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Connecticut Yankee Council of the Boy Scouts of America proposes umbrella mitigation bank in Redding

Published May 2, 2011

CONCORD, Mass.The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has received a prospectus for an umbrella mitigation bank in the state of Connecticut from the Connecticut Yankee Council of the Boy Scouts of America, using Camp Hoyt in Redding, Conn., as the initial bank site.

 

The Corps of Engineers is soliciting comments on the prospectus from the public; Federal, state and local agencies and officials; Indian Tribes; and other interested parties in order to help determine whether the proposed mitigation bank has the potential for providing appropriate compensatory mitigation for Department of Army permits. If so, the sponsor can then proceed to develop a draft umbrella banking instrument to be signed by the sponsor, the Corps, and other interested stakeholder agencies.

 

The process will follow 33 CFR 332, Compensatory Mitigation for Losses of Aquatic Resources (“Mitigation Rule”), published in the Federal Register on April 10, 2008. Comments will also be used to determine the need for a public hearing on this matter. 

 

The umbrella bank would provide an alternative to permittee-responsible mitigation for proposed unavoidable impacts authorized under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act. It would also provide an alternative for Civil Works projects needing compensation for impacts to aquatic resources.

 

The Corps has determined that this prospectus is complete in that it includes a discussion of the following as required by 33 CFR 332.8(d)(2): the objectives of and need for the proposed umbrella bank and the Camp Hoyt bank site; how the umbrella bank and the Camp Hoyt bank site will be established and operated; the proposed service area for the Camp Hoyt site; the technical feasibility of the Camp Hoyt site; the proposed ownership arrangements and long-term management strategies in general and for the Camp Hoyt site in particular; the qualifications of the sponsor and its ability to successfully complete the types of mitigation projects that will be proposed; the ecological suitability of the Camp Hoyt site to achieve the objectives of the proposed bank, including the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the bank site and how that site will support the planned types of aquatic resources and functions; and sufficient water to support the long-term sustainability of the bank site.

 

Based on the initial review, the Corps has determined that little likelihood exists for the proposed work at Camp Hoyt to impinge upon properties with cultural or Native American significance, or listed in, or eligible for listing in, the National Register of Historic Places. Therefore, no further consideration of the requirement of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, is necessary. This determination is based upon one or more of the following: the work area has been extensively modified by previous work; the work area has been recently created; the proposed activity is of limited nature and scope; review of the latest published version of the National Register shows that no presence of registered properties listed as being eligible for inclusion therein are in the permit area or general vicinity.

 

The public notice with additional information, including the Connecticut Yankee Council of the Boy Scouts of America prospectus, can be reviewed online at the Corps website http://www.nae.usace.army.mil. Select Regulatory/Permitting and then weekly public notices.

 

In order to properly evaluate this proposal, the Corps is seeking public comments. Public comments referencing this proposal (File # NAE-2010-2214) should be forwarded no later than June 1, 2011 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Regulatory Division (ATTN: Ruth Ladd), 696 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742-2751. Additional information is available from Project Manager Ruth Ladd at 978-318-8818 or toll free 800-343-4789 or 800-362-4367 (if calling from within Massachusetts) or by email to ruth.m.ladd@usace.army.mil.


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

Release no. 2011-045