Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 82 / Friday, April 26, 1996 / Notices 18573

Any person who fails to comply with

closure or restriction order issued under

this subpart may be subject to the

penalties provided in 43 CFR 8360.0–7.

These penalties are as follows:

Violations are punishable by a fine not

to exceed $1,000 and/or imprisonment

not to exceed 12 months.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Questions about this notice can be

answered by: Mr. James Fisher, Area

Manager, Bureau of Land Management,

Wenatchee Resource Area Office, 915 N

Walla Walla Street, Wenatchee,

Washington 98801–1521; (509) 665–

2100.

James F. Fisher,

Wenatchee Resource Area Manager, Bureau

of Land Management.

Joseph C. Duncan,

Seattle District, Real Estate Division, Corps

of Engineers.

[FR Doc. 96–10338 Filed 4–25–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3710–ER–M

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Corps of Engineers

Proposed Authorization Under the U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide

General Permit Program of the U.S.

Department of Transportation, United

States Coast Guard Categorical

Exclusions for Certain Activities

Requiring Department of the Army

Authorization

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,

DoD.

ACTION: Notice of intent and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The Corps of Engineers is

proposing to authorize U.S. Coast Guard

categorical exclusions (CEs) under

nationwide general permit number 23.

The Corps is requesting comment on the

appropriateness of the CEs for

nationwide general permit authorization

and any conditions or restrictions to

such authorization. The Coast Guard has

previously adopted its CEs pursuant to

the Council on Environmental Quality

Regulation for Implementing the

Procedural Provisions of the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (40

CFR part 1500 et seq.).

DATES: Comments must be received by

May 28, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to

the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,

ATTN: CECW–OR, Nationwide General

Permit Number 23 Docket, 20

Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20314–1000 or faxed

to (202) 761–5096.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Victor Cole, Regulatory Branch,

Office of the Chief of Engineers at (202)

761–0199.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Coast

Guard has requested Corps

authorization in accordance with the

Corps nationwide general permit

number 23 of its CEs originally

published in the Federal Register on

July 29, 1994 (59 FR 38654), and

subsequently modified on September 6,

1995 (60 FR 46327), June 20, 1995 (60

FR 32197), and March 27, 1996 (61 FR

13563). The Corps issued the

nationwide general permit to reduce

duplicative Federal processes when

another Federal agency has completed

the NEPA analysis for an activity, and

to expedite Department of the Army

authorization for projects having no

more than minimal adverse

environmental effects either

individually or cumulatively.

In 1983, the Corps approved the

original Coast Guard CEs (45 FR 32819)

and have been authorizing the approved

CEs since then. We are publishing the

existing Coast Guard CEs in their

entirety, incorporating the subsequent

changes made by the Coast Guard as

identified in the Federal Register

citations listed above. Reviewers should

note that several of the categorical

exclusions do not require Department of

the Army authorization but are listed to

provide the complete listing and same

numbering system as the Coast Guard

CEs. For further information regarding

the original establishment of the CEs by

the Coast Guard, the Federal Register

citations above should be reviewed.

Upon review and consideration of

comments received, the Corps will

publish the final list of Coast Guard CEs

approved by the Corps to qualify under

nationwide general permit number 23,

including any required notification

procedures and/or certain conditions, in

the Federal Register.

Dated: April 16, 1996.

Colonel Ronald L. Stewart,

Assistant Chief, Operations, Construction,

and Readiness Division, Directorate of Civil

Works.

U.S. Coast Guard Categorical Exclusion

List

(1) Routine personnel, fiscal, and

administrative activities, actions,

procedures, and policies which clearly

do not have any environmental impacts,

such as military and civilian personnel

recruiting, processing, paying, and

record keeping.

(2) Routine procurement activities

and actions for goods and services,

including office supplies, equipment,

mobile assets, and utility services for

routine administration, operation, and

maintenance.

(3) Maintenance dredging and debris

disposal where no new depths as

required, applicable permits are

secured, and disposal will be at an

existing approved disposal site.

(Checklist required).

(4) Routine repair, renovation, and

maintenance actions on aircraft and

vessels.

(5) Routine repair and maintenance of

buildings, roads, airfields, grounds,

equipment, and other facilities which

do not result in a change in functional

use, or an impact on a historically

significant element or settings.

(6) Minor renovations and additions

to buildings, roads, airfields, grounds,

equipment, and other facilities which

do not result in a change in functional

use, a historically significant element, or

historically significant setting.

(Checklist required).

(7) Routine repair and maintenance to

waterfront facilities, including mooring

piles, fixed floating piers, existing piers,

and unburied power cables.

(8) Minor renovations and additions

to waterfront facilities, including

mooring piles, fixed floating piers,

existing piers, and unburied power

cables, which do not require special,

site-specific regulatory permits.

