Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) General Information

What is a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP)?

Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) authorizes the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and/or National MarineFisheries Service (NMFS) to issue permits to non-federal entities for the incidental take of a federally-listed threatened and/or endangered species. In order to obtain authorization under Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA, non-federal entities must develop a conservation plan that meets specific requirements as identified in the ESA, apply for an incidental take permit, and once issued, implement the project as specified in their permit.

A Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) is a planning document designed to accommodate economic development to the greatest extent possible by authorizing the limited and unintentional take of listed species when that take occurs incidental to otherwise lawful activities. The plan is designed not only to help landowners and communities but also to provide long-term benefits to species and their habitats. 

HCPs describe the anticipated effects of the proposed taking from an impact to waters of the US, how those impacts will be minimized or mitigated, and how the conservation measures included in the plan will be funded.  

If the USFWS or NMFS finds that an HCP meets the specified criteria, it issues an incidental take permit. This allows the permit holder to proceed with an activity that could otherwise result in the unlawful take of a listed species. (see https://www.fws.gov/service/habitat-conservation-plans and/or https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/permits-incidental-taking-endangered-and-threatened-species for more information on Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA and habitat conservation plans).

What is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District (Corps’) role in HCPs?

The Corps does not have a direct role in compliance with Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA, nor in the development of HCPs, as these are for activities conducted by non-federal entities. However, in cases where activities conducted by non-federal entities would require authorization by the Corps under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (RHA) for work or structures in navigable waters of the U.S., and/or Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) for the discharge of dredged and/or fill material into waters of the U.S., the Corps must ensure compliance with Section 7 of the ESA. Section 7 of the ESA requires the Corps to consult with USFWS and/or NMFS for proposed activities that may affect a federally-listed threatened and/or endangered species, or their designated critical habitat.

Because many of the activities covered under two regional HCPs, in Sacramento and Placer counties, also require authorization by the Corps under Section 404 of the CWA, the Corps agreed to be a cooperating agency on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Environmental Impact Statements prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for two habitat conservation plans in the Sacramento region: the South Sacramento Habitat Conservation Plan (SSHCP) and the Placer County Conservation Program (PCCP). Because many of the listed species to be covered by the SSHCP and PCCP spend some or all of their lifecycles in aquatic environments, the Sacramento District has worked with the Plan Partners and other agencies since the plans’ formative stages. In 2019, the Corps finalized a permit strategy for the SSHCP and in 2021 finalized a permit strategy for the PCCP.

Benefits of CWA 404 alignment with the HCPs?

The Sacramento District views the HCPs as a chance to improve both species and aquatic resource protection in a coordinated way on a regional scale, while taking into account planned development and providing greater certainty for the regulated public. With this in mind, the Sacramento District has coordinated with the USFWS, NMFS and Plan Participants to develop and implement a “streamlined” approach to permitting under CWA 404 that encompasses a number of different permit types and processes.

The Sacramento District requested and received programmatic consultations under Section 7 of the ESA with the USFWS and NMFS for all covered activities that require CWA permits to further streamline the CWA 404 regulatory review process. The Corps also received general 401 Water Quality Certifications from the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control board for each of the programmatic general permits (PGPs) issued under the permit strategy.

Current HCPs in Sacramento District

The PCCP applies to western Placer County and specific conservation activity areas in neighboring Sutter County. The PCCP includes the Western Placer Habitat Conservation Plan and Natural Community Conservation Plan (HCP/NCCP), the proposed Western Placer County Aquatic Resources Program (CARP), and the Western Placer In-Lieu Fee (ILF) Program.

The HCP/NCCP covers fourteen species of wildlife, including nine state and/or federally-listed as threatened or endangered. The CARP is the County’s program to provide a structure for protecting aquatic resources in western Placer County while streamlining the environmental permitting process for impacts to aquatic resources. The HCP/NCCP uses a regional approach to address issues related to planned development and species habitat conservation and restoration.

