The Department of the Army Regulatory Program is one of the oldest in the Federal Government. Initially it served a fairly simple, straightforward purpose: to protect and maintain the navigable capacity of the nation's waters. Time, changing public needs, evolving policy, case law, and new statutory mandates have changed the complexion of the program, adding to its breadth, complexity, and authority.
The Regulatory Program is committed to protecting the Nation's aquatic resources, while allowing reasonable development through fair, flexible and balanced permit decisions. The Corps evaluates permit applications for essentially all work that occurs in “waters of the United States” that are regulated by the Corps pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Some examples of areas that may be within the jurisdiction of the Corps include marshes, swamps, streams, creeks, rivers, ponds, lakes, seasonally saturated forested and non-forested wetlands.
All regulated activities occurring within jurisdictional areas require a permit from the Corps. Some example activities occurring within jurisdictional areas that require a permit include dredging of waterways, bank stabilization, recreational ponds and lakes, as well as the construction of fixed docks/boat slips, floating docks/boat slips, marinas, fleeting areas, boat ramps, roads, transportation crossings, residential and commercial developments, utility lines, and mining activities.
In order to determine whether your proposed activity requires a permit, or whether any “waters of the U.S.” are located on your property or within your project area, please explore our website or contact us for further guidance. Please note that the Nashville District Corps of Engineers will make the final determination of whether an area is a jurisdictional “water of the U.S.” and whether the activity requires a permit.
The Nashville District covers portions of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia. We are dedicated to providing strong protection of the Nation's aquatic resources, including wetlands, to enhance the efficiency of the Corps regulatory program, and ensure that the Corps provides fair, reasonable, and timely decisions to our customers.
Click Here for the Federal Register Notice Announcing the Clean Water Rule: Definition of Waters of the United States. The effective date for the Clean Water Rule will be 28 Aug 2015