[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 249 (Thursday, December 28, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 78155]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-22311]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Notice of Availability for the Final 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 Final EIS.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch has 
completed a Final 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 Creek Watershed.

DATES: The Final EIS will be available to the public for 30 days from 
December 29, 2006 to January 29, 2007. After the 30 day availability 
period, a Record of Decision will be issued.

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 was made available to the public on November 21, 
2005. The Corps accepted written comments until January 16, 2006, and 
accepted oral comments in a public hearing dated December 6, 2006. The 
Corps received ten written comments throughout the comment period and 
two oral comments at the public hearing.
    The Final 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 Final EIS is available by phoning or 
mailing the contact person or by visiting http://www.spl.usace.army.mil/samp/sanjuancreeksamp.htm.

Mark Durham,
Chief, South Coast Section, Regulatory Branch.
[FR Doc. E6-22311 Filed 12-27-06; 8:45 am]
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