27 Oct 2020

IL401

Effective September 11, 2020, the “Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 Certification Rule” (85 Fed. Reg. 42,210 (July 13, 2020) was implemented nationwide. The Rule (codified at 40 C.F.R. Part 121) establishes procedures that promote consistent implementation of CWA Section 401 and regulatory certainty in the federal permitting process.The Corps Districts in Illinois have developed procedures for the public to submit Department of the Army (DA) Permit Applications and associated WQC requests electronically. This notice details those procedures.

19 Mar 2020

Electronic Submittals

Due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) precautions, effective the date of this Public Notice, the St. Louis District Regulatory Branch is requesting all incoming correspondence be submitted electronically. Please see the attached notice for more details and the link to download the Section 404 permit applications from our website. This notice will also be posted on our webpage soon. If you have any questions, please contact me at the number below or through this email. We apologize for any delays during this time and appreciate your patience. Thank you!Due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) precautions, effective the date of this Public Notice, the St. Louis District Regulatory Branch is requesting all incoming correspondence be submitted electronically. Please see the attached notice for more details and the link to download the Section 404 permit applications from our website. This notice will also be posted on our webpage soon. If you have any questions, please contact me at the number below or through this email. We apologize for any delays during this time and appreciate your patience. Thank you!

12 Sep 2019

CLEAN WATER ACT FINAL RULE REPEALING THE 2015 CLEAN WATER RULE

On September 12, 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of the Army (the agencies) signed a final rule to repeal the 2015 Clean Water Rule (2015 Rule) and re-codify the regulatory text defining "waters of the United States" (WOTUS) that existed prior to the 2015 Rule. This action will, when effective, provide regulatory certainty as to the definition of “waters of the United States” in light of ongoing litigation over the 2015 Rule. This final rule will be implemented in accordance with Supreme Court decisions, agency guidance, and longstanding practice.

10 May 2019

Special Public Notice - Finalization of the Missouri Bat Programmatic Informal Consultation Framework

The purpose of this public notice is to announce the Kansas City, Little Rock, St. Louis, Rock Island, and Memphis Districts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service have completed programmatic informal consultation for all activities requiring Department of the Army permits. This consultation, which covers activities in waters of the United States within the state of Missouri, complies with the provisions of Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Completion of this consultation eliminates the need for individual ESA consultation on most permit applications submitted to the Corps for activities located in habitat for bats protected under the ESA. The completion of this consultation will improve the permit evaluation process by reducing the time required for evaluation of many permit applications while assuring compliance with the requirements of the ESA.

14 Feb 2019

Special Public Notice

On February 14, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army (Army) published for public comment a proposed rule revising the definition of “waters of the United States,” which would establish the scope of federal regulatory authority under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The proposed rule is intended to satisfy the requirements of Executive Order (EO) 13778 that directed the EPA and the Army to review and rescind or replace the 2015 Clean Water Rule (80 FR 37053) and consider interpreting the scope of “waters of the United States” consistent with the Justice Scalia opinion (plurality standard) from Rapanos v. United States (2006). The EO instructed that any new proposed rule shall ensure that the Nation’s navigable waters are kept free from pollution, while at the same time promoting economic growth, minimizing regulatory uncertainty, and showing due regard for the roles of the Congress and the States under the Constitution.