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B-286951 1 (2002-01-10)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptaoap0001 and id is 1 raw text is: G A 0 Comptroller General Accountability * Integrity* Reliability of the United States United States General Accounting Office Washington, DC 20548 Decision Matter of: Application for Permit to Dredge in National Forest-State of Michigan File: B-286951 Date: January 10, 2002 DIGEST Section 404(t) of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1344(t), requires federal agencies to comply with state substantive and procedural requirements governing discharge of dredged material in navigable waters, including payment of fees charged for processing an application for a permit to conduct dredge and fill activities in Hiawatha National Forest. Thus, we do not object to the Forest Service's use of its appropriated funds to pay the permit-processing fee imposed by Michigan. DECISION The Director for Financial Management, Forest Service Eastern Region, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has requested an advance decision addressing the following issue: may the Forest Service pay a fee to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for the processing of a permit required by the Michigan Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, P.A. 1994, as amended. The DEQ asserts that section 404(t) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act), 33 U.S.C. § 1344(t) (1994), authorizes it to charge permit application fees to federal agencies engaged in dredging and fill activities impacting lakes and streams, Great Lakes bottomlands, wetlands, floodplains, and dam construction within Michigan. For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that section 404(t) requires federal agencies to pay applicable fees for obtaining state permits for dredging and fill activities. Accordingly, we do not object to the Forest Service's use of appropriated funds to pay Michigan's permit processing fee.