Dr. Richard Darden is a biologist and project manager in the Special Projects Branch of the Charleston District, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Division. Dr. Darden serves as the district lead on jurisdictional issues in the post-Rapanos era, as well as helping to guide jurisdictional determination policy and practice in the South Atlantic Division. He is the Corps Project Manager for Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) being prepared in cooperation with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for two proposed nuclear power plants in South Carolina as well as an EIS for the proposed Haile Gold Mine application. Dr. Darden joined the Corps in 2005, after 17 years as an environmental consultant and university instructor. He has been involved with all aspects of project development, design, construction and monitoring, including all levels of NEPA documentation, as well as hundreds of jurisdictional determinations and permits throughout the United States. Dr. Darden received a B.S. degree in biology from Arkansas Tech University, a M.S. degree in zoology from Northwestern State University of Natchitoches, Louisiana, and a Ph.D. degree in biological sciences from The University of Southern Mississippi.