Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and codified in 33 USC 408
(commonly referred to as “Section 408”) authorizes the Secretary of the Army, on
the recommendation of the Chief of Engineers of the US Army Corps of Engineers
(USACE), to grant permission for the alteration or occupation or use of a USACE
civil works project if the Secretary determines that the activity will not be
injurious to the public interest and will not impair the usefulness of the
project.
On July 31, 2014 USACE issued Engineer Circular (EC) 1165-2-216, Policy
and Procedural Guidance for Processing Requests to Alter U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers Civil Works Projects Pursuant to 33 USC 408.
The purpose of this policy is to improve consistency in processing requests
both geographically and across Civil Works project types, outline a process that
is scalable to be commensurate with the anticipated impacts of an alteration,
and provide those seeking alteration a clear understanding of information
required by them in seeking alteration to a USACE project.
The EC provides the policies and procedural guidance for an overall review
process that can be tailored to the scope, scale, and complexity of individual
proposed alternations, and provides infrastructure specific considerations for
dams, levees, floodwalls, flood risk management channels, and navigation
projects.
EC 1165-2-216 can be found through this direct
link or at www.publications.usace.army.mil
by searching under Engineer Circulars.
The Regional Procedural Review Plan for Low-Impact Alteration Requests Pursuant to 33 USC 408 can be accessed by clicking here