[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 239 (Thursday, December 13, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70826-70827]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-24191]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Regulatory Guidance Letter 
(RGL) 07-02: Exemptions for Construction or Maintenance of Irrigation 
Ditches and Maintenance of Drainage Ditches under Section 404 of the 
Clean Water Act (CWA)

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Defense.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Corps issued RGL 07-02 to further explain the regulatory 
exemptions for construction or maintenance of irrigation ditches and 
maintenance of drainage ditches consistent with Section 404(f) of the 
CWA (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) and implementing regulations. 
Specifically, the RGL clarifies when Section 404(f) exempts from 
permitting requirements discharges of dredged or fill material into 
waters of the United States associated with the construction and 
maintenance of irrigation ditches and maintenance of drainage ditches. 
The RGL also clarifies how certain terms in the regulations at 33 CFR 
323.4 are applied in the context of the Sections 404(f) exemptions, 
including irrigation ditch, drainage ditch, construction, and 
maintenance. In addition, the guidance provides a framework for 
determining the applicability of the exemptions and the recapture 
provision, consistent with the CWA and implementing regulations. This 
RGL was effective July 4, 2007.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 11, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket number COE-2007-
0038, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include the 
docket number, COE-2007-0038 in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: 441 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20314.
     Hand Delivery: 441 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20314. 
Such deliveries are only accepted during normal hours of operation, and 
special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed 
information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket number COE-2007-0038. 
The Corps's policy is that all comments received will be included in 
the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to 
be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or e-mail. 
The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, 
which means the Corps will not know your identity or contact 
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you 
send an e-mail comment directly to the Corps without going through 
www.regulations.gov your e-mail address will be automatically captured 
and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket 
and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic 
comment, the Corps recommends that you include your name and other 
contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or 
CD-ROM you submit. If the Corps cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, the 
Corps may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should 
avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be 
free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 441 G Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20314. The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim McLaughlin, Regulatory Community 
of Practice (CECW-CO), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Headquarters, 441 
G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20314; telephone number: (202) 761-7763; 
fax number: (202) 761-5096; e-mail address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

    The Corps is requesting public comment on RGL 07-02, which is 
available at: http://www.usace.army.mil/cw/cecwo/reg/rgls/rgl07-02.pdf.
    At the same time, the Corps appreciates that the public has 
considerable interest in the issues addressed in this guidance. The 
Corps is particularly interested in hearing from the public regarding 
their actual experience with implementing the guidance. The Corps is 
providing a 60-day public comment period, and encourages the public to 
provide comments informed by actual experience. To assure the public of 
our commitment to carefully consider their comments, and to address 
issues that

[[Page 70827]]

may unexpectedly arise during implementation of the guidance, the Corps 
may within one year from the date of issuance reissue, revise, or 
suspend the guidance. The Corps intends to provide examples and best 
management practices, including clarification of key terminology, upon 
receipt and consideration of public comments.

    Dated: December 4, 2007.
Michael G. Ensch,
Chief, Operations, Directorate of Civil Works.
[FR Doc. E7-24191 Filed 12-12-07; 8:45 am]
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