US Army Corps of Engineers cover letter and decision not to hold a public hearing about MDOT's Umbrella Mitigation Bank plan.

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Department of the Army
New England District
696 Virginia Road
Concord Massachusetts 01742-2751

August 5, 2008

Regulatory Division
NAE-2008-1703

Ron Huber
Executive Director,
Penobscot Bay Watch
POB 1871
Rockland, ME 04841

Dear Mr. Huber:

On July 10, 2008, you requested a public hearing on the proposal by Maine Department of Transportation to establish an Umbrella Mitigation Banking Agreement (rich text file) which would provide the framework for subsequent site-specific projects which would undergo their own public interest review. Based on an evaluation of the issues and findings outlined in the attached Determination of the Need for a Public Hearing, we have determined that there is no valid interest to be served by holding a public hearing.

We are authorizing the Maine Department of Transportation to proceed to develop an Umbrella Mitigation Banking Instrument for review by the Corps of Engineers and the Interagency Review Team comprised of the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fishery Service, Maine Land Use Regulatory Commission, and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

If you have any further questions, please contact me at (978) 318-8818.

Sincerely,

Ruth M. Ladd
Chief, Policy Analysis & Technical Support Branch
Regulatory Division

Attachment: Public Hearing Need Determination

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