Public Notice: Clean Water Act Certification for Aquatic Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Activities within Indian Country in the state of Utah
Summary
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received a request from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for a Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 water quality certification (WQC). Section 401(a)(1) of the CWA requires applicants for Federal permits and licenses that may result in any discharge into waters of the United States to obtain certification or waiver from the certifying authority where the discharge would originate.
The EPA acts as the certifying authority in areas of Indian country[1] on behalf of those Tribes that have not been approved for treatment in a similar manner as a state (TAS) for CWA Section 401 water quality certification, in this case the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians of Utah, the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, [2] and the Ute Indian Tribe.
The EPA will act on this certification request by either: (1) granting certification; (2) granting certification with conditions; (3) denying certification; or (4) expressly waiving certification consistent with CWA Section 401 and the EPA’s implementing regulations at 40 CFR Part 121.
USACE issued a public notice for comments on RGP 16 (SPK-2014-00534) on March 6, 2024. This RPG subsequently has been reissued and will be valid for a period of five years. The current version of this general permit[3] expires August 14, 2029, and currently requires individual water quality certification. The proposed certification would provide a water quality certification for RGP 16 (SPK-2014-00534) within Indian Country in the state of Utah, such that individual water quality certifications would no longer be required during the permit term ending on August 14, 2029.
Project Description
Applicant
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Sacramento District, Utah Regulatory Office
Waterways
Waters within Indian country in Utah associated with the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians of Utah, Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and the Ute Indian Tribe.
RGP 16 authorizes certain discharges of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States in Utah associated with work performed in accordance with terms and conditions as specified in the permit for construction and maintenance activities associated with aquatic habitat restoration and enhancement. Activities to be authorized include, but are not limited to, fish passage and screening improvements; bioengineered bank stabilization; engineering/designing with nature; nature-based solutions; water conservation; aquatic habitat restoration and enhancement of streams, wetlands, and other waters; and removal of pilings, small dams, flood gates, and other in-water structures. Compensatory mitigation is not required for activities authorized under this RGP since these activities must be restoration or enhancement in nature, resulting in no net loss of aquatic resource functions and services. The conversion of waters from one type to another is authorized as long as there is an overall no net loss of aquatic resource functions and services.
Information relating to the reissuance of SPK-2014-00534 with associated restrictions and special conditions can be found on the USACE Sacramento District website.
Public Comments
Submit comments as described in the “How to Comment” box at the righthand side of this webpage. The EPA must receive comments by 11:59 pm MST on January 9, 2025.
All comments received prior to the end of the comment period will be considered in the preparation of the Clean Water Action Section 401 Water Quality Certification and will be part of the administrative record. Contact Jeffrey Ullman ([email protected]; 303-312-6329) to request additional information, public notice updates, submit comments or provide additional information relevant to this certification.
Notice of any extension of the comment period will be published on this page and sent to those who have requested updates.
At this time there is no opportunity to review the submitted material and documents in person at an EPA office. These documents are only available electronically and can be provided upon request.
Public Hearings
Any person may request, in writing within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing be held to consider this application. If the Administrator, in his or her discretion, determines that a public hearing is appropriate or necessary, the EPA will schedule a public hearing. You may request a public hearing using the information in the “How to Comment” box on the righthand side of this webpage.
[1] Indian country is defined in 18 U.S.C. Section 1151. Indian country in Utah generally includes (1) lands within the exterior boundaries of the following Indian reservations located within Utah: the Goshute Reservation, the Navajo Indian Reservation, the reservation lands of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah (Cedar Band of Paiutes, Kanosh Band of Paiutes, Koosharem Band of Paiutes, Indian Peaks Band of Paiutes, and Shivwits Band of Paiutes), the Skull Valley Indian Reservation, the Uintah and Ouray Reservation (subject to federal court decisions removing certain lands from Indian country status within the Uintah and Ouray Reservation), and the Washakie Reservation; (2) any land held in trust by the United States for an Indian Tribe (including but not limited to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe); and (3) any other areas that are “Indian country” within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. Section 1151.
[2] The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe has been approved for CWA section 401 TAS for some, but not all, of Indian country lands in Utah associated with the Tribe or individual Tribal members.