(Checklist required).

(9) Routine grounds maintenance and

activities at units and facilities. Examples

include localized pest management actions

and actions to maintain improved grounds

(such as landscaping, lawn care and minor

erosion control measures) that are conducted

in accordance with applicable Federal, State

and local directives.

(10) Installation of devices to protect

human or animal life, such as raptor

electrocution prevention devices, fencing to

restrict wildlife movement on to airfields,

and fencing and grating to prevent accidental

entry to hazardous areas. (Checklist

required).

(11) New construction on heavily

developed portions of Coast Guard property,

when construction, use, and operation will

comply with regulatory requirements and

constraints. (Checklist required).

(12) Decisions to decommission equipment

or temporarily discontinue use of facilities or

equipment. This does not preclude the need

to review decommissioning under section

106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

(Checklist required for vessels and aircraft).

(13) Demolition or disposal actions that

involve buildings or structures when

conducted in accordance with regulations

applying to removal of asbestos, PCB’s, and

other hazardous materials, or disposal

actions mandated by Congress. In addition, if

the building or structure is listed, or eligible

for listing, in the National Register of Historic

Places, then compliance with section 106 of

the National Historic Preservation Act is

required. (Checklist required).
18574 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 82 / Friday, April 26, 1996 / Notices

(14) Outleasing of historic lighthouse

properties as outlined in the Programmatic

Memorandum of Agreement between the

Coast Guard, Advisory Council on Historic

Preservation, and the National Conference of

State Historic Preservation Officers.

(Checklist required).

(15) Transfer or real property from the

Coast Guard to the General Services

Administration, Department of the Interior,

and other Federal departments and agencies,

or as mandated by Congress; and the granting

of leases, permits, and easements where there

is no substantial change in use of the

property. (Checklist required).

(16) Renewals and minor amendments of

existing real estate licenses or grants for use

of government-owned real property where

prior environmental review has determined

that no significant environmental effects

would occur.

(17) New grants or renewal of existing

grants of license, easements, or similar

arrangements for the use of existing rights-ofway or incidental easement complementing

the use of existing rights-of-way for use by

vehicles; for such existing rights-of-way as

electrical, telephone, and other transmission

and communication lines; water, wastewater,

stormwater, and irrigation pipelines,

pumping stations, and irrigation facilities;

and for similar utility and transportation

uses. (Checklist required).

(18) Defense preparedness training and

exercises conducted on other than Coast

Guard property, where the lead agency or

department is not Coast Guard or Department

of Transportation and the lead agency or

department has completed its NEPA analysis

and documentation requirements.

(19) Defense preparedness training and

exercise conducted on Coast Guard property

that do not involve undeveloped property or

increase noise levels over adjacent property

and that involve a limited number of

personnel, such as exercises involving

primarily electric simulation or command

post personnel.

(20) Simulated exercises, including tactical

and logistical exercises that involve small

numbers of personnel.

(21) Training of an administrative or

classroom nature.

(22) Operations to carry out our maritime

safety, maritime law enforcement, search and

rescue, domestic ice breaking, and oil or

hazardous substance removal programs.

(23) Actions performed as a part of Coast

Guard operations and the Aids to Navigation

Program to carry out statutory authority in

the area of establishment of floating and

minor fixed aids to navigation, except

electronic sound signals.

(24) Routine movement of personnel and

equipment, and the routine movement,

handling, and distribution of nonhazardous

materials and wastes in accordance with

applicable regulations.

(25) Coast Guard participation in disaster

relief efforts under the guidance or

leadership of another Federal agency that has

taken responsibility for NEPA compliance.

(26) Data gathering, information gathering,

and studies that involve no physical change

to the environment. Examples include

topographic surveys, bird counts, wetland

mapping, and other inventories.

(27) Natural and cultural resource

management and research activities that are

in accordance with interagency agreements

and which are designed to improve or

upgrade the Coast Guard’s ability to manage

those resources.

(28) Contracts for activities conducted at

established laboratories and facilities, to

include contractor-operated laboratories and

facilities, on Coast Guard-owned property

where all airborne emissions, waterborne

effluents, external radiation levels, outdoor

noise, and solid and bulk waste disposal

practices are in compliance with existing

applicable Federal, State, and local laws and

regulations. (Checklist required).

(29) Approval of recreational activities

(such as a Coast Guard unit picnic) which do

not involve significant physical alteration of

the environment, increase disturbance by

humans of sensitive natural habitats, or

disturbance of historic properties, and which

do not occur in, or adjacent to, areas

inhabited by threatened or endangered

species. (Checklist required unless the

activity will take place at a location

developed or created for that type of activity).

(30) Review of documents, such as studies,

reports, and analyses, prepared for legislative

proposals that did not originate in DOT and

that relate to matters that are not the primary

responsibility of the Coast Guard.

(31) Planning and technical studies which

do not contain recommendations for

authorization or funding for future

construction, but may recommend further

study. This includes engineering efforts or

environmental studies undertaken to define

the elements of a proposal or alternatives

sufficiently so that the environmental effects

may be assessed and does not exclude

consideration of environmental matters in

the studies.

(32) Bridge Administration Program

actions which can be described as one of the

following:

(a) Modification or replacement of an

existing bridge on essentially the same

alignment or location. Excluded are bridges

with historic significance or bridges

providing access to undeveloped barrier

islands and beaches.

(b) Construction of pipeline bridges for

transporting potable water.

(c) Construction of pedestrian, bicycle, or

equestrian bridges and stream gauging

cableways used to transport people.

(d) Temporary replacement of a bridge

immediately after a natural disaster or a

catastrophic failure for reasons of public

safety, health, or welfare.

(e) Promulgation of operating

regulations or procedures for

drawbridges.

(f) Identification of advance approval

waterways under 33 CFR 115.70.

(g) Any Bridge Program action which

is classified as a CE by another

Department of Transportation agency

acting as lead agency for such action.

(33) Preparation of guidance

documents that implement, without

substantive change, the applicable

Commandant Instruction or other

Federal agency regulations, procedures,

manuals, and other guidance

documents.

(34) Promulgation of the following

regulations: (Note: When relying upon a

CE in promulgating regulations, an

environmental analysis checklist and an

attached CED (Enclosure 6) must be

filed in the rulemaking docket before

publication of a Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking (NPRM), or an Interim or

Final Rule not preceded by an NPRM,

unless specifically indicated below.)

(a) Regulations which are editorial or

procedural, such as those updating

addresses or establishing application

procedures.

(b) Regulations concerning internal

agency functions or organization or

personnel administration, such as

funding, establishing Captain of the Port

boundaries, or delegating authority.

(c) Regulations concerning the

training, qualifying, licensing, and

disciplining of maritime personnel.

(d) Regulations concerning manning,

documentation, admeasurement,

inspection, and equipping of vessels.

(e) Regulations concerning equipment

approval and carriage requirements.

(f) Regulations establishing,

disestablishing, or changing the size of

Special Anchorage Areas or anchorage

grounds. (Checklist and CED not

required for actions that disestablish or

reduce the size of the Area or grounds).

(g) Regulations establishing,

disestablishing, or changing Regulated

Navigation Areas and security or safety

zones. (Checklist and CED not required

for actions that disestablish or reduce

the size of the area or zone. For

temporary areas and zones that are

established to deal with emergency

situations and that are less than one

week in duration, the checklist and CED

are not required. For temporary areas

and zones that are established to deal

with emergency situations and that are

one week or longer in duration, the

checklist and CED will be prepared and

submitted after issuance or publication.)

(h) Special local regulations issued in

conjunction with a regatta or marine

parade; provided that, if a permit is

required, the environmental analysis

conducted for the permit included an

analysis of the impact of the regulations.

(Checklist and CED not required.)

(i) Regulations in aid of navigation,

such as those concerning rules of the

road, International Regulations for the

Prevention of Collisions at Sea

(COLREGS), bridge-to-bridge

communication, vessel traffic services,

and marking of navigation systems.

(35) Approvals of regatta and marine

parade event permits for the following

events:
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 82 / Friday, April 26, 1996 / Notices 18575

(a) Events that are not located in,

proximate to, or above an area

designated as environmentally sensitive

by an environmental agency of the

Federal, State, or local government. For

example, environmentally sensitive

areas may include such areas as critical

habitats or migration routes for

endangered or threatened species or

important fish or shellfish nursery areas.

(b) Events that are located in,

proximate to, or above an area

designated as environmentally sensitive

by an environmental agency of the

Federal, State, or local government and

for which the Coast Guard determines,

based on consultation with the

Government agency, that the event will

not significantly affect the

environmentally sensitive area.

(Checklist and CED required.)

[FR Doc. 96–10335 Filed 4–25–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3710–92–M

Department of the Army; Corps of

Engineers

Proposed Regulatory Guidance Letter

on Programmatic General Permits

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,

DoD.

ACTION: Notice of intent and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The Corps of Engineers is

proposing to issue a Regulatory

Guidance Letter (RGL) which would

establish National policy guidance for

the development and implementation of

Programmatic General Permits (PGP).

PGPs are a type of general permit issued

by the Corps, that authorizes, for the

purposes of Section 10 of the Rivers and

Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403),

Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33

U.S.C. 1344), and/or Section 103 of the

Marine Protection, Research and

Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C.

1413), certain projects that are also

regulated by another Federal, tribal,

state, or local regulatory authority. This

notice provides the proposed PGP RGL

for review and opportunity to comment.

RGLs are used by the Corps

Headquarters as a means to transmit

guidance on the regulatory program (33

CFR Parts 320–330), to its division and

district engineers. While not required by

law or regulation, the Corps is

publishing this PGP RGL for review and

comment.

DATES: Comments on the proposed PGP

RGL must be received by May 28, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to

the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,

ATTN: CECW–OR, PGP Docket, 20

Massachusetts Avenue, NW.,

Washington, DC 20314–1000 or faxed to

(202) 761–5096.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Victor Cole, Regulatory Branch, Office

of the Chief of Engineers at (202) 761–

0199.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Clinton Administration’s Wetlands Plan

promotes State involvement through

assumption of the Clean Water Act

Section 404 program (through Section

404 g–1) and/or PGP development.

Many States have chosen to pursue a

PGP with the Corps in lieu of State

assumption or as an initial first step to

assumption. Regardless of the reason,

the Corps encourages the use of PGPs as

a effective mechanism to reduce

duplicative regulatory processes,

simplify the application process for

applicants, and make wise use of

limited resources, while continuing to

protect the aquatic environment in at

least an equivalent manner as the Corps

program. Our efforts to prepare a draft

PGP RGL for publication involved

coordination with several states, Corps

districts, and other Federal resource

agencies. The draft PGP RGL was

developed based upon this coordination

and structured similar to several

successful PGPs that have been issued

by Corps districts. The draft PGP RGL

was also provided for review and

comment to the White House Wetlands

Working Group. Upon review and

consideration of comments received, the

Corps will publish the final PGP RGL in

the Federal Register.

Dated: April 1, 1996.

Approved:

Daniel R. Burns,

Chief, Operations, Construction, and

Readiness Division, Directorate of Civil

Works.

Regulatory Guidance Letter

RGL 96–01, Date: pending, Expires: pending

Subject: Programmatic General Permits,

Including State Program General Permits

1. Background and Purpose

a. The development of a

programmatic general permit (PGP) is an

effective mechanism available to the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps)

and Federal, tribal, State, and local

regulatory authorities (other regulatory

authority (ORA)) to improve the

regulatory process for applicants,

enhance environmental protection,

reduce unnecessary duplicative

procedures and evaluations, and make

more efficient use of limited resources.

The partnership that develops between

the Corps and the ORA will directly

benefit the regulated public and

effectively reduce unnecessary

duplication while maintaining

important environmental safeguards.

Our encouragement of the use of PGPs

should not be viewed as an attempt to

allow the Corps to evade its statutory

responsibility to administer the

Regulatory Program, nor as an attempt

to delegate the Regulatory Program, or

simply to reduce the Corps workload. In

times of increasing fiscal pressure, all

levels of Government must redouble

their efforts to use resources as

efficiently as possible. PGPs can provide

an efficient mechanism to meet this

objective, to maintain important

environmental protection, and to

provide improved service to the

regulated public.

b. A PGP is a type of general permit

(33 CFR 322.2(f) and 323.2(h)), issued

by the Corps, that authorizes, for the

purposes of Section 10 of the Rivers and

Harbors Act of 1899 (RFA; 33 U.S.C.

403), Section 404 of the Clean Water Act

(CWA; 33 U.S.C. 1344), and/or Section

103 of the Marine Protection, Research

and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (MPRSA;

33 U.S.C. 1413), certain projects that are

also regulated by another Federal, tribal,

State, or local regulatory authority. A

PGP is the written vehicle identifying

the terms, limitations, and conditions

under which specific projects regulated

by an ORA program may be authorized

under the Corps Regulatory Program

with a much more efficient and

abbreviated review by the Corps.

Programmatic general permits are

designed to:

(1) Simplify the evaluation process for

both the regulatory agencies and the

applicant (i.e., to strive for ‘‘one-stopshopping’’);

(2) Provide at least equivalent (and

sometimes enhanced) environmental

protection for aquatic resources;

(3) Reduce unnecessary duplicative

project evaluation; and

(4) Promote more effective and

efficient use of Corps, as well as other

agencies’, resources.

c. While administering the Regulatory

Program, the Corps attempts to

minimize duplication of effort with

ORA programs that protect the aquatic

environment in a manner at least

equivalent to the Corps Regulatory

Program. Minimizing duplication of

effort serves the best interests of the

regulated public, by reducing or

eliminating unnecessary paperwork,

reviews, and delays, and also serves the

best interests of the environment and all

other aspects of the public interest, by

allowing the Corps to use its limited

regulatory resources where they will do

the most good. Moreover, in many cases

when an ORA program develops to the

extent that a PGP is appropriate, the