27 Feb 2025

NWO-2023-01976-RWY

Expiration date: 3/28/2025

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, (Corps) in coordination with Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ), Water Quality Division, is evaluating a proposal for a proposed In-Lieu Fee Compensatory Mitigation Program (ILF) referred to as “Ducks Unlimited Wyoming Aquatic Resource In-Lieu Fee Program (DU-WY-ILF)”. The purpose of this notice is to solicit comments and recommendations from the public, federal, state, and local agencies and officials, Indian tribes, and other interested parties concerning the work as described below. This notice may also be viewed at the Corps web site at: https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory-Program/Wyoming/Public-Notices/. Under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), applicants applying for the Department of the Army (DA) permits to discharge dredge or fill material into waters of the United States, including wetlands, are often required to provide compensatory mitigation for permitted unavoidable aquatic resource losses by creating, restoring, enhancing, and preserving wetlands or streams. Authorized ILF Programs provide the Corps and the regulated public with additional options for compensatory mitigation of aquatic resource losses and ease the regulatory burden associated with permitted impacts. As per the Mitigation Rule, there are three mechanisms for providing compensatory mitigation (listed in order of preference as established by the regulations): mitigation banks, in-lieu fee programs, and permittee-responsible mitigation. An in-lieu fee program allows a permit holder to pay a fee to a government agency or nonprofit organization (sponsor) instead (in-lieu) of directly mitigating environmental impacts on their property. The mitigation responsibility is transferred to the sponsor where the collected funds are used to restore and preserve aquatic areas elsewhere, effectively compensating for the environmental damage caused by the permitted project. Implicit to the Program is a watershed-scale approach considering landscape-level opportunities funded by the sale of mitigation credits. This will allow impacted watershed functions and services to be offset through ecologically significant projects.

10 Feb 2025

Version 8 of Regional General Permit 198226002 (RGP 8202-08)

The District Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, 1616 Capitol Avenue, Suite 9000, Omaha, Nebraska 68102-9000 has issued Version 8 of Regional General Permit 198226002 (RGP 8202-08). The permit authorizes construction of fish habitat restoration and enhancement features in creeks, streams and rivers in the State of Wyoming pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act of 1972 (U.S.C. 1344). RGP 8202-08 was issued in accordance with the "Regulatory Programs of the Corps; Final Rule," as published in the Federal Register, Volume 51, Number 219, dated November 13, 1986. A consolidated version of the regulations updated through April 2008 is available from the Corps Headquarters web site at: http://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/RegulatoryProgramandPermits/FederalRegulation.aspx Section 322.2(f) of the regulations defines "general permit" as a Department of the Army authorization that is issued on a nationwide or regional basis for a category or categories of activities when those activities are substantially similar in nature and cause only minimal individual and cumulative environmental impacts. Section 325.2(e)(2) of the regulations defines regional permits as a type of general permit issued by a division or district engineer after compliance with the other procedures of the regulations. The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ), Water Quality Division at 200 West 17th Street, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002, certified RGP 8202-08 on January 15, 2025, in accordance with provisions of Section 401 of the Clean Water Act of 1972, as amended. The WDEQ certified authorized activities located in Wyoming Class 2, 3 and 4 waters and denied certification of proposed activities in Class 1 waters pending project specific reviews. Certification was also denied where authorized activities would occur on waterbody segments placed on Wyoming’s 303(d) list of impaired waters or that have approved total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) pending project specific reviews.

30 Dec 2024

NWO-2024-01927-RWY

Expiration date: 1/13/2025

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, (Corps) and Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) are evaluating a permit application and certification request to decommission the LaPrele Dam, which would result in the discharge of fill material into approximately 5.49 acres of waters of the United States, including LaPrele Creek and LaPrele Reservoir. This notice is to inform interested parties of the proposed activity and to solicit comments. Further, the Corps is informing members of the public of alternative procedures for permitting in response to this emergency situation. This joint notice may also be viewed at the Corps web site at: https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory-Program/Wyoming/Public-Notices/. The applicant is proposing to remove a structurally deficient 135foot-tall concrete dam, no later than April 1, 2025, in response to a breach order from the Wyoming State Engineer’s Office (WSEO). LaPrele dam would be deconstructed using mechanical breaching or blasting. Concrete from the removed portion of the dam would be handled in the following manner: 1) partially remaining within the footprint of the dam; 2) 7,030 cubic yards placed in a rubble chute on the downstream side of the dam in LaPrele Creek to prevent excessive erosion; and 3) 8,830 cubic yards placed in a pair of optional disposal areas, one of which is located in the drained reservoir. The discharge of additional fill material within the creek and reservoir bed is proposed for construction of: • equipment access ramps to the north side of the dam; • a rock fill check structure to capture sediment and debris from demolition; and • a southern access road and crossing to facilitate access to the south side of the dam. Rock borrow material for the southern access road would be obtained from below the ordinary high water mark of the reservoir. The proposed project would result in a total of 5.49 surface acres of fill placed below the ordinary high water mark of waters of the United States, affecting 0.63 acre of LaPrele Creek and 4.86 acres of LaPrele Reservoir. A total of 4.19 surface acres of waters of the U.S. would be affected by cut (dredge) activities through the excavation of 3,486 cubic yards of rock and earthen material to be redistributed for access purposes. Based on the available information, the overall project purpose is to breach LaPrele Dam before potential catastrophic failure during spring 2025 runoff. The applicant’s project purpose, as stated in the application, is to comply with WSEO order that the concrete structure of the LaPrele Dam be removed to a final elevation of 5,400 feet, no later than April 1, 2025