Photo by Kirsten Lara
Nationwide permits are a type of general permit designed to authorize certain activities that have no more than minimal individual and cumulative adverse environmental effects and generally comply with the related laws cited in the Code of Federal Regulations under Title 33. Nationwide Permits are issued by the USACE, Regulatory Division on a national basis and are designed to streamline Department of the Army (DA) authorization of projects such as commercial developments, utility lines or road improvements that impact the nation's aquatic environment. Nationwide Permits are proposed, issued, modified, reissued or extended, and occasionally revoked, after the opportunity for public notice and comment. To ensure activities authorized by Nationwide Permits cause only minimal adverse environmental effects, USACE, Regulatory Division engineers are authorized to add regional conditions to protect local aquatic ecosystems.
An activity may be authorized under a Nationwide Permit only if it meets both the national and regional conditions of the permit, including compliance with the Endangered Species Act (See General Condition 18) and the National Historic Preservation Act (See General Condition 20) and any special conditions added by the USACE, Regulatory Division. If the USACE, Regulatory Division finds that a proposed activity would have more than minimal individual or cumulative net adverse impact on the environment, or may be contrary to the public interest, the proposal would need to be modified to reduce or eliminate those adverse effects, or a Standard Individual Permit may be required. The goal of the USACE, Regulatory Division is to authorize Nationwide Permit requests within 45 to 60 days after receipt of a complete application. This timeframe may vary depending on the complexity of the project.