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Corps of Engineers issues the Rhode Island general permits for minimal impact activities in U.S. waters

Published March 7, 2017

CONCORD, Mass. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District is issuing the statewide Rhode Island General Permits, pursuant to 33 CFR Part 325.S(c)(l) for minimal impact projects. The RI GPs replace the prior statewide Rhode Island General Permit, which expired on Feb. 22, 2017, with a series of multiple GPs covering activity-specific categories. 

 

These GPs became effective on March 3, 2017 and will continue the expedited review process for activities subject to Corps jurisdiction under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, and Section 103 of the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act, located in waters of the United States, including navigable waters, within boundaries of the state of Rhode Island and lands located within the boundaries of the Narragansett Land Claim Settlement Area.

 

General Permits are used as a way to streamline state and Federal regulatory programs. The New England District has already had success with streamlining these programs with the use of GPs throughout New England. These GPs are designed to authorize activities covered under the Nationwide Permit (NWP) program and the prior RI GP.

 

Some of the major changes from the previous GP include:

 

  1. The new RI GPs are organized into 21 activity-specific General Permits (Appendix A). This was intended to satisfy the requirements of Section 404(e) of the Clean Water Act, which allows the Corps to issue general permits for activities that are similar in nature and will cause only minimal individual and cumulative adverse environmental effects.  Identifying specific activities allows the Corps to adequately assess cumulative impacts of permitted activities, as well as fully assess impacts on threatened and endangered species. Appendix A also combines non-tidal and tidal waters and wetlands in one table instead of the previous GP's Inland Waters and Navigable (Coastal) Waters tables.

     

  2. Updated general conditions according to current state and Federal law and policies.

     

    The new RI GPs' category names have changed from Category 1 to Self-verification (SV) and from Category 2 to Pre-Construction Notification (PCN) to be consistent with the NWP program.

     

    The 2017 RI GPs supersede the previous RI GP which expired on Feb. 22, 2017. Activities authorized by the previous GP but had not commenced or were not under contract to commence by Feb. 22, 2017 will need to apply for a new authorization under the new RI GPs. Conversely, activities authorized by the previous RI GP that have either commenced or are under contract to commence will have an additional year from the expiration date of Feb. 22, 2017 to complete the work.

     

    The public notice, with more specifics and a copy of the issued Rhode Island GPs, can be viewed on the Corps website at www.nae.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/PublicNotices.aspx.

     

    For more information or to request a copy of the RI GPs contact the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Regulatory Division (ATTN: Michael Elliott), 696 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742-2751; or call Permit Project Manager Michael Elliott at 978-318-8131 or toll free 800-343-4789 or 800-362-4367 (if calling from within Massachusetts); or email him at: michael.j.elliott@usace.army.mil.


Contact
Tim Dugan
978-318-8264
cenae-pa@usace.army.mil

Release no. 17-011