SUBJECT: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) South Pacific Division, including its 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), have updated the standard Bank Enabling Instrument (BEI) template and the Conservation Easement (CE) template for use in the development of mitigation banks that are within, or that propose service areas within the State of California. This notice is to inform interested parties of the availability of the draft updated templates and to solicit comments from interested parties. This notice may be viewed at: http://www.spd.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/PublicNoticesandReferences.aspx.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
: USACE, USFWS, NMFS, NRCS, EPA, CNRA, CDFW, and the State Water Board have jointly updated the attached BEI and CE templates. As mitigation banks in California typically provide credits for impacts regulated by multiple agencies, the attached documents integrate the requirements of USACE, USFWS, NMFS, NRCS, EPA, the California Resources Agency, the State Water Board, and CDFW. These agencies have committed through an interagency Memorandum of Understanding to establishing a combined and coordinated approach to mitigation banking which includes 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 consistent approach to mitigation banking proposals. It is expected that, with a finalized templates, agencies and mitigation bankers will be able to proceed with confidence that regulatory needs are met and the information used in the bank review and approval process is adequate, predictable, consistent, and timely.
If you have questions or need additional information please contact Tom Cavanaugh, 415-503-6574,
Thomas.J.Cavanaugh@usace.army.mil.