4. Closing of the record of a public hearing. 



5. Expiration of the 30 day waiting period following the filing of 

 the final EIS. 



The Corps permit program provides for concurrent processing of permit 

 applications with other Federal, state and/or local authorizations or 

 certifications. If other authorizations or certifications are not received, 

 the Corps permit is denied without prejudice--an applicant may reinstate his 

 application when the appropriate approval is received. The Corps solicits 

 the views of the Governor to reconcile conflicting requirements or policy 

 statements from within a state. Failure to comment or take action by any 

 state or Federal agency within three months of public notice is treated as 

 no objection to continued Corps processing of the permit application. As a 

 part of concurrent processing, in those states with ongoing permit programs 

 governing activities similar to activities regulated by the Corps program, 

 the District Engineer may enter into formal joint processing agreements [127] 



The District Engineer is primarily responsible for determining whether 

 an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required based on an environmental 

 assessment, or comments or other information received after public notice 

 or the "coordination" process. When an EIS will be prepared, the District 

 Engineer may invite comment on factors or issues which should be addressed 

 in the draft EIS. After the draft EIS is prepared, a public notice of its 

 availability is issued, summarizing the principal arguments of the draft 

 EIS. A public hearing may be held after circulating the notice and the 

 draft EIS [128] 



Public hearings are favored for Section 404 Dredge and Fill and Ocean 

 Dumping and other Federal project permits. If a hearing is requested by 

 any person (or agency) after public notice, the District Engineer must 

 schedule a hearing unless he finds there is no substantial issue or valid 

 interest for consideration. Section 9 and 10 permit applications will be 

 considered at a public hearing if the District Engineer receives a written 

 request and finds there is sufficient public interest to warrant a 

 hearing [129]. 



In some cases, objections from states via the Governor, from other 

 Federal agencies, or from the public may cause the Division Engineer to 

 review the application. In these cases, he assumes primary responsibility 

 for the decision, directing the District Engineer to grant or deny a permit. 

 A decision by the Division Engineer occurred in fewer than one hundred 

 cases, out of some 15,000 permits granted by the Corps in 1975 [130]. 



Interagency "Coordination" or Consultation and Comment 



Comments from certain Federal agencies have special status in permit 

 proceedings, either by statute (EPA) or by statute and agreement between 

 agencies (FWS). Under the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act and NEPA, the 



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