United States Army Corps of Engineers to Reissue Expiring Nationwide Permits

The 2021 United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Nationwide Permit (NWP) Program will expire on March 14, 2026. The NWP is generally reauthorized every five years for categories of activities that are expected to have minimal impacts to Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS). For ALL4 clients, key NWPs are those related to industrial development where work occurs in streams, wetlands, and other WOTUS, including data centers and power plants, as well as public works maintenance and infrastructure, linear transportation crossings, and residential development. ALL4 staff have decades of experience supporting clients with NWP permitting.

Most of the NWPs will remain the same upon reissuance; however, one notable change is NWP 39 for commercial and institutional development, which has been modified to specifically add data centers, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and storage facilities, an indication of the USACE’s recognition of the growth potential for these industries within the U. S. in the coming years.

NWPs have acreage limits for each single and complete project impacting WOTUS. For example, NWP 39 has an acreage limit of 0.5 acre of impacts to WOTUS. The USACE definition of a single and complete linear project is important to understand: A liner project is a project constructed for the purpose of getting people, goods, or services from a point of origin to a terminal point, which often involves multiple crossings of one or more waterbodies at separate and distant locations…each crossing is considered a single and complete project for purposes of NWP authorization. Therefore, for a multiple-mile road, multiple NWPs can typically be stacked. For construction of an industrial facility, off-site roads (or utilities) required to access the facility would be part of the overall project. In that case, the NWP with the lowest acreage limit would define the total impacts to WOTUS that could occur and still qualify for an NWP. If the road/utility will serve multiple end users, the impacts of the facility may be able to be separated, allowing for use of a series of NWPs.

In addition, all projects must be reviewed independently and are subject to regional and general conditions including, but not limited to, those relating to endangered species, cultural resources, and local District Engineer requirements.

For ALL4 clients with existing NWPs, please remember that your project must be under contract or construction by March 14, 2026, to qualify for a one-year extension. Existing NWPs should be reauthorized to ensure coverage after March 14, 2027, if project impacts to WOTUS will not be complete before that date. We suggest documenting contracts and initiating reauthorizations by February 15 to ensure your NWP does not expire.

Please contact Wade Caffrey at wcaffrey@all4inc.com or Ron Harding at rharding@all4inc.com so that we can assist you with your USACE regulatory permitting, delineation, restoration, mitigation, site planning, and/or due diligence needs. ALL4 staff are also available to assist you with endangered species permitting and cultural services.