Corps Of Engineers Reissues Programmatic General Permit

CONCORD, MASS. — The US Army Corps of Engineers, New England District has reissued the statewide Connecticut Programmatic General Permit (PGP) for minimal impact activities within the State of Connecticut.

The effective date of the new PGP was May 31, 2006.

The new PGP will continue to provide a simplified review process for activities in corps jurisdiction under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899.

General permits are encouraged under the President’s plan 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 PGPs throughout New England.

This PGP is designed to authorize activities formerly covered under the Nationwide Permit (NWP) Program and the prior PGP that expired on May 31, 2006. The reissued PGP became effective on May 31.

Continued use of the general permit process in place of the nationwide permits will provide important benefits to the public, including simplifying the process, expediting decisions, and providing environmental protection.

On Monday, June 19, representatives of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CT DEP) and the US Army Corps of Engineers will be available between 10 am and 2 pm at the CT DEP offices in Hartford, in the Russell Room (on the third floor) to answer any questions people have about the CT PGP.

Projects with minimal individual and cumulative effects on the aquatic environment will be approved administratively under this PGP. Projects with the potential for more than minimal effects will be subjected to individual permit review.

The individual permit review procedures are not altered by the PGP. Federal exemptions, which are not necessarily the same as the State of Connecticut’s exemptions, are also not being altered by the PGP.

In addition, PGP authorizations will be valid until all other required federal, state, and local permits and/or certifications are obtained.

All PGP authorizations will be subject to the applicability requirements, procedures, and conditions contained in the PGP document. Project eligibility under this PGP will fall into two categories: nonreporting projects (Category 1) and reporting projects requiring screening (Category 2).

Category 2 activities will be reviewed by the crops, the State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, and the federal resource agencies (US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Marine Fisheries Service) as outlined in the PGP.

Through interagency screening, the corps will determine if the individual and cumulative adverse environmental impacts are minimal and whether the project may proceed under the PGP.

The new PGP supersedes the previous PGP, but does not affect activities authorized under the previous PGP that have commenced prior to the new issuance. Activities that have commenced (i.e., are under construction or are under contract to commence) prior to the issuance date of this PGP, in reliance upon the terms and conditions of the category under which it was authorized, shall remain authorized provided the activity is completed within 12 months of the date of the expiration of the current PGP, that is by Mary 31, 2012, or in accordance with the specific expiration requirements contained in the corps PGP authorization letter for Category 2 projects.