This message is to advise you of 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 has implemented a telework plan.  As a result we have made several changes to normal business operations and impacts to Regulatory Program delivery are unavoidable.  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 - Site visits and inspections will be paused until April 3, 2020, at which time we will reassess if site visits will resume and if so under what conditions.  We will 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 -New submittals for the Regulatory Branch may be emailed to the following email box LRB.Regulatory@usace.army.mil  

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:

New York applications - Steven.v.metivier@usace.army.mil Ohio Applications - Mark.w.scalabrino@usace.army.mil M&E Non-compliance issues or alleged violations - Harold.t.keppner@usace.army.mil General submittals that may not be specific to a permit, non-compliance, or alleged violation - Diane.c.kozlowski@usace.army.mil

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 LRB.Regulatory@usace.army.mil

We all must do our part to "flatten the curve" and help our nation heal.  I appreciate your understanding and patience with implementation of these changes 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.REGULATORY@USACE.ARMY.MIL

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/

Sincerely,

Diane Kozlowski

Chief, Buffalo District Regulatory Branch

The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of the Army published a final rule to repeal the 2015 Clean Water Rule (2015 Rule) and re-codify the regulatory text defining "waters of the United States" that existed prior to 2015. See the National Regulatory Program page for more details.

All work must be completed by November 7, 2020.  For More information, click HERE and look under Types of Permits.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army have provided written notice to rescind the 2005 joint memorandum titled "Guidance on Conduction Wetland Determinations for the Food Security Act of 1985 and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act".  This rescission is effective immediately. This rescission does not alter the roles or responsibilities of the Agencies under their respective statutory and regulatory authorities. The Agencies will continue their practice of informing landowners that wetland delineations (performed by the Corps) and determinations (performed by the NRCS) may not be valid for FSA or CWA requirements, respectively.  The Agencies intend to issue new guidance on this topic in the near future.

The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of the Army today finalized the Navigable Waters Protection Rule that defines “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) and clarifies the limits of federal control under the Clean Water Act. More information on the Navigable Waters Protection Rule is available at https://www.epa.gov/nwpr