USACE announced today that it reissued 12 and issued four new nationwide permits for work in wetlands and other waters that are regulated by Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and/or Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. The final rule is expected to be published in the Federal Register in the coming weeks. The pre-publication version of the final rule is available at https://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Regulatory-Program-and-Permits/Nationwide-Permits/. Click here to read the NY public notice, dated January 13, 2021.

Site Visits/Inspections (*UPDATE*) - Site visits and inspections have paused in both New York and Ohio, as we heed advisories from the New York and Ohio Departments of Health.  Site visits and inspections may be conducted on a case by case basis if deemed necessary, such as a high priority or emergency action.  In these instances, site visits and inspections will be limited to Corps staff.  If applicants, consultants or other agency staff must attend, participation will be limited to the minimum necessary and all CDC protocols will be required to protect our staff and you.  We continue to evaluate the ability to sign off on actions absent a site visit by using available in-house and on-line resources.  You can assist in this effort by ensuring all submittals are complete, e.g. all the information required in an application form is completed, data sheets for wetland determinations are thoroughly filled out, maps and drawings are included, etc.

We appreciate your patience and understanding during these challenging times. 

Buffalo District Regulatory Program

This message is to update you on temporary changes being made to Regulatory operations at the Buffalo District office and our Auburn, Stow and Oak Harbor Field Offices.  The US Army Corps of Engineers continues to operate under our telework plan and several changes to normal business operations remain in place.  As the COVID situation remains fluid impacts to Regulatory Program delivery are unavoidable but we continue to adapt as conditions change.  We recognize contact with applicants, stakeholders, other agencies, and the general public is required to successfully and efficiently deliver the program.  We are prepared to administer the program in a way that is protective of our employees, agency partners, stakeholders, applicants, consultants, the general public and all those with whom we interact.

The Buffalo District staff will minimize impacts to the continued delivery of Regulatory Program functions through the following actions. These actions are effective immediately and for an indefinite period of time.

Office Visits - The Buffalo. New York District Office, Auburn, New York, Stow, Ohio, and Oak Harbor, Ohio Field Office are closed to the public.  You may reach Regulatory staff at the respective offices by email or telephone at the contact information included at the end of this message.

Site Visits/Inspections (*UPDATE*) - Site visits and inspections have paused in both New York and Ohio, as we heed advisories from the New York and Ohio Departments of Health.  Site visits and inspections may be conducted on a case by case basis if deemed necessary, such as a high priority or emergency action.  In these instances, site visits and inspections will be limited to Corps staff.  If applicants, consultants or other agency staff must attend, participation will be limited to the minimum necessary and all CDC protocols will be required to protect our staff and you.  We continue to evaluate the ability to sign off on actions absent a site visit by using available in-house and on-line resources.  You can assist in this effort by ensuring all submittals are complete, e.g. all the information required in an application form is completed, data sheets for wetland determinations are thoroughly filled out, maps and drawings are included, etc.

New Submittals - We have created three email boxes specific to New York and Ohio, and Permit Compliance, Non-compliance and Unauthorized Activities.  All new submittals, where you are not already working with a Project Manager should be emailed to the following email boxes:

LRB.Ohio.RegActions@usace.army.mil for Ohio applications and submittals

LRB.NewYork.RegActions@usace.army.mil for New York applications and submittals

LRB.Regulatory.PermitCompliance@usace.army.mil for Alleged Violations, Compliance, or Non-compliance matters

For large files up to 8GB you should use https://safe.apps.mil/  DoD SAFE allows users the capability to securely send and receive large files, including files that are too large to be transmitted via email. If you using DoD SAFE you must send files to a Regulatory staff member.  If a Regulatory Project Manager has not yet been assigned to your file you should direct new submittals as follows:

Pending Actions:  If your request is currently under evaluation by a Regulatory Project Manager, we request you continue to submit electronic correspondence directly to the assigned Project Manager.  The subject line of the email should include the Corps-assigned project number (ORM Number) and/or project name and location.  We recognize that updates and having a timeline are important to you in planning your project. The following links will provide the status of Pending Permit Applications or finalized Jurisdictional Determinations: https://www.lrb.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Check-Permit-Status/

Note: Please consider file size limits when submitting information electronically.  Files larger than 5MB may need to be submitted into multiple files that are emailed separately or through use of DoD Safe.    

If electronic submission is not possible, hard copy submissions thru postal mail will continue to be accepted.  Hard copy should only be provided when electronic submissions are not possible.  There will be intermittent access to postal mail and therefore this will further delay receipt, internal distribution and handling of your submittal.  Further, precautionary internal mail handling procedures may be instituted to protect our workforce, which may result in longer than normal times to receive hard copy submissions.

Public Notices: Posting of Public Notices on our website will continue.  Mailing of hard copies of Public Notices may be interrupted or significantly delayed therefore interested parties are strongly encouraged to request to be added to our electronic mailing list to receive information in a timely and uninterrupted manner.  Please send a request to one of the email inboxes listed above.

The threat from CoVID-19 remains and we all must stay diligent to protect ourselves, our friends and family and our communities. I appreciate your understanding and patience as we all adapt to this new work environment and the changes we have implemented to protect everyone from the coronavirus while continuing to deliver the Regulatory program.

Regulatory staff continue to be available by email and telephone.  You may contact our office by phone using the following:

SENDING AN EMAIL TO:

LRB.Ohio.RegActions@usace.army.mil for Ohio applications and submittals

LRB.NewYork.RegActions@usace.army.mil for New York applications and submittals

LRB.Regulatory.PermitCompliance@usace.army.mil for Alleged Violations, Compliance, or Non-compliance matters

Buffalo District Office, Buffalo, New York: (716)879-4330

Auburn, NY Field Office: (716)879-4330 OR (315)255-8090

Oak Harbor, Oh Field Office: (716)879-4330 OR (419)898-3491

Stow, Oh Field Office: (716)879-4330 OR (330-923-8197)

Information regarding the Regulatory Program and permit applications is available on our webpage: https://www.lrb.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/

Everyone take care of yourself and stay well! 

Sincerely,

Diane Kozlowski

Chief, Buffalo District Regulatory Branch

The Federal Register notice (85 FR 22250) is available at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/04/21/2020-02500/the-navigable-waters-protection-rule-definition-of-waters-of-the-united-states.  Additional information about the NWPR can be found on the EPA’s website at https://www.epa.gov/nwpr.