The boundaries of the approximately 270,000-acre PCCP are generally Nevada and Yuba Counties on the north, the City     of Auburn and California State Highway 49 on the east, Sacramento County on the South, and Sutter County on the west. The PCCP Plan Area also includes specific areas in western Placer County and a small area in adjacent Sutter County where specific covered activities may be conducted by the Plan Participants. The Plan Area excludes the Cities of Auburn, Roseville and Rocklin and the Town of Loomis, with the exception of specific activities within these cities that would be conducted by the Plan Participants.

The four PCCP Plan Participants are the County of Placer, City of Lincoln, South Placer Regional Transportation Authority (SPRTA), and Placer County Water Agency (PCWA). The Plan Participants have formed the Placer Conservation Authority (PCA), a joint exercise of powers agency, to implement the HCP/NCCP and the CARP commitments and requirements. Based on the HCP/NCCP, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued species incidental take permits to the Plan Participants and the PCA under Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA 10). The USFWS and NMFS have conducted internal consultations under Section 7 of the ESA (ESA 7) and complied with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other related laws.

PCCP Permit Strategy:
  • Programmatic General Permit (PGP) 18, founded on a local aquatic resources protection program and implemented by local ordinances, and designed to reduce duplication with that program, for activities with minimal individual and cumulative effects on the aquatic environment.
  • Regional General Permit (RGP) 19, for activities with minimal individual and cumulative effects on the aquatic environment that are conducted by PCWA.
  • Regional General Permit (RGP) 20 for minimal impact activities to implement the HCP/NCCP conservation strategy under the Western Placer ILF program.
  • A Letter of Permission (LOP) procedure for activities with more than minimal but less than significant effects on the human environment, including aquatic resources; and
  • An abbreviated standard permit (SP) procedure for other activities consistent with the PCCP that may have a significant impact on the human environment and require the preparation of an EIS.

i. Permit Strategies for the Western Placer County HCP/NCCP:

  • PGP 18 - PCCP-PGP18-200500485-final.pdf
  • RGP 19 – PCWA PCCP-PCWA-RGP19-200500485-final.pdf
  • RGP 20 - WPILF Program PCCP-ILF-RGP20-200500485-final.pdf
  • LOP Procedure: PCCP-LOP-Procedure-200500485-final.pdf
    1. Per the procedures, a pre application meeting is required for the LOP:
    • Email: SPKRegulatoryMailbox@usace.army.mil
    • It is suggested to state the following in the subject of email: HCP Pre-application meeting request for ‘NAME PROJECT’ and include the relevant SPK-YEAR-### if there is one.
    • Additionally, to facilitate an effective pre-application meeting among the agencies, please submit the following prior to the meeting:
      • The applicant’s name and company/agency/organization;
      • Telephone number, mailing address, and email;
      • A delineation of wetlands and other waters of the U.S. for the proposed activity site; 
      • A location map and appropriate aerial and other imagery of the activity site and a vicinity map showing the proposed site and its geographical, physical and environmental context
      • A complete description of the proposed activity, including as much of the information identified under 33 CFR 325.1 (d) “Content of application” as is available, including plan and profile views of the proposed work relative to potential waters of the U.S., showing areas, types and acreages of aquatic resources proposed to be impacted;
      • Draft information, in report form, concerning on-site practicable alternatives and the relative environmental impacts of those alternatives as compared to the environmental impacts of the proposed activity, in accordance with 33 CFR 325.1 (e) and 323.6 (a).  The information must address compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s 404(b)(1) Guidelines at 40 CFR part 230, and;
      • An explanation of how impacts associated with the proposed activity are to be avoided, minimized, and compensated for, and a draft compensatory mitigation plan for the impacts and losses of waters of the U.S., in accordance with 33 CFR part 332.
  • Abbreviated SP process: PCCP-SP-Abbreviated_USACE-200500485-final.pdf
  1. Links to ILF RIBITS:
  2. Biological Opinions:
  3. Partner webpages/links:

The SSHCP covers 28 species of plants and wildlife, including ten that are state and/or federally-listed as threatened or endangered. The SSHCP is a regional approach to address issues related to planned development and species habitat conservation, following a comprehensive conservation strategy, over a 50-year period. The SSHCP is implemented locally concurrently with a local Aquatic Resource Protection Program (ARP). The ARP is enacted by local ordinances to authorize local Aquatic Resource Impact Permits. Compensatory mitigation requirements are fulfilled by payment into the Corps-authorized South Sacramento In-Lieu Fee (ILF) Program.

