Spring 2007-13 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reissues nationwide permits
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Spring 2007-13 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reissues nationwide permits

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Number 67
Spring 2007

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reissues nationwide permits

On March 12, 2007, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reissued 43 nationwide permits to regulate work in wetlands and other waters, and added six new permits to cover specific activities that include reclamation of surface coal mining areas, underground coal mining and pipeline repairs.

The corps’s action is intended to simplify the nationwide permits program, while continuing to protect the environment by ensuring the permits only authorize activities that have minimal effects on the aquatic environment.

Nationwide permits

Under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act discharges of dredge or fill material to waters of the United States require Corps approval, either in the form of an individual permit or a nationwide permit that covers a group of similar activities. The nationwide permits had expired earlier in the year, as they were more recently issued in 2002. The Clean Water Act requires the Corps to reissue them every five years.

The new permits issued by the Corps this time around include:

  • those addressing mining operations, which were previously covered under a single permit,
  • commercial shellfish aquaculture activities,
  • discharges into ditches and canals,
  • emergency repairs of damaged levees, fills, or uplands, and
  • time-sensitive repairs of pipelines.

The official corps notice can be found at 72 Fed. Reg. 11,092 (March 12, 2007).


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