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intermittent and ephemeral stream bed, and for all NWP 48 activities that require pre -construction
<br />notification, the district engineer will immediately provide (e.g., via e-mail, facsimile transmission,
<br />overnight mail, or other expeditious manner) a copy of the complete PCN to the appropriate Federal or
<br />state offices (U.S. FWS, state natural resource or water quality agency, EPA, State Historic Preservation
<br />Officer (SHPO) or Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO), and, if appropriate, the NMFS). With the
<br />exception of NWP 37, these agencies will have 10 calendar days from the date the material is transmitted
<br />to telephone or fax the district engineer notice that they intend to provide substantive, site -specific
<br />comments. The comments must explain why the agency believes the adverse effects will be more than
<br />minimal. If so contacted by an agency, the district engineer will wait an additional 15 calendar days
<br />before making a decision on the pre -construction notification. The district engineer will fully consider
<br />agency comments received within the specified time frame concerning the proposed activity's compliance
<br />with the terms and conditions of the NWPs, including the need for mitigation to ensure the net adverse
<br />environmental effects to the aquatic environment of the proposed activity are minimal. The district
<br />engineer will provide no response to the resource agency, except as provided below. The district engineer
<br />will indicate in the administrative record associated with each pre -construction notification that the
<br />resource agencies' concerns were considered. For NWP 37, the emergency watershed protection and
<br />rehabilitation activity may proceed immediately in cases where there is an unacceptable hazard to life or a
<br />significant loss of properly or economic hardship will occur. The district engineer will consider any
<br />comments received to decide whether the NWP 37 authorization should be modified, suspended, or
<br />revolted in accordance with the procedures at 33 CFR 330.5. (3) In cases of where the prospective
<br />permittee is not a Federal agency, the district engineer will provide a response to NMFS within 30
<br />calendar days of receipt of any Essential Fish Habitat conservation recommendations, as required by
<br />Section 305(b)(4)(B) of the Magnuson -Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. (4)
<br />Applicants are encouraged to provide the Corps with either electronic files or multiple copies of pre -
<br />construction notifications to expedite agency coordination.
<br />District Engineer's Decision
<br />1. In reviewing the PCN for the proposed activity, the district engineer will determine whether the
<br />activity authorized by the NWP will result in more than minimal individual or cumulative adverse
<br />environmental effects or may be contrary to the public interest. For a linear project, this determination
<br />will include an evaluation of the individual crossings to determine whether they individually satisfy the
<br />terms and conditions of the NWP(s), as well as the cumulative effects caused by all of the crossings
<br />authorized by NWP. If an applicant requests a waiver of the 300 linear foot limit on impacts to
<br />intermittent or ephemeral streams or of an otherwise applicable limit, as provided for in NWPs 13, 21, 29,
<br />36, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 50, 51 or 52, the district engineer will only grant the waiver upon a written
<br />determination that the NWP activity will result in minimal adverse effects. When making minimal effects
<br />determinations the district engineer will consider the direct and indirect effects caused by the NWP
<br />activity. The district engineer will also consider site specific factors, such as the environmental setting in
<br />the vicinity of the NWP activity, the type of resource that will be affected by the NWP activity, the
<br />functions provided by the aquatic resources that will be affected by the NWP activity, the degree or
<br />magnitude to which the aquatic resources perform those functions, the extent that aquatic resource
<br />functions will be lost as a result of the NWP activity (e.g., partial or complete loss), the duration of the
<br />adverse effects (temporary or permanent), the importance of the aquatic resource functions to the region
<br />(e.g., watershed or ecoregion), and mitigation required by the district engineer. If an appropriate
<br />functional assessment method is available and practicable to use, that assessment method may be used by
<br />the district engineer to assist in the minimal adverse effects determination. The district engineer may add
<br />case -specific special conditions to the NWP authorization to address site -specific environmental concerns.
<br />2. If the proposed activity requires a PCN and will result in a loss of greater than 1/10-acre of
<br />wetlands, the prospective permittee should submit a mitigation proposal with the PCN. Applicants may
<br />also propose compensatory mitigation for projects with smaller impacts. The district engineer will
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