Public Notices and References

References

QMS Processes

These are internal process documents which will affect how permit applicants and their representatives will work with SPD subordinate districts.  These  documents are for “Information Only.”  The controlled versions reside on the SPD QMS SharePoint Portal. Please verify that the version of any document  is the current one prior to proceeding.

12501-SPD Standard Operating Procedure for Determination of Mitigation Ratios

12502-SPD Regulatory Program Emergency Procedures 

12503-SPD Regulatory Administrative Appeal Process

12504-SPD Essential Fish Habitat Procedures

12505-SPD Uniform Performance Standards for Compensatory Mitigation Requirements

12509-SPD Regulatory Program SOP for Preparing and Coordinating EISs

12510-SPD Wetlands Determination and Delineation Procedures for Irrigated Lands

 

 

 

 

Regional Guidelines and Standards

The following documents have been developed for use within all of South Pacific Division's (SPD) subordinate districts.  They were developed to assure consistency within the Regulatory program across SPD and to aid the Regulated public in developing acceptable submittals.

Regional Compensatory Mitigation and Monitoring Guidelines

Regional Mapping Standards

 

Mitigation Banking Templates

March 2, 2017 Template Public Meeting Presentation

 

Agreements

Public Notices

 

Under the Corps' Regulatory Program, a public notice is the primary method for advising all interested parties of a proposed activity for which a permit is sought.  Public notices are also published to inform the public about new or proposed regulations, policies, guidance or permit procedures.

Public Notices published by the South Pacific Division (SPD) under the Regulatory Program are posted on this page. SPD public notices are primarily published to inform the public about new or proposed guidance, templates, procedures, and regional general permits, which are applicable to more than one of SPD's subordinate districts.  Once a public notice is available on-line, notification of the SPD Public Notice is sent to individuals on the mailing lists of the appropriate districts by each of the affected districts .

Public Notices

Notice of Availability of the Beta Streamflow Duration Assessment Method for the Arid West

CESPD-PDO
Published March 18, 2021

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Albuquerque Districts (South Pacific Division), the Corps Omaha District, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Regions 6 , 8, and  9 jointly announce the availability of the Beta Streamflow Duration Assessment Method (SDAM) for the Arid West (dated February 2021). The method is a rapid assessment tool to help distinguish between ephemeral, intermittent, and perennial streamflow at the reach scale. The SDAM may help in providing technical guidance for identifying waters that may be subject to regulatory jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act; however, this method does not imply or represent a change in the definition of “Waters of the U.S.”

The SDAM for the Arid West was developed for use in the arid regions of the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming by the Corps and EPA in 2020 (Figure 1). This beta method results from a validation study conducted at approximately 90 stream reaches across the range of hydrologic landscapes of the arid west from 2017 to 2019.  Developed through statistical analyses of field data, it provides a data-driven approach using five reliable indicators to provide information on streamflow duration class at the reach scale. The agencies are making this beta SDAM available for a one-year preliminary implementation period while the agencies continue an expanded data collection effort in 2021 to inform the refinement of the final SDAM for the Arid West. 

The beta SDAM for the Arid West can be applied whenever there is uncertainty regarding streamflow duration class and a rapid method of evaluation is desired. The method provides a scientifically supported, rapid assessment framework to support best professional judgment in a consistent, robust, repeatable, and defensible way. Use of the method may result in timelier and more predictable jurisdictional determinations and is also useful where knowledge of streamflow duration class improves ecological assessment, management, and decision-making.

The method data forms, and training opportunities are available on the internet at: https://www.epa.gov/streamflow-duration-assessment/beta-streamflow-duration-assessment-method-arid-west

Practitioners such as stream ecologists, aquatic ecologists, hydrologists, and wetland scientists are encouraged to provide comments on their experience using the beta method. Comments regarding the following specific topics would be especially useful:

  • Problem situations encountered and possible approaches for addressing them.
  • Apparently incorrect results, including the factors that suggest the method was inaccurate.
  • Indicators that were particularly useful or not useful in identifying flow duration in different hydrological environments.
  • Regional differences in the applicability of specific indicators.
  • Potential uses of the method in the regulatory context, or in other watershed planning or management contexts.

Written comments can be submitted by email to the contact addresses provided below, or to:

Aaron O. Allen

USACE Ventura Field Office

60 South California, Suite 201

Ventura, CA 93001

Aaron.O.Allen@usace.army.mil

For additional information on the development of regional Streamflow Duration Assessment Methods for nationwide coverage, see:  https://www.epa.gov/streamflow-duration-assessment  

For additional information on the SDAM for the Arid West, contact the Corps or the EPA:

Corps:

Los Angeles District, Aaron Allen, 805-585-2148, Aaron.O.Allen@usace.army.mil

Sacramento District, James Robb, 916-557-7610, James.T.Robb@usace.army.mil  

EPA:

Joe Morgan (Region 9), (415) 972-3309 Morgan.Joseph@epa.gov 

Rachel Harrington (Region 8), 303-312-6870, Harrington.Rachel@epa.gov

Loribeth Tanner (Region 6), 214-665-8153, Tanner.Lori@epa.gov

 

Figure 1