THE PURPOSE OF THIS PUBLIC NOTICE IS TO SOLICIT COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC REGARDING THE WORK DESCRIBED BELOW. A DECISION HAS NOT BEEN MADE REGARDING ISSUANCE OF PERMISSION AT THIS TIME.

PROJECT TITLE: Nebraska Army National Guard Military Training on Papio Missouri River Natural Resources District Property (Section 408 Reference Number: 408-NWO-2024-0018).

REQUESTER: In compliance with USC Title 33, Chapter 9, Subchapter 1, Section 408, the Nebraska Army National Guard (Requester) has requested permission from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for an alteration at the Western Sarpy Clear Creek Flood Risk Reduction Project (Federal Project), operated and maintained by Papio Missouri River Natural Resources District (PMRNRD).

AUTHORITY: The authority to grant permission for temporary or permanent use, occupation, or alteration of any USACE civil works project is contained in Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, as amended, codified at 33 USC 408 (“Section 408”). Section 408 authorizes the Secretary of the Army, on the recommendation of the Chief of Engineers, to grant permission for the alteration or occupation or use of a USACE project if the Secretary determines that the activity will not be injurious to the public interest and will not impair the usefulness of the project. The Secretary of the Army’s authority under Section 408 has been delegated to USACE, Chief of Engineers. USACE, Chief of Engineers has further delegated the authority to USACE, Directorate of Civil Works and Division and District Engineers, depending upon the nature of the activity. An alteration is defined as any action that builds upon, alters, improves, moves, occupies or otherwise affects the usefulness, or the structural or ecological integrity of a Corps federally authorized project.

EVALUATION: USACE Omaha District has determined that the Nebraska Army National Guard Military (NEARNG) Training would entail an alteration to the Federal Project, and therefore requires permission under Section 408.

LOCATION: The proposed NEARNG Military Training is located along the east bank of the Platte River, in Sarpy County, NE. Lat: 41.10050 and Long: -96.32538.

REQUESTER’S PROPOSED ACTON: The Requester’s proposed project is comprised of the following elements: NEARNG is requesting a long-term real estate instrument to utilize the PMRNRD property North of the Camp Ashland Training Site Area E for military training. The addition of this property would provide an additional 1 mile of contiguous training area to complete NEARNG’s required dismounted and zodiac training. The training will consist of light foot traffic and boat maneuvering across the 98.8 acres of restored wetland. See attached documents for detailed training and location descriptions. As a conservation measure, the NEARNG will continue to conduct annual surveys of this property and provide report to the USACE to ensure there are no negative impacts to the land caused by military training and to ensure no impact on listed species or their habitat and this land would become part of our existing Integrated Natural Resource Management Plan. There will be no live ammunition firing, digging, construction of new facilities or roads, and vehicle travel will be conducted on existing hardened roads.

Only project elements that would alter the Federal Project are within the review scope for the Section 408 permission request. A portion of the proposed activities are located within the floodplain.

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT (NEPA): USACE has determined a Categorical Exclusion(s) (CATEX) is appropriate to inform the anticipated effects to the quality of the human and natural environment from implementation of the proposed Section 408 project.

The USACE may adopt another federal agencies NEPA compliance documentation in accordance with 42 USC 4336c and the Department of Defense NEPA Implementing Procedures, that states Federal agencies may adopt another agency’s categorical exclusions.  The NEPA documentation provided by the NEARNG includes a Record of Environmental Consideration and Finding of No Significant Impact determination (REC) for the use of 32 CFR 651 App B CATEX I.3. In accordance with 33 USC 408 and USACE environmental compliance guidance, the USACE Omaha District formally adopts the Record of Environmental Consideration NEPA compliance documentation as part of the Section 408 administrative record.

LIMITS OF SECTION 408 AUTHORITY: The Requester has the responsibility to acquire all other permissions or authorizations required by Federal, state, and local laws or regulations, including any required permits from the USACE Regulatory Program under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 USC 403), Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 USC Section 1344). In addition, an approval under Section 408 does not grant any property rights or exclusive privileges, nor does it authorize any injury to the property or rights of others.

PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT: USACE will accept comments on this Public Notice and make them part of the evaluation record, and they will be considered in USACE’s determination whether the proposed alteration would be injurious to the public interest and would impair the usefulness of the Federal Project, as well as assessing the impacts of the proposal on the quality of the human environment. Interested parties may submit in writing any comments concerning this notice. USACE will consider all submissions received before the expiration date of this notice. USACE will post this Public Notice to the following website:

https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/Media/Public-Notices/

SUBMITTING COMMENTS: Comments pertaining to this public notice must be submitted via email or conventional mail on or before the July 26, 2025 and must include the 408 Reference Number above. All comments received will become part of the administrative record and are subject to public release under the Freedom of Information Act, including personally identifiable information such as names, phone numbers, and addresses.

All email comments should be sent to: section408nwo@usace.army.mil.

Conventional mail comments should be sent to:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Omaha District

Planning Branch, CENWO-PMA-A

ATTN: Section 408 Coordinator

1616 Capitol Avenue

Omaha, NE  68102