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Buffalo District Regulatory Program

The Department of the Army (DA) Regulatory Program is one of the oldest programs in the federal government. Initially, the Regulatory Division served a fairly simple, straightforward purpose: To protect and maintain the navigable capacity of the Nation's waters, under Section 10 of the River and Harbors Act of 1899. In 1972, the Clean Water Act (Act) was signed into law and the DA was directed to administer Section 404 of the Act, which regulates the discharge of dredged and/or fill material into waters of the United States. In 1977, the Corps of Engineers jurisdiction was increased to include wetlands as part of the Waters of the US.

The Regulatory Program is committed to protecting the Nation's aquatic resources and navigation capacity, while allowing reasonable development through fair and balanced decisions.  Buffalo District Regulators are dedicated to protecting New York and Ohio's federal waters while allowing reasonable and necessary development to move forward through evaluation of permit applications for essentially all construction activities that occur in the Nation's waters, including wetlands.

Regulatory Around the District

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulators Build Partnerships
Buffalo District Regulatory Branch held their annual meeting with USFWS and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New York District, to ensure that our relationship is strong & we can continue Taking Care of People through consistent, fair, & flexible regulatory efforts.
Regulatory Biologists sharpen plant ID
USACE Buffalo District Regulators study leafless woody plants to improve their identification skills in the field.
Taking It To the Field
Regulators perform onsite inspections before, during and after permitting actions.
Collecting Data for Unauthorized Activities
A Buffalo District Project Manager collects data to determine if fill material is located within a wetland area in response to a complaint.
Taking Soil Samples
Regulators evaluate soil to determine if they have wetland soil characteristics.
Waterfront Compliance Inspection
A compliance inspection is performed for a permitted bank stabilization project.
Inspecting Wetland Mitigation
A Buffalo District Regulatory Project Manager assesses a created wetland, which was required mitigation associated with a permit.
Clearing Fill Materials
Corps of Engineers Regulatory observe the removal of grain silo debris from the Buffalo River.
Compliance Inspection
Regulators inspect ongoing and completed project to ensure compliance with issued permits.

More Information

  Please submit new permit applications to the Buffalo District Office and use the Buffalo District office contact information for general questions and inquiries.  If you leave a message regarding general questions and inquiries, a Regulatory staff member will return your call as soon as possible; generally within 24 hours or the next business day.
Report a Violation         Regulatory Informational Booklet 

            Customer Survey   

 

IMPORTANT NEWS!

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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced today that it has prepared its proposal to renew and revise 52 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 proposal was published in the Federal Register today. The public comment period ends on November 16, 2020. The proposed rule is available through the Federal Register web site at: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/09/15/2020-17116/proposal-to-reissue-and-modify-nationwide-permits

 

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 resumed in both New York and Ohio, and CDC protocols are in place to protect our staff and you.  Please be aware that due to New York state travel restrictions, Buffalo office staff will not travel to Ohio until the 14 day quarantine period for travelers to Ohio has been lifted by New York state.  As a result, there are fewer number of staff available to conduct field work. This condition will affect the scheduling of field visits and inspections as we adjust and reprioritize staff workloads. 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

 https://www.epa.gov/cwa-401/final-rule-clean-water-act-section-401-certification-rule for details.
 CLICK HERE for details.
 

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.