The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District (Corps), and the Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL) jointly welcome prospective Clean Water Act § 404 and Oregon’s Removal-Fill permit applicants to meet with the agencies as part of regularly scheduled interagency pre-application meetings, known as “Kaizen.” The meetings supplement existing pre-application coordination led by the Corps and DSL.
The Kaizen pre-application process is intended for non-routine permit evaluations that may be large, complex, or controversial in nature. The intent of the meetings is to provide meaningful comment and feedback to prospective applicants early in the permitting process, to help them most effectively prepare permit applications and address agency concerns.
Participating state and federal agencies have a standing monthly meeting for prospective applicants to discuss their proposed project, hear feedback, and share information.
2023 Meeting Schedule
Meetings are held on the third Wednesday of every month from 1 to 2 p.m. All meetings are held virtually.
Meeting Dates and Agency Host
January 18, 2023- DSL
February 15, 2023- DEQ
March 15, 2023- Corps
April 19, 2023- DSL
May 17, 2023- DEQ
June 21, 2023- Corps
July 19, 2023- DSL
August 16, 2023- DEQ
September 20, 2023- Corps
October 18, 2023- DSL
November 15, 2023- DEQ
December 20, 2023- Corps
Note: Meetings may be held in person in Salem, Eugene, or elsewhere if appropriate for a specific project/pre-applicant. Meeting location changes will be posted on this webpage.
Will Attending a Kaizen Meeting Be Beneficial?
Prospective applicants interested in a Kaizen pre-application meeting should work with their points of contact at the Corps, DSL or DEQ and review online project screening tools prior to requesting time at a monthly agency meeting.
The screening tools, known as the matrix and accompanying matrix user’s guide, are available under Resources in the right-hand column of this page.
The matrix will help prospective applicants assess if a Kaizen pre-application meeting will be beneficial to their project development. Even if the applicant opts to not have a Kaizen pre-application meeting, the information contained in the matrix and user’s guide may be helpful for any project potentially needing a § 404 permit (and associated § 401 Water Quality Certification) or a Removal-Fill Permit, and a less formal pre-application meeting may still be appropriate.
The screening tools are intended primarily for use by large-scale, controversial, or complex projects. The tools are available for any potential applicant or agency staff person to use and can be scaled down to assess the risks associated with less complex or less controversial projects.
Preparing for Meetings
The meetings are designed to assess draft information, and prospective attendees are asked to provide basic project information, in the form of responses to a standard set of questions, at least two weeks prior to the meeting.
Participating agencies
*Not every agency will be present for every project. They will participate when their jurisdiction applies.
For more information, please contact:
Melody White, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District
Phone: 503-201-0797
Email: melody.j.white@usace.army.mil
Steve Mrazik, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
Phone: 503-229-5379
Email: steve.mrazik@deq.oregon.gov
Bethany Harrington, Oregon Department of State Lands
Phone: 541-325-6171
Email: Bethany.harrington@oregon.gov