CONCORD, Mass. – The Town of Scarborough School Department is seeking a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District to conduct work in waters of the United States in conjunction with constructing a replacement school in Scarborough, Maine.

The Town of Scarborough School Department plans to fill approximately 1.35 acres of freshwater wetlands adjacent to Mill Brook in Scarborough, Maine, in order to construct a replacement intermediate school on the same site as the existing school. The new school will be built just west of the existing school; the existing school will be demolished. The new facility will include parking lots, access drives, walkways, playgrounds, and a recreation field.

Previous Corps of Engineers permits have authorized another 3.92 acres of wetland impact within the same multi-school campus since 1994 for a cumulative total with this proposal of 5.27 acres.

To compensate for the project’s projected unavoidable impacts to wetlands, the Town of Scarborough School Department is currently proposing off site compensation. This proposal involves the preservation of approximately 27 acres of mixed upland and wetland adjacent to an unnamed stream, off Coulthards Farm Way in Scarborough. The parcel abuts a division of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge. The applicant is proposing this measure seeking to lessen the project’s impacts on aquatic resources.

The application for the federal permit was filed by the Town of Scarborough School Department with the Corps of Engineers in compliance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which regulates the discharge or fill of material in United States waters, including wetlands.

The public notice, with additional information, can be viewed on the Corps website at http://www.nae.usace.army.mil. Select Regulatory and then public notices or go directly to http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Regulatory/Public%20Notices/.

Public comments referencing this permit request by the Town of Scarborough School Department (File # NAE-2011-01871) should be forwarded no later than May 30, 2012 to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Maine Project Office (ATTN: Jay Clement), 675 Western Ave., #3, Manchester, Maine 04351. Additional information is available from Permit Project Manager Jay Clement at 207-623-8367, Extension 1 or by email to jay.l.clement@usace.army.mil.