CONCORD, Mass. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District is proposing to revise and replace the statewide Connecticut General Permit (GP) with a series of multiple GPs covering activity-specific categories. The revised GPs will continue to authorize activities in waters of the U.S. within the state of Connecticut and lands located within the exterior boundaries of an Indian Reservation with minimal individual and cumulative adverse environmental impacts.

The existing General Permit will expire on July 15, 2016 and the Corps proposes to reissue the GPs for another five years prior to that date. The revised GPs will continue the expedited review process for activities in 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.

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. This notice is being issued in accordance with 33 CFR 325.3(b) to coordinate reissuance of the GPs with Federal resource agencies, state agencies and the general public.

The revised GP organizes eligible work into 22 activity-specific categories. 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. The proposed GPs retain the function and utility of the existing Connecticut GP and are not expected to result in significant substantive changes to how activities in waters of the U.S. are regulated in the state of Connecticut.

All GP authorizations would be subject to the applicability requirements, procedures, and conditions contained in the GP documentation. Project eligibility under these GPs will fall into two categories as more fully described in Appendix A – General Permits. Individual GP authorizations are not valid until all other required Federal, state and local permits and/or certifications are obtained.

Projects with minimal individual and cumulative effects on the aquatic environment will be approved administratively under these GPs. Representatives of the Corps, state agencies, and the Federal resource agencies (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and National Marine Fisheries Service) will continue to review those activities requiring a Pre-Discharge Notification to the Corps as outlined within the GPs. Projects that do not meet the terms and conditions of the GPs, including those that have the potential for more than minimal effects, will require an Individual Permit. The Individual Permit review process is detailed at 33 CFR 325, Processing of Department of Army Permits.

Reissuance of the GPs will not alter the Individual Permit review procedures, or Federal exemptions, which are not necessarily the same as the state of Connecticut’s exemptions. To view the public notice and the proposed revised GPs visit the Corps website at  http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/  and select “regulatory/permitting” and then “public notices” or go directly to

http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/PublicNotices.aspx.

Public comments referencing this proposal to revise and replace the Connecticut General Permit should be forwarded to this office no later than June 8, 2016. The address is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Regulatory Division (ATTN: Diane Ray), 696 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742-2751. Additional information is available from Permit Project Manager Diane Ray at 978-318-8831, or toll free at 800-362-4367 (if calling from within Massachusetts), or 800-343-4789 (if calling from outside of Massachusetts) or by email to diane.m.ray@usace.army.mil.