The boundaries of the 317,655-acre SSHCP Plan Area are generally U.S. Highway 50 to the north, the Sacramento River levee and County Road J11 to the west, the county line with El Dorado and Amador Counties to the east, and the county line with San Joaquin County to the south. The seven SSHCP Plan Permittees are the County of Sacramento, City of Galt, City of Rancho Cordova, Sacramento County Water Agency, Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District the Southeast Connector Joint Powers Authority, and the South Sacramento Conservation Agency Joint Powers Authority (SSCA).

SSHCP Permit Strategy:
  • Programmatic General Permit (PGP) 17, founded on a local aquatic resources protection program and implemented by local ordinances, and designed to reduce duplication with that program, for activities with minimal individual and cumulative effects on the aquatic environment.
  • Regional General Permit (RGP) 15 for minimal impact activities to implement the HCP/NCCP conservation strategy under the South Sacramento ILF program.
  • A Letter of Permission (LOP) procedure for activities with more than minimal but less than significant effects on the human environment, including aquatic resources; and
  • An abbreviated standard permit (SP) procedure for other activities consistent with the SSHCP that may have a significant impact on the human environment and require the preparation of an EIS.

i. Permit Strategies for the South Sacramento HCP:

  • PGP 17: PGP-17-SSHCP-July2019-with-attachments.pdf
  • RGP 15:  South Sacramento ILF RGP 15-199500386-with-Figure-1.pdf
  • LOP Procedure: SSHCP LOP_Procedure-199500386-July2019-w-Attach-1.pdf
    1. Per the procedures, a pre-application meeting is required for the LOP: 
    • Email: SPKRegulatoryMailbox@usace.army.mil
    • It is suggested to state the following in the subject of email: HCP Pre-application meeting request for ‘NAME PROJECT’ and include the relevant SPK-YEAR-### if there is one.
    • Additionally, to facilitate an effective pre-application meeting among the agencies, please submit the following prior to the meeting:
      • The applicant’s name and company/agency/organization;
      • Telephone number, mailing address, and email;
      • A delineation of wetlands and other waters of the U.S. for the proposed activity site; 
      • A location map and appropriate aerial and other imagery of the activity site and a vicinity map showing the proposed site and its geographical, physical and environmental context
      • A complete description of the proposed activity, including as much of the information identified under 33 CFR 325.1 (d) “Content of application” as is available, including plan and profile views of the proposed work relative to potential waters of the U.S., showing areas, types and acreages of aquatic resources proposed to be impacted;
      • Draft information, in report form, concerning on-site practicable alternatives and the relative environmental impacts of those alternatives as compared to the environmental impacts of the proposed activity, in accordance with 33 CFR 325.1 (e) and 323.6 (a).  The information must address compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s 404(b)(1) Guidelines at 40 CFR part 230, and;
      • An explanation of how impacts associated with the proposed activity are to be avoided, minimized, and compensated for, and a draft compensatory mitigation plan for the impacts and losses of waters of the U.S., in accordance with 33 CFR part 332.
  • Abbreviated SP process: SSHCP SP Abbreviated_USACE-July-2019.pdf 
  1. Link to South Sacramento ILF in RIBITS:
  2. USFWS Biological Opinion for SSHCP (includes programmatic coverage of Section 404 Permit Strategy): 2019.04.30-SSHCP-BO-81420-2008-F-1526-10 South Sacramento HCP.pdf
  3. Partner webpages/links: