SAVANNAH, Ga. – Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Georgia Department of Transportation the Federal Highway Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service discussed preliminary environmental mitigation plans for a proposed bridge replacement project on the Islands Expressway, Feb. 28, 2014. The proposed project would build a new, larger bridge to replace the existing bridge that crosses the Wilmington River on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. It would require permits from multiple state and federal agencies, including the Corps' Savannah District Regulatory Division. Since the project is still in the very preliminary design phase, the meeting brought together regulators from multiple agencies to discuss potential environmental mitigation issues early on in the process. The Corps' Regulatory Division evaluates permit applications from developers, communities and private citizens who plan construction or excavation near streams and wetlands in the state of Georgia. With any permitting project, the Corps first aims to avoid, then minimize, and lastly, compensate for environmental impacts to aquatic resources. USACE photo by Tracy Robillard.