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APPENDIX A THE WEST EUGENE WETLAND CONSERVATION PLAN The West Eugene Wetland Conservation Plan (the Plan) is a land use plan which addresses the management of wetlands within a 16 square mile area within the City of Eugene in Lane County, Oregon (see Vicinity Map). Prepared by the City of Eugene, the Plan provides a balance between protection and development of those wetlands based on specific criteria and a rational decision - making process. The Plan identifies 1,278 acres of wetlands in the planning area, and designates 1,019 acres of those wetlands for protection and 259 acres for development (see map, "Wetlands Recommendations "). The wetlands designated for protection would be protected from filling and development through acquisition by public agencies and through land use restrictions imposed by local ordinances. The Plan provides for compensatory mitigation for those wetlands designated for development. Additional areas have been identified as restoration or creation sites for compensatory mitigation. The Plan was developed in coordination with several State and federal agencies involved in wetlands regulation, including EPA, the Corps, DSL, and US Fish and Wildlife Service in order to meet all applicable State and federal regulations and guidelines. The planning process was designed to include broad participation by property owners, the development community, environmental groups, State and federal agency representatives and other interested citizens. Seven citizen workshops on the proposed Plan were conducted between January 1989 and May 1992. The draft Plan was released to the public in March 1991 and was the subject of public review and hearings before the Eugene and Lane County Planning Commissions in May 1991 and the Eugene City Council and Lane County Board of Commissioners in July 1991. Additional public hearings were conducted by Lane County leading to Plan adoption in August 1992. Development of a wetland conservation plan (WCP) is a planning option available to cities and counties in Oregon (ORS 196.678 et seq.). If a local government chooses to develop a WCP, the statute provides that the WCP must include certain elements, the local government must formally adopt the WCP, and the plan must be submitted to Oregon Division of State Lands (DSL) for approval. Once the WCP has been approved by DSL, the WCP has the effect of local land use law. The West Eugene Plan has been approved by the City of Eugene and Lane County, and has been adopted as an amendment to their local comprehensive plans. The Plan has been submitted to DSL for review, and a proposed DSL order approving the Plan is included with this public notice for public review and comment. Federal approval of the Plan is contingent upon State approval through DSL. Review of the Plan by the Corps and EPA will determine whether the Plan has identified the least environmentally damaging, practicable alternative for future urban development in West Eugene, as required by Section 404(b)(1) guidelines. If the Plan is approved, the Corps then proposes to adopt an alternative permitting procedure for processing applications for the filling of wetlands within the Plan area under Section 404. The proposed procedure, which provides for issuing Letters of Permission rather than standard individual permits, is described in greater detail in Appendix C of this notice. WETLAND INVENTORY The City's wetland inventory was conducted in three stages. The first stage was completed in 1989, based on the wetland inventory requirements in effect at that time. This was a broad -scale inventory which resulted in the identification of 1,278 wetland acres within the study area. The second stage, a supplemental inventory, was completed in December, 1993 in response to new rules adopted by DSL 1