Nationwide Permits (NWPs) are general permits issued on a nationwide basis to authorize minor activities with minimal evaluation time. NWPs are permits used throughout the United States, and were established to reduce the regulatory reporting burden for specific activities that have no more than minimal impacts to the aquatic environment. The thresholds for the impacts and the types of activities allowed under the Nationwide Program are established as national policy. Additionally, there are regional conditions associated with each Nationwide Permit used in North Carolina by the Wilmington District. These regional conditions are established by the District and approved by the Corps Division, to ensure that the implementation of the nationwide permit program in waters and wetlands of North Carolina are consistent with meeting the program's goals of streamlining the permit process for those activities that have no more than minimal impacts to the environment.
The Corps periodically makes changes the Nationwide Permits in response to national policy to afford more protection to water resources while streamlining the permit process. The objective is to more effectively authorize activities that have only minimal adverse effects on the aquatic environment. The current typical re-authorization cycle is five years.
See the current
Nationwide Permits and associated Regional Conditions required by the Wilmington District.