Q1: How do I know if I need a permit to do work that qualifies under EO 14156 (Declaring a National Energy Emergency)?

A1: Department of Army (DA) authorization through a USACE permit is required to conduct regulated activities within areas subject to Corps jurisdiction. This is true even in emergency situations. The Code of Federal Regulations at 33 CFR 325.2(e)(4) provides for the implementation of processing procedures for the review, coordination, and decision making associated with USACE permit applications during an emergency. If you have questions about whether your proposed work requires USACE authorization, please contact the USACE district regulatory office for your area. You can find contact information for your local district office at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/.
If you have questions about whether your proposed work qualifies under EO 14156 as an activity to facilitate the Nation’s energy supply, we suggest referring to the “Definitions” section in Section 8 of EO 14156 setting forth the definition of “energy supply” and related terms, and consulting with the USACE district regulatory office for your area.

Q2: How does the implementation of the EO change the way USACE would normally evaluate a proposed permit request?

A2: USACE districts will be using existing permitting vehicles to evaluate the proposed energy supply activities under the EO. Under emergency procedures, the coordination efforts with federal, state, and Tribal partners for comment are tailored to the particular energy supply emergency situation that the activity under the permit application is planned to address. This can be informed by information from permit applicants such as timelines setting forth the steps, approvals, and logistics they must complete before they can initiate the work necessary to address their energy supply situation, and any interim steps in that process that would be facilitated by having a Corps authorization for work.

Q3: What indicators will be used to determine if a proposed energy supply activity is to be processed under emergency procedures?

A3: District regulatory professionals will determine if an application complies with the criteria in EO 14156 and our emergency processing procedures.

Q4: Will emergency procedures apply to applications currently under review or only to future permit applications for energy supply activities?

A4: These procedures will apply to any pending applications and future applications that meet the criteria of the emergency event as described in EO 14156.

Q5: