the San Juan Creek and 
western San Mateo Creek Watersheds. The Notice of Intent stated that 
the eventual document would be a joint state and federal document in 
coordination with the California Department of Fish and Game 
(Department). The Department intended to prepare an Environmental 
Impact Report (EIR) in accordance with the California Environmental 
Quality Act for the Department's proposed Master Streambed Alteration 
Agreement (MSAA), a proposed state program analogous to the SAMP. It is 
now necessary to revise the Notice of Intent to reflect that the 
doucment will now be a federal document and not a joint federal and 
state document.
    Scoping commenced on April 19, 2001 with the publication of the 
original Notice of Intent in the Federal Register. In addition, the 
Corps issued a special public notice on the SAMP dated April 18, 2001, 
to the general public. A public scoping meeting was held on May 8, 
2001, in San Juan Capistrano, California.

[[Page 25022]]

All comments received during the special public notice comment period 
between April 19, 2001, and May 18, 2001, and during the public 
meetings are being considered in this process. A new scoping period is 
not being started with the revised NOI.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jae Chung, Regulatory Branch, 
CESPL-CO-RS, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District, 915 
Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90017.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Corps is developing the SAMP to address 
issues under Section 404 of the federal Clean Water Act for waters of 
the U.S., including wetlands, subject to the Corps' jurisdiction. The 
Department is also developing a parallel process known as the MSAA to 
address issues under Section 1600 et seq. of the state Fish and Game 
Code for streambeds subject to the Department's jurisdiction. The 
original Notice of Intent reported the Corps' intent to prepare a joint 
document (EIS/EIR) with the Department to address common issues for the 
SAMP and MSAA processes.
    It subsequently was decided that the EIS for the SAMP document and 
associated Section 404 permit actions would be solely a federal 
document. The MSAA would be better analyzed in the joint EIS/EIR 
document for the Natural Community Conservation Program (NCCP)/Habitat 
Conservation Plan (HCP) for the South Subregion of Orange County, a 
comprehensive planning process prepared in conjunction with the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service to address long-term protection of sensitive 
species. Given the Department's participation in the NCCP/HCP, the 
analysis of the MSAA is more appropriate in the context of the 
Department's larger, more comprehensive role in the NCCP.
    The Corps will continue to coordinate with the Department and with 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to address issues common among the 
SAMP, the MSAA, and the NCCP/HCP. All three agencies will continue to 
communicate on refining alternatives and long-term management plans for 
natural resources, which should be conserved under these plans. The 
Corps may publish the draft EIS for the SAMP before the draft EIR/EIS 
document for the MSAA and the NCCP/HCP. Completion of a SAMP final EIS 
document is contingent upon completion of consultation with the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service pursuant to Section 7 of the federal 
Endangered Species Act, because the SAMP and associated Section 404 
permit actions may affect listed threatened and/or endangered species 
and/or adversely modify the critical habitat of listed threatened and/
or endangered species.
    The draft EIS is expected to be issued for public review in Fall 
2005.

James A. DeLapp,
Major, U.S. Army, Acting District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 05-9465 Filed 5-11-05; 8:45 am]
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