This information should help you identify and acquire a permit from us for projects affecting waters of the United States under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act. Using this information should minimize not only the time, effort and expense of permitted projects, but also lessen any adverse impact a project may have on the environment.
For questions about the extent of wetlands on your site, contact your local field office to arrange a wetland jurisdictional determination or site review, to allow project planning that avoids and minimizes impacts to wetlands where possible.
Please provide clear drawings, uncluttered with extraneous information. A simple drawing clearly showing the project is easier to copy and will be more readable once a permit decision is reached. Remember, these drawings must be copied for publication in the Public Notice.
Complete information and details of the project are required.

We need the following information:
Applicant's name, address, and phone number.
A full description of the proposed project, with the purpose, type and amount of material to be discharged.
All related activities. Is this a multi-phase project? Have additional permits been sought or obtained?
A list of all adjacent property owners and their addresses.
The project location, clearly marked on a road map with a description of the directions included, as well as the Section, Township and Range, and the latitude and longitude of the site. The application must be signed.
Include a full set of drawings in 8.5 inch by 11 inch (letter) format, which include plan view, section view, elevation view, profile and grade drawings. Please use match lines as necessary.

Pre-application meetings or a phone call to your local field office may be necessary or helpful to determine the extent of the project and what measures might need to be taken into consideration during your project design. To view a public notice, click on the file number. To provide any comment by e-mail on the public notices, click on the Project Manager's name in the contact list below. Written comments can be mailed to the Project Manager at the letterhead address found at the top of the public notice.
If you would prefer a copy with the drawings, please mail your letters to:
  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
  Attn: CENWP-OP-GP (and the last name of your point of contact person)
  P.O. Box 2946
  Portland, OR 97208-2946
You can also visit or call the Regulatory office, located on the 8th floor of Robert Duncan Plaza,
at 333 S.W. First Avenue Portland, OR 97204. Office phone: (503) 808-4371 or (503) 808-4373.

Section 10 of the Rivers & Harbors Act of 1899 requires approval prior to the accomplishment of any work in or over "navigable waters" of the U.S., or which affects the course, location, condition or capacity of such waters. Typically requiring Section 10 permits:

• Construction of piers, wharves, bulkheads, dolphins, marinas, ramps, floats intake structures, and cable or pipeline crossings.
• Dredging and excavation.

• Depositing of fill or dredged material in waters of the U.S. or adjacent wetlands.
• Site development fill for residential, commercial, or recreational developments.
• The landward regulatory limit for non-tidal waters (in the absence of adjacent wetlands) is the "ordinary high water mark". The ordinary high water mark is the line on the shores established by the fluctuations of water and indicated by physical characteristics.

General Permits
General permits authorize activities that are similar in nature and cause only minimal adverse environmental impacts to aquatic resources, separately or on a cumulative basis. There are two types of general permits: nationwide permits and regional general permits.

Nationwide Permits
Nationwide permits are issued by the Corps on a national basis and are designed to streamline Department of the Army authorization of projects such as commercial developments, utility lines or road improvements that impact the nation's aquatic environment.
To ensure activities authorized by nationwide permit cause only minimal adverse environmental effects, Corps division engineers are authorized to add regional conditions to protect local aquatic ecosystems. Nationwide permits are proposed, issued, modified, reissued or extended, and revoked from time to time, after the opportunity for public notice and comment.
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 and any special conditions added by the Corps. If the Corps finds that the proposed activity would have more than minimal individual or cumulative net adverse impact on the environment, or may be contrary to the public interest, you would need to modify your proposal to reduce or eliminate those adverse effects, or apply for a standard individual permit.

Regional General Permits
A regional general permit is issued for a specific geographic area by an individual Corps District. Each regional general permit has specific terms and conditions, all of which must be met for project-specific actions to be verified.
If your project does not comply with all of the terms and conditions, authorization may be granted by another type of Department of the Army permit, however, the process will likely take longer. Therefore, to expedite review of your application, we recommend modifying projects to meet all terms and conditions of the applicable RGP.

Standard Permits
Standard permits are for activities that do not fit the guidelines for a NWP or RGP. There are two types of standard permits: individual permits and letters of permission.

Individual Permits
An individual permit is required for activities having more than minimal impacts and/or for activities that do not qualify for a nationwide permit or regional general permit. An important distinction between an individual permit and a NWP or RGP is the public review requirement.
NWPs and RGPs undergo public review as part of their development process; however, project-specific actions can be authorized by NWP or RGP without further public review. An individual permit is subject to the public interest review process on a project-specific basis. A public notice will be issued for an individual permit application to allow federal, state and local agencies, adjacent property owners and the general public an opportunity to review and comment on the plan or to request a public hearing. Applications involving public notices are typically completed within four to six months. However, some complex activities, issues or legal requirements may require additional review and take more time.
Upon receipt of your permit application, you will be sent an acknowledgement of receipt and a Corps reference number specific to your file. You should refer to this number when inquiring about your application. If your application is incomplete, the Corps will request the additional information needed to continue its review. The project will be reviewed, balancing the need and expected benefits against the probable impacts of the work, taking into consideration all comments received and other relevant factors.

