Header Images

 

Site Title

NEW ENGLAND DISTRICT

Public Affairs Menu

Redirecting...

News Release Manager

Public comments accepted through Aug. 8: Audubon Connecticut In-Lieu Fee Program proposes revisions to instrument covering aquatic resources

Published July 9, 2019

CONCORD, Mass.The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District has released information to share with the public on the proposed revisions to the instrument for the Audubon Connecticut In-lieu Fee Program (CT ILF) sponsored by the National Audubon Society, Inc.

 

The changes bring procedures in line with current practice and includes information on projects approved for funding from 2016 through 2018. The original instrument was signed on Aug. 21, 2013. The approved projects were submitted in response to Requests for Proposals (RFP) each year, recommended for funding by the program’s Project Advisory Committee, and approved by the Interagency Review Team (IRT).

 

Notable changes include: the addition in Section 3.0 of parts of Rhode Island that are in the Pawtucket River watershed to areas which can use the CT ILF Program; removal of text from Section 4.1.1 for determining project specific credits and replacement with a statement that credits will be determined using the current New England District Mitigation Guidance at the time of project approval; addition of language in Section 4.3 about auditing the program; addition of Section 5.1 on legal responsibility; addition of Section 6.3, and the associated appendix, on the Approved Project; deletion of Section 10.0; in Appendix A, Section 5.1, addition of conservation objectives to the various service areas; removal from Appendix B of the Letter of Intent form, which is periodically revised, which is replaced with a link to the website where the form will reside; removal of Appendix C – Credit Cost by Service Area and replacement with Appendix C – Sample Credit Transaction Letter.

 

It also includes removal of Appendix E – Curriculum Vitae of Key Personnel and replacement with Appendix E – Approved Projects. Details on these projects, such as their mitigation plans, are available on the Corps’ on-line Regulatory In-lieu fee and Bank Information Tracking System (RIBITS): https://ribits.usace.army.mil/ribits_apex/f?p=107:2. It also includes the addition of Appendix F – Sample Fact Sheet which includes the original credit pricing.

 

The Corps of Engineers is soliciting comments from the public, federal, state, and local agencies and officials, Indian Tribes, and other interested parties. Any comments received will be considered by the Corps of Engineers as it continues to implement the ILF program in cooperation with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).

 

Anyone wishing to submit a public comment is encouraged to do so. Comments should be submitted in writing by Aug. 8, 2019. All comments will be considered a matter of public record. Copies of comment letters will be forwarded to the sponsor and the IRT consisting of representatives of the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Marine Fisheries Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

 

The public notice, with more specifics on the proposed revisions to the instrument of the Audubon Connecticut In-lieu Fee Program, can be viewed on the Corps website at https://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Missions/PublicNotices/.

 

Public comments on this activity (file # NAE-2010-02215) should be forwarded no later than Aug. 8, 2019 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Regulatory Division (ATTN: Taylor Bell), 696 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742-2751. Additional information is available from Permit Project Manager Taylor Bell at 978-318-8952 or toll free 800-343-4789 or 800-362-4367 (if calling from within Massachusetts) or by email to: taylor.m.bell@usace.army.mil.


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

Release no. 19-061