What: The Sacramento, San Francisco, and Los Angeles Districts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), the California Resources Agency, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board), and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) as potential participants in Interagency Review Teams (IRT) have updated the standard Conservation Easement (CE) template for use with mitigation banks that are established within the State of California. This notice is to inform interested parties of the availability of the completed template.
SUBJECT: The attached, updated Conservation Easement (CE) template is for use in the development of mitigation and conservation banks that are within, or that propose service areas within the State of California. The Project Delivery Team (PDT) established by the 2011 interagency Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) concerning Mitigation and Conservation Banking and In-Lieu Fee Programs in California developed this final CE template, following the consideration of comments received in response to the 2015 public notice, and subsequent public meetings, and following input from the Bank Agency Management Team (BAMT), also established by the MOU. The attached CE Template becomes effective for use for any new proposed mitigation bank, where a prospectus is received after May 21, 2017. Mitigation banks currently in process may, and are encouraged to, use the attached CE template, rather than earlier versions.
The updated CE template will be used jointly by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) South Pacific Division's Sacramento, San Francisco, and Los Angeles Districts, along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board), and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), as potential participants in Interagency Review Teams (IRT). This notice, as well as the original notice of the proposed updates, may be viewed at: http://www.spn.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/PublicNoticesandReferences.aspx.
AUTHORITY: The templates will be used in the development of mitigation banks, which provide mitigation for impacts from projects which have which have received authorizations to proceed under the authorities of Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 for structures or work in or affecting navigable waters of the United States and/or Section 404 of the Clean Water Act for the discharge of dredged or fill material in waters of the United States. Additionally, these templates are to be used when those mitigation banks would also propose to provide mitigation for projects which have been required to provide mitigation by USFWS, CDFW, NMFS, the State Water Board, and/or NRCS. These agencies have committed through the above mentioned MOU to establishing a combined and coordinated approach to mitigation and conservation banking which includes the development of template documents for use throughout the State of California. These templates reflect existing regulations, policies, and guidance and represent the way in which USACE, USFWS, NMFS, NRCS, EPA, the CNRA, the State Water Board, and CDFW intend to implement and provide a consistent approach to mitigation and conservation banking proposals.
If you have questions or need additional information please contact Bryan Matsumoto, 415-503-6786 bryan.t.matsumoto@usace.army.mil