[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 220 (Wednesday, November 16, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 69525]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-22718]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army


Notice of availability for the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the San Juan Creek Watershed/Western San Mateo Creek 
Watershed Special Area Management Plan (SAMP), Orange County, CA

AGENCY: Department of Defense, Department of the Army, Corps of 
Engineers, Los Angeles District Regulatory Branch.

ACTION: Notice of availability for a Draft EIS.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch has 
completed a Draft EIS for the San Juan Creek Watershed/Western San 
Mateo Creek Watershed Special Area Management Plan (SAMP). The San Juan 
Creek Watershed/Western San Mateo Creek Watershed SAMP establishes 
three alternative permitting procedures that balance aquatic resource 
protection and reasonable economic development for the San Juan Creek 
Watershed and Western San Mateo Creed Watershed.

DATES: Written comments received by January 16, 2006, will be 
considered by the Corps in decision making for the Final EIS. The 
public hearing for the Draft EIS will be held on December 6, 2005 at 
the City of San Juan Capistrano Center Community Center at 25925 Camino 
del Avion, San Juan Capistrano.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jae Chung, Project Manager, 
Regulatory Branch, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, P.O. Box 532711, Los 
Angeles, California 90053-2325, (213) 452-3292, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under section 404 of the Clean Water Act, 
the Corps is authorized to issue permits for activities that discharge 
dredged and/or fill materials into waters of the U.S., including 
wetlands, for roads, developments, utilities, and other activities. For 
the San Juan Creek and Western San Mateo Creek Watersheds, the Corps is 
proposing a watershed-based SAMP to balance aquatic resource protection 
and reasonable economic development. The SAMP is an improvement over 
the current incremental case-by-case approach, which does a less 
effective job of taking a watershed perspective of aquatic resources 
and considering the needs of future permit applicants. The SAMP 
involves characterizing aquatic resource conditions and processes 
through the watershed, establishing alternative permitting procedures 
more appropriate for the given aquatic resources in the watershed, and 
developing a coordinated aquatic resources management framework.
    The Draft EIS is available to the public at the reference desks at 
the following local libraries: Mission Viejo Library, 100 Civic Center, 
Mission Viejo, CA 92691; San Clemente Library, 242 Avenida Del Mar, San 
Clemente, CA 92672; Laguna Hills Library, 25555 Alicia Parkway, Laguna 
Hills, CA 92653; Laguna Niguel Library, 30341 Crown Valley Parkway, 
Laguna Niguel, CA 92656; San Juan Capistrano Library, 31495 El Camino 
Real, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675; Rancho Santa Margarita Library, 
30902 La Promesa, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688; and Dana Point 
Library, 33841 Niguel Road, Laguna Niguel, CA 92656. Information on 
obtaining electronic copies of the Draft EIS is available by phoning or 
mailing the contact person or by visiting http://www.spl.usace.army.mil/samp/sanjuancreeksamp.htm.

Alex C. Dornstauder,
Colonel, US Army, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 05-22718 Filed 11-15-05; 8:45 am]
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