Special Public Notice: Clean Water Act Section 404 Applications

Regulatory Division

SPECIAL PUBLIC NOTICE

ANNOUNCEMENT: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Jacksonville District, Regulatory Division is accepting and processing applications for Clean Water Act Section 404 permits involving the discharge of dredged or fill material into formerly state-assumed waters in Florida and is receiving assistance from other USACE Districts to manage the increased workload.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The Jacksonville District is issuing this public notice to inform the public that they may submit applications for permits for activities involving the discharge of dredged or fill material into formerly state-assumed waters in Florida to the Jacksonville District, and that some applications will be sent to other USACE Districts and organizations for processing while other Section 404 actions will be processed by the Jacksonville District.

DISCUSSION: On February 16th, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a decision vacating the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) approval of the State of Florida’s application to assume the Clean Water Act Section 404 permitting authority in Florida. After the court vacated EPA’s approval of Florida’s State 404 Program, the Jacksonville District began accepting and processing applications for Section 404 permits in formerly state-assumed waters. Additionally, the State of Florida recently transferred their pending Section 404 permit applications to the Jacksonville District.

To minimize delays arising from this increased workload, the Jacksonville District is receiving national support from other USACE Districts and Technical Regional Execution Centers (TRECs) to assist in this effort. Some applications for activities in formerly state-assumed waters are being assigned to and reviewed by USACE Regulatory Project Managers in other Districts and TRECs. Applications for projects in formerly state-assumed waters that are received by the Jacksonville District are screened to determine whether they can be assigned to project managers outside of the Jacksonville District. If an application is assigned to another Regulatory District or TREC, the review and final decision on that application will be made by that District or TREC. National Regulatory Program standards will be applied to all Jacksonville District actions. The Jacksonville District will closely coordinate with the reviewing Districts and TRECs to address Florida-specific ecological resources and other relevant information.

When a project is transferred to another Regulatory District for processing, applicants will receive a notification email from USACE that contains project manager’s contact information. While the project manager will review the contents of the file provided by Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), completion of the appropriate Department of the Army form(s) will satisfy some regulatory and administrative requirements (e.g., designation of agent, if applicable), and will assist the project manager’s initial review. Applicants must complete and submit to the project manager the appropriate Department of the Army form(s), depending on the nature of your request(s):

ENG Form 4345: Application for Department of Army Permit. Applicants for an Individual Permit must complete Application for Department of the Army Permit.
ENG Form 6082: Nationwide permit Pre-Construction Notification. Applicants for a Nationwide or other General Permit must complete Nationwide Permit Pre-Construction Notification (PCN) ENG Form 6082.
ENG Form 6247: Request for Jurisdictional Determination Form. Applicants for an approved Jurisdictional Determination, Preliminary Jurisdictional Determination, or a No Permit Required determination must complete ENG Form 6247.

The required USACE application forms (ENG 4345, ENG 6082, and ENG 6247) can be https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Source-Book.

When submitting your application, any technical and/or environmental information that was generated as a result of FDEP’s prior processing of the State application should also be submitted to USACE. This added information may reduce the processing time. An applicant may need to update technical or environmental information to meet USACE requirements. USACE’s intent is to continue review of these applications from their existing point, if the information developed through the State’s process is available to USACE and meets the Federal requirements. However, some administrative and review processes may require additional review(s) and/or coordination effort(s) due to differences in USACE regulations and State 404 Program rules. For example, wetland delineation methodologies may differ between State 404 Program and USACE requirements. Another example is differing rules and regulations related to jurisdictional determinations.

If you wish to submit an application to USACE, we are accepting Department of the Army applications through USACE’s online Regulatory Request System at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs, by email to the respective USACE Regulatory office in the Jacksonville District (see https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Office-Locations), and through the United States Postal Service mail system.

QUESTIONS concerning this application should be directed to USACE, Mr. Robert Barron in writing at the address listed in the letterhead, by electronic mail at Robert.B.Barron@usace.army.mil; or by desk phone at 904-232-2203.