Army Corps Releases Finalized Nationwide Permit Revisions

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is moving forward with its September 2020 proposal to renew and revise a range of nationwide permits (NWPs) needed for work in wetlands, streams, and other waters of the U.S. under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. When the Corps initially proposed renewing the NWPs, it stated that it was "proposing these modifications to simplify and clarify the NWPs, reduce burdens on the regulated public, and continue to comply with the statutory requirements that these NWPs authorize only activities with no more than minimal individual and cumulative adverse environmental impacts." The proposals responded, in part, to a March 2017 executive order directing federal agencies to review existing regulations that may unnecessarily burden production or use of domestic energy resources.