[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 33, Volume 3]
[Revised as of July 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 33CFR325.3]

[Page 421-424]
 
                TITLE 33--NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS
 
         CHAPTER II--CORPS OF ENGINEERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
 
PART 325--PROCESSING OF DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY PERMITS--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 325.3  Public notice.

    (a) General. The public notice is the primary method of advising all 
interested parties of the proposed activity for which a permit is sought 
and of soliciting comments and information necessary to evaluate the 
probable impact on the public interest. The notice must, therefore, 
include sufficient information to give a clear understanding of the 
nature and magnitude of the activity to generate meaningful comment. The 
notice should include the following items of information:
    (1) Applicable statutory authority or authorities;
    (2) The name and address of the applicant;
    (3) The name or title, address and telephone number of the Corps 
employee from whom additional information concerning the application may 
be obtained;
    (4) The location of the proposed activity;
    (5) A brief description of the proposed activity, its purpose and 
intended use, so as to provide sufficient information concerning the 
nature of the activity to generate meaningful comments, including a 
description of the type of structures, if any, to be erected on fills or 
pile or float-supported platforms, and a description of the type, 
composition, and quantity of materials to be discharged or disposed of 
in the ocean;
    (6) A plan and elevation drawing showing the general and specific 
site location and character of all proposed activities, including the 
size relationship of the proposed structures to the size of the impacted 
waterway and depth of water in the area;
    (7) If the proposed activity would occur in the territorial seas or 
ocean waters, a description of the activity's relationship to the 
baseline from which the territorial sea is measured;
    (8) A list of other government authorizations obtained or requested 
by the applicant, including required certifications relative to water 
quality, coastal zone management, or marine sanctuaries;
    (9) If appropriate, a statement that the activity is a categorical 
exclusion for purposes of NEPA (see paragraph 7 of Appendix B to 33 CFR 
part 230);

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    (10) A statement of the district engineer's current knowledge on 
historic properties;
    (11) A statement of the district engineer's current knowledge on 
endangered species (see Sec. 325.2(b)(5));
    (12) A statement(s) on evaluation factors (see Sec. 325.3(c));
    (13) Any other available information which may assist interested 
parties in evaluating the likely impact of the proposed activity, if 
any, on factors affecting the public interest;
    (14) The comment period based on Sec. 325.2(d)(2);
    (15) A statement that any person may request, in writing, within the 
comment period specified in the notice, that a public hearing be held to 
consider the application. Requests for public hearings shall state, with 
particularity, the reasons for holding a public hearing;
    (16) For non-federal applications in states with an approved CZM 
Plan, a statement on compliance with the approved Plan; and
    (17) In addition, for section 103 (ocean dumping) activities:
    (i) The specific location of the proposed disposal site and its 
physical boundaries;
    (ii) A statement as to whether the proposed disposal site has been 
designated for use by the Administrator, EPA, pursuant to section 102(c) 
of the Act;
    (iii) If the proposed disposal site has not been designated by the 
Administrator, EPA, a description of the characteristics of the proposed 
disposal site and an explanation as to why no previously designated 
disposal site is feasible;
    (iv) A brief description of known dredged material discharges at the 
proposed disposal site;
    (v) Existence and documented effects of other authorized disposals 
that have been made in the disposal area (e.g., heavy metal background 
reading and organic carbon content);
    (vi) An estimate of the length of time during which disposal would 
continue at the proposed site; and
    (vii) Information on the characteristics and composition of the 
dredged material.
    (b) Public notice for general permits. District engineers will 
publish a public notice for all proposed regional general permits and 
for significant modifications to, or reissuance of, existing regional 
permits within their area of jurisdiction. Public notices for statewide 
regional permits may be issued jointly by the affected Corps districts. 
The notice will include all applicable information necessary to provide 
a clear understanding of the proposal. In addition, the notice will 
state the availability of information at the district office which 
reveals the Corps' provisional determination that the proposed 
activities comply with the requirements for issuance of general permits. 
District engineers will publish a public notice for nationwide permits 
in accordance with 33 CFR 330.4.
    (c) Evaluation factors. A paragraph describing the various 
evaluation factors on which decisions are based shall be included in 
every public notice.
    (1) Except as provided in paragraph (c)(3) of this section, the 
following will be included:

    ``The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an 
evaluation of the probable impact including cumulative impacts of the 
proposed activity on the public interest. That decision will reflect the 
national concern for both protection and utilization of important 
resources. The benefit which reasonably may be expected to accrue from 
the proposal must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable 
detriments. All factors which may be relevant to the proposal will be 
considered including the cumulative effects thereof; among those are 
conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, 
wetlands, historic properties, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, 
floodplain values, land use, navigation, shoreline erosion and 
accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, 
energy needs, safety, food and fiber production, mineral needs, 
considerations of property ownership and, in general, the needs and 
welfare of the people.''