Letter of Permission
A letter of permission is a type of individual permit issued through a more streamlined process. Letters of permission are typically for activities subject to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act. Individual Corps districts may develop these letters for applicable for work subject to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, after coordinating with state and federal agencies and allowing the opportunity for public comment.
A letter of permission may be issued for projects where proposed work would be minor, would not have significant individual or cumulative impacts on environmental values, and isn't expected to encounter appreciable opposition. These types of projects usually include minor dredging and construction, maintenance, or replacement of piers, mooring buoys, piles, or floats. Compliance reviews under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act still apply for a letter of permission.

Permit Cost/Fees
The following fees apply when a project has been approved and a standard individual permit is issued by the Corps and accepted by the applicant:

• $10 for individuals (non-commercial activities)
• $100 for businesses (commercial and industrial activities)
• No fees are charged to governmental agencies
• There are no fees for general permits and letters of permission issued by the Corps.

You are encouraged to contract the local U.S Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) office in your area prior to making a permit application. By discussing the work prior to submitting an application, your application can be processed more efficiently. Discussions of permit applications may consist of on-site reviews or pre-application meetings. The purpose of these meetings is to discuss possible problems up front and to attempt to rectify these initial concerns prior to the permit review.

After the application is received in the Corps office, it will be given an identification number and reviewed for completeness. A request for additional information may be sent to you for additional information if it is necessary for the Corps to review your proposed project. Please see the hints section below to see what is needed for review of a proposed project. Within 15 days of receiving all the required information, a public notice will be issued with a 15- or 30-day comment period. The proposal is then reviewed by the Corps, local, state and Federal agencies, special interest groups and the general public.

After the comment period, the Corps will review all of the comments and consult with other Federal agencies as appropriate. The Corps may ask for additional information at this time and a public hearing may be conducted if one has been specifically requested and it is decided that this is necessary.

When all considerations are satisfied, the District Engineer will make a decision to either issue or deny the permit application. If a permit is denied, you will recieve a written explanation of the reason for denial.

Fees are required for any issued individual permit and are $10.00 for individual, non-commercial projects, and $100.00 for commercial projects.

The Corps makes every effort possible to process Individual Permit applications with 120 days of the date of the submission of a complete application.

Other laws may affect application processing for Corps of Engineers permits: the National Environmental Policy Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act, the Fish & Wildlife Coordination Act, the Endangered Species Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, the Deepwater Port Act, the Federal Power Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act and the National Fishing Enhancement Act.

The decision to grant or deny a permit is based on a public interest review of the probable impact of the proposed activity and its intended use. Benefits and detriments are balanced by considering effects on:
conservation
economics
aesthetics
general environmental concerns
wetlands
cultural values
flood hazards
floodplain values
food and fiber production
navigation
shore erosion and accretion
recreation
water supply and conservation
water quality
energy needs
safety
needs and welfare of the people
considerations of private ownership

The following general criteria will be considered in the evaluation of every application:

• the relative extent of the public and private need for the proposed activity;
• the practicability of using reasonable alternative locations and methods to accomplish the objective of the proposed activity; and
• the extent and permanence of the beneficial and/or detrimental effects which the proposed activity is likely to have on the public and private uses to which the area is suited.

Section 404(b)(1) of the Clean Water Act
If your project involves the discharge of dredged or fill material, it will be necessary for the Corps to evaluate your proposed activity under the Section 404(b)(1) guidelines prepared by the Environmental Protection Agency. The guidelines restrict discharges into aquatic areas where less environmentally damaging, practicable alternatives exist.

1. Joint permit application form

1. Regulatory Program Permitting brochure
2. ENG Permit Application form walk-through module (available in English and Spanish)
3. Permit Process

• Sediment Evaluation Framework for Pacific Northwest, May 2009 1.5 MB (Click here for a printer-friendly version)
• Interim Final Sediment Evaluation Framework - September 2006
• COE Civil Works Sediment Quality Evaluation reports (dredging)
• Engineering Branch Regional Sediment Evaluation Team link

• Transportation 346 KB
• Restoration 848 KB

These documents outline mitigation plan requirements and mandated reporting for mitigation projects.
Mitigation Plans
Compensatory Mitigation Monitoring Reports

Mitigation-related links:
Regulatory in-Lieu Fee & Bank Information Tracking System
Final Compensatory Mitigation Rule
Regulatory Guidance Letter 08-03
More information on mitigation can be found in the Federal Register, Vol. 73, No. 70, dated April 10, 2008, pp 19677-19678; 33 CFR 332.4

For Portland District Appeal questions, please contact:
   U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
   Attn: CENWP-OD-G 
  Jurisdictional Specialist
   P.O. Box 2946
   Portland,OR 97208-2946

• Arid West regional supplement manual
• Notice of Implementation
• Arid West data form, version 2

• HQ USACE Western mountain, valleys, and coast regional supplement
• Western mountains, valleys, and coast data form, version 2

• Oregon Rapid Wetland Assessment Protocol
• Notice of Release of the Oregon Rapid Wetland Assessment Protocol

• Oregon Streamflow Duration Assessment Method book, final version
• Xerces Macroinvertebrate Indicators of Streamflow Duration field guide
• Oregon Streamflow Duration Assessment Method - a link to the Oregon DSL page
• OSD Frequently Asked Questions