[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 33, Volume 3]

[Revised as of July 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 33CFR325.3]



[Page 430-433]

 

                TITLE 33--NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS

 

 CHAPTER II--CORPS OF ENGINEERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, DEPARTMENT OF 

                                 DEFENSE

 

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;



[[Page 431]]



    (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);

    (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



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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 

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



[[Page 433]]



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 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.