JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District announced it has authority to issue alternative/emergency permitting procedures in the Antilles in response to conditions resulting from Hurricane Maria, including heavy damage in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, including St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas and other surrounding minor islands.
These alternate procedures will be effective for a six-month period. View the Corps public notice issued September 21, 2017, announcing these alternative/emergency procedures in response to Hurricane Maria and heavy damage in the Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands: http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Public-Notices/Article/1320389/emergency-permit-procedures-hurricane-maria/.
The alternative/emergency procedures are used to authorize actions or work that are considered to be emergencies, which may include, but are not limited to, the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters for the United States, and work in navigable waters of the United States, to include dredging to restore navigation and relieve flooding, stabilization of eroded shorelines, repair and replacement of authorized structures including docks and bulkheads, installing temporary utility lines and access roads, replacing existing roads and bridges, installing water intake structures and removal and disposal of debris in waters.
The Corps of Engineers regulations define an emergency as a situation which would result in an unacceptable hazard to life, a significant loss of property, or an immediate, unforeseen, and significant economic hardship if corrective action requiring a permit is not undertaken within a time period less than the normal time needed to process the application under standard procedures.
Read the President’s Emergency Declaration for the territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands, issued Sept. 18, 2017: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/09/18/president-donald-j-trump-approves-us-virgin-islands-emergency
Read the President’s Emergency Declaration for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, issued Sept. 18, 2017: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/09/18/president-donald-j-trump-approves-puerto-rico-emergency-declaration
Read the Declaration of Emergency by the Governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo A. Rosselló-Nevares, issued Sept. 17, 2017: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/emergency/executive-order-governor-puerto-rico-administrative-bulletin-number-oe-2017-047
The Corps is neither a proponent nor opponent of any proposed project. The Corps’ mission is to provide the regulated public with fair and reasonable decisions while providing protection of the Nation’s aquatic resources and navigation.