    (2) If the activity would involve the discharge of dredged or fill 
material into the waters of the United States or the transportation of 
dredged material for the purpose of disposing of it in ocean waters, the 
public notice shall also indicate that the evaluation of the inpact of 
the activity on the public interest will include application of the

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guidelines promulgated by the Administrator, EPA, (40 CFR part 230) or 
of the criteria established under authority of section 102(a) of the 
Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, as amended (40 
CFR parts 220 to 229), as appropriate. (See 33 CFR parts 323 and 324).
    (3) In cases involving construction of artificial islands, 
installations and other devices on outer continental shelf lands which 
are under mineral lease from the Department of the Interior, the notice 
will contain the following statement: ``The decision as to whether a 
permit will be issued will be based on an evaluation of the impact of 
the proposed work on navigation and national security.''
    (d) Distribution of public notices. (1) Public notices will be 
distributed for posting in post offices or other appropriate public 
places in the vicinity of the site of the proposed work and will be sent 
to the applicant, to appropriate city and county officials, to adjoining 
property owners, to appropriate state agencies, to appropriate Indian 
Tribes or tribal representatives, to concerned Federal agencies, to 
local, regional and national shipping and other concerned business and 
conservation organizations, to appropriate River Basin Commissions, to 
appropriate state and areawide clearing houses as prescribed by OMB 
Circular A-95, to local news media and to any other interested party. 
Copies of public notices will be sent to all parties who have 
specifically requested copies of public notices, to the U.S. Senators 
and Representatives for the area where the work is to be performed, the 
field representative of the Secretary of the Interior, the Regional 
Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Regional Director of the 
National Park Service, the Regional Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA), the Regional Director of the National Marine 
Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
(NOAA), the head of the state agency responsible for fish and wildlife 
resources, the State Historic Preservation Officer, and the District 
Commander, U.S. Coast Guard.
    (2) In addition to the general distribution of public notices cited 
above, notices will be sent to other addressees in appropriate cases as 
follows:
    (i) If the activity would involve structures or dredging along the 
shores of the seas or Great Lakes, to the Coastal Engineering Research 
Center, Washington, DC 20016.
    (ii) If the activity would involve construction of fixed structures 
or artificial islands on the outer continental shelf or in the 
territorial seas, to the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower, 
Installations, and Logistics (ASD(MI&L)), Washington, DC 20310; the 
Director, Defense Mapping Agency (Hydrographic Center) Washington, DC 
20390, Attention, Code NS12; and the National Ocean Service, Office of 
Coast Survey, N/CS261, 1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland 
20910-3282, and to affected military installations and activities.
    (iii) If the activity involves the construction of structures to 
enhance fish propagation (e.g., fishing reefs) along the coasts of the 
United States, to the Director, Office of Marine Recreational Fisheries, 
National Marine Fisheries Service, Washington, DC 20235.
    (iv) If the activity involves the construction of structures which 
may affect aircraft operations or for purposes associated with seaplane 
operations, to the Regional Director of the Federal Aviation 
Administration.
    (v) If the activity would be in connection with a foreign-trade 
zone, to the Executive Secretary, Foreign-Trade Zones Board, Department 
of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230 and to the appropriate District 
Director of Customs as Resident Representative, Foreign-Trade Zones 
Board.
    (3) It is presumed that all interested parties and agencies will 
wish to respond to public notices; therefore, a lack of response will be 
interpreted as meaning that there is no objection to the proposed 
project. A copy of the public notice with the list of the addresses to 
whom the notice was sent will be included in the record. If a question 
develops with respect to an activity for which another agency has 
responsibility and that other agency has not responded to the public 
notice, the district engineer may request its comments. Whenever a 
response to a public

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notice has been received from a member of Congress, either in behalf of 
a constitutent or himself, the district engineer will inform the member 
of Congress of the final decision.
    (4) District engineers will update public notice mailing lists at 
least once every two years.