Applying the Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines in Transportation Project Decision-Making

Applying the Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines in Transportation Project Decision-Making

This handbook is intended to assist practitioners in applying the Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines in the environmental review process for surface transportation projects. It focuses on highway and transit projects that require an individual Section 404 permit under the Clean Water Act and involve preparation of an environmental impact statement or environmental assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Download the Handbook

Handbook Resources

Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines(b)(1) Policy and Guidance

USACE, Regulatory Guidance Letter 16-01, “Jurisdictional Determinations”
http://www.usace.army.mil/Portals/2/docs/civilworks/RGLS/rgl_16-01.pdf

USACE, Seattle, “Alternative Analysis Guidance” (2003)
http://www.nws.usace.army.mil/Portals/27/docs/regulatory/Forms/Alterna
tive%20Analysis%20Guidance%20Enclosure%20(10-23-03).pdf

USACE, Fort Worth, : Preparing An Alternatives Analysis Under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act” (Nov. 2014)
http://www.swf.usace.army.mil/Portals/47/docs/regulatory/Handouts/Prep
aring_An_Alternatives_%20Analysis.FINAL.pdf

Clean Water Act Section 404(q) Memorandum of Agreement between the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army (Aug. 11, 1992)
http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/guidance/wetlands/dispmoa.cfm

Coordination of NEPA, Section 404 and Other Laws

USACE, FHWA et al, “Synchronizing Environmental Reviews for Transportation and Other Infrastructure Projects: 2015 Red Book” (2015)
https://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/strmlng/Redbook_2015.asp

Eco-Logical: An Ecosystem Approach to Developing Infrastructure Projects
http://environment.fhwa.dot.gov/ecological/eco_index.asp

Purpose and Need in NEPA Documents

Letter from James Connaughton, Chairman, Council on Environmental Quality to Norman Mineta, Secretary U.S. DOT (May 12, 2003) regarding purpose and need in NEPA documents
http://www.dot.gov/execorder/13274/impsched/letters/connaughtonmay12.htm

Memorandum from Mary Peters, FHWA Administrator, and Jenna Dorn, FTA Administrator, to FHWA Division Administrators and FTA Regional Administrators, “Interim Guidance on ‘Purpose and Need’” (Aug. 21, 2003)
http://environment.fhwa.dot.gov/guidebook/Ginterim.asp

Executive Orders on Wetlands and Floodplains

E.O. 11990, Protection of Wetlands (May 24, 1977)
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/
11990.html

E.O. 11988, Protection of Floodplains (May 24, 1977)
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/
11988.html

E.O. 13690, Establishing a Federal Flood Risk Management Standard and a Process for Further Soliciting and Considering Stakeholder Input (Jan. 30, 2015)
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/01/30/executive-order
-establishing-federal-flood-risk-management-standard-and-

FEMA, “Guidelines for Implementing Executive Order 11988, Floodplain Management, as Revised, and Executive Order 13690, Establishing a Federal Flood Risk Management Standard and a Process for Further Soliciting and Considering Stakeholder Input” (Oct. 8, 2015)
http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/110377

Additional References

Environmental Law Institute, “The Federal Wetland Permitting Program: Avoidance and Minimization Requirements” (200800)

Schutz, “The Steepest Hurdle in Obtaining a Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit: Complying with EPA’s 404(b)(1) Guidelines’ Least Environmentally Damaging Practicable Alternative Requirement,” UCLA Journal of Environmental Law & Policy (Vol. 24, Issue 1) (2005)
http://eprints.cdlib.org/uc/item/2976c9tq