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Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Report Page IV.F-15 <br /> Forward Inc.Landfill 2014 Expansion Project <br /> Regulatory Overview <br /> ..J <br /> Federal <br /> U.S. Army Corps of Engineers <br /> Section 404 of the Clean Water Act of 1972. Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA)15 regulates <br /> activities that result in the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the U.S., including <br /> wetlands. Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act authorizes the USACE to regulate dredging, <br /> filling, and construction activities in navigable waters (see below). The primary intent of the <br /> CWA is to authorize the USEPA to regulate water quality through the restriction of pollution <br /> discharges. The USACE has the principal authority to regulate discharges of dredged or fill -- <br /> material into waters of the U.S. However, the USEPA has oversight authority over the USACE <br /> and retains veto power over the USACE's decision to issue permits. Waters of the U.S. include: <br /> • All waters that are currently used, or were used in the past, or may be susceptible to use in <br /> interstate or foreign commerce,including all waters that are subject to the ebb and flow of <br /> tide; <br /> • All interstate waters, including interstate wetlands; <br /> • All other waters, such as interstate lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), <br /> mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, vernal pools, wet meadows,playa —' <br /> lakes, or natural ponds, the use, degradation, or destruction of which could affect interstate <br /> or foreign commerce; <br /> • Tributaries of the above; <br /> • Territorial seas;and <br /> • Wetlands adjacent to waters defined above. <br /> The South Branch of the South Fork of Littlejohn's Creek and the wetlands it supports are <br /> regulated under the CWA and fall under the jurisdiction of the USACE. <br /> r <br /> Under Section 404, projects may be authorized under existing general permits (a Nationwide <br /> Permit) or may require an Individual Permit. A Nationwide Permit is a more streamlined <br /> permit process than an Individual Permit, although supporting compliance efforts, such as for <br /> the FESA, are identical regardless of permit type. The requirements of a Section 404 Nationwide <br /> Permit allow permanent impacts on less than 0.5 acre over 300 feet of federal-jurisdiction <br /> wetlands. For projects resulting in the placement of fill into more than this threshhold into <br /> federal wetlands, then a Section 404 Individual Permit would automatically be required. The <br /> primary differences between authorization under the Nationwide Permit, program and an <br /> Individual Permit concern the public interest review, the requirement for an alternatives <br /> analysis". and the need for National Environmental Policy Act(NEPA) review. — <br /> The proposed relocation of 3000 feet of the South Branch of the South Fork of Littlejohn's Creek <br /> to a new 3200 foot channelwould require issuance of an Individual Permit by the USACE. <br /> Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act. Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act(RHA)" <br /> authorizes the USACE to regulate dredging, filling,and construction activities in navigable <br /> waters. The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 makes it a misdemeanor to discharge refuse matter <br /> is 33 U.S.C. 1344 <br /> 'b Section 404(b)(1) <br /> 17 33 USC 201,et seq. <br />