[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 46 (Friday, March 7, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12396-12397]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-4574]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Notice of Availability for the Draft Program Environmental Impact 
Statement/ Environmental Impact Report for the San Diego Creek 
Watershed Special Area Management Plan (SAMP)/Watershed Streambed 
Alteration Agreement (WSAA) Process, Orange County, CA

AGENCY: Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (as amended), the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, Los Angeles District, Regulatory Division (Corps), in 
coordination with the California Department of Fish and Game, Habitat 
Conservation Planning, South Coast Region (Department), has completed a 
Draft Program Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact 
Report (EIS/EIR)

[[Page 12397]]

for the San Diego Creek Watershed Special Area Management Plan (SAMP)/
Watershed Streambed Alteration Agreement (WSAA) Process. The San Diego 
Creek Watershed SAMP is a plan, which is comprised of the following 
elements: an Analytical Framework for Corps and Department 
decisionmaking; modified, watershed-specific permitting processes, 
including watershed- and resource-based permitting protocols and a 
mitigation framework for the Corps and the Department; a Strategic 
Mitigation Plan, which is based upon a riparian ecosystem restoration 
plan; a Mitigation Coordination Program to achieve implementation of 
the Strategic Mitigation Plan and foster a coordinated approach to 
aquatic resource management in the Watershed; and an implementation 
plan for the SAMP. The SAMP establishes alternative (aquatic resource-
based and watershed-specific) permitting procedures for projects within 
the San Diego Creek Watershed that will alter the bed, bank or channel 
of rivers, streams, and lakes and associated riparian habitats under 
the Department's jurisdiction, and discharge dredged or fill material 
into waters of the United States subject to the Corps jurisdiction. The 
SAMP permitting procedures will improve the capacity of the Corps and 
the Department to evaluate such projects, as compared to the process 
each agency would normally follow in permitting such projects on a 
case-by-case basis.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Corice Farrar, Project Manager, 
Regulatory Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District 
at (213) 452-3296, by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Bound copies of the Draft Program EIS/EIR 
will be made available to the public for review at the following 
library reference desks: University of California at Irvine, Langson 
Library (Irvine, California); Newport Beach Central Library (Newport 
Beach, California); Heritage Park Regional Library (Irvine, 
California); and Santa Ana Public Library (Santa Ana, California). In 
addition, in-house review copies will be made available at the 
Department's San Diego Office by calling (858) 462-4201 and Regional 
Office in Los Alamitos by calling (562) 342-7115. A public meeting will 
be held at the Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center located at 2301 
University Drive, Newport Beach, California 92660 on April 1, 2008, 
from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. If you would like additional information or an 
electronic copy of the Draft Program EIS/EIR, please contact Ms. Corice 
Farrar by phoning (213) 452-3296, by sending an e-mail to the address 
shown above, or by accessing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los 
Angeles District's Web site at: http://www.spl.usace.army.mil/samp/sandiegocreeksamp.htm. Comments on the Draft Program EIS/EIR may be 
submitted in writing to Corice Farrar, either mailed to P.O. Box 
532711, Los Angeles, CA 90053-2325, or delivered to 915 Wilshire 
Boulevard, Suite 980, Los Angeles, CA 90017-3401, from March 7, 2008, 
to April 21, 2008, by 5 p.m. for consideration by the lead agencies in 
their decision-making process leading to certification of the Final 
Program EIS/EIR and a Record of Decision.

    Dated: February 27, 2008.
David J. Castanon,
Chief, Regulatory Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles 
District.
 [FR Doc. E8-4574 Filed 3-6-08; 8:45 am]
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