INDUSTRY NOTICE:
Revised Nationwide Permits Announced
Today the new Nationwide Permit Final Rule was published in the Federal Register. The new Nationwide Permits (NWPs) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) are intended to take effect on March 19, 2017. However, the NWPs will not be valid until individual COE District regional conditions, Clean Water Act Section 401 water quality certification (WQC) and Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) consistency determinations are published. Publication of the NWPs in the Federal Register begins the 60-day regional condition and WQC process, as well as the 90-day CZMA process. Therefore, it is possible that the NWPs will not in fact be available for use on March 19, 2017 – and there could be a small gap with no NWPs.
The COE has reissued the existing 50 NWPs with some modifications, and added two new ones (addressing living shorelines and removal of low-head dams) as well as a new General Condition. A summary of the NWPs is available on the COE website along with the Final Decision Documents and the original June 1, 2016 proposal to reissue and modify the NWPs. WSSI provided more detail about the proposed changes in our June 1, 2016 edition of Field Notes.
If your project is currently under construction, or is under contract to commence prior to March 18, 2017, you can obtain a 1-year extension to complete the project under the existing authorization. If that is not the case, you will need to request authorization under a new permit. Please contact us if you need assistance with this.
If you have questions regarding how NWP expirations or modifications may affect your project, please contact your WSSI project manager or staff listed below.