Complexity of Individual 404 Permits Requires Improved Process

Date of Award

8-30-2009

Document Type

Undergraduate Capstone Project

Degree Name

Master of Applied Science

Organizational Unit

University College, Environmental Policy and Management

Disciplines

Environmental Policy & Mgmt

First Advisor

Jerry Barker

Keywords

404 permit process review, Applicant permit application, Clean Water Act, CWA, Complexity, Improved process, Policy, Regulated community, Regulatory, US Army Corps of Engineers

Abstract

The purpose of this capstone is to assess the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Section 404 permit review process and determine its impacts on the regulated communities. Two branches from the Corps' Los Angeles District provided information for analysis. The database had 66 files from the south coast branch and 75 files from the north coast branch. Fifteen permits were randomly sampled from each group. A criterion of 120-days was used to evaluate how actual permit processing times compared with processing times required by law. The analyses showed that both branches had permit processing times that exceeded regulatory requirements. A new approach to Section 404 permitting is proposed that will streamline and shorten the application procedure.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. Permanently suppressed.

This document is currently not available here.



Share

COinS