Aspen is providing wide-ranging technical and regulatory assistance to the County of San Diego Department of Planning and Land Use in Preparing the Watershed Management Plan and a Special Area Management Plan for the 160-mi2 Otay River watershed. The ORWMP development includes the identification of goals and objectives, the characterization of the watershed (biological resources, aquatic resources, geologic resources, land uses, demographics), the identification of threats to watershed resources and the crafting of implementation and monitoring strategies for resource protection and enhancement. The development of the SAMP includes the preparation of a purpose and need statement, evaluation of the integration potential of other plans relevant to the watershed, development of sub-basin specific planning principles of BMPs, preparation of the Corps of Engineers' Section 404(b)(1) alternatives analysis and public interest review, development of Corps of Engineers and CDFG permit language, preparation of a restoration/mitigation plan and long-term monitoring plan, and stakeholder involvement and communication. The ORWMP is more focused on assisting the County of San Diego in complying with the San Diego Region's new NPDES stormwater permit, and the SAMP is intended to strike a balance between reasonable economic development and aquatic resource protection through the issuance of Corps and CDFG programmatic permits.