Opinion ID: 162578
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Trail

Text: 143 In the § 404(b)(1) Evaluation, the Officer stated that the following issues were considered concerning the trail portion of the project when project features were analyzed to determine if a narrower ROW was practicable: (1) meetings were held with trail interests in which it was determined that there was a need for a trail system in the Legacy Parkway to continue the Jordan River trails; (2) the 1998 MIS stated that there was a need for a pathway system for pedestrians, bicycle-riders, and equestrians in the study area; (3) many people expressed the belief that a trail system was needed for use as an alternative means of transportation; (4) failure to include a trail in the project would be inconsistent with decisions made during and in response to the NEPA process; (5) failure to include the trail would eliminate a benefit that has been identified as needed in the context of public interest; and (6) failure to include the trail would be inconsistent with the local land use plans for the majority of cities in the study area. I Aplee. App. at 109. CWA does not permit the discharge of fill material if there is a practicable alternative which would have a less adverse impact. 40 C.F.R. § 230.10(a). As discussed before, an alternative is practicable if it is available and capable of being done after taking into consideration cost, existing technology and logistics in light of overall project purposes. Id. § 230.10(a)(2). The project purpose of the Legacy Parkway has been repeatedly identified as meeting the 2020 transportation needs of the North Corridor. I Aplee. App. at 43-44 (COE's ROD); I Aplee. App. at 261 (FEIS); IV Aplee. App. at 1401 (State Water Quality Certification). The Evaluating Officer identified one of the functions of the trails as providing an alternative means of transportation. The COE reasonably concluded that removing the trails was not practicable in light of the project's overall purpose of meeting the transportation needs of the Northern Corridor in 2020, thus, the issuance of the permit is not arbitrary and capricious on this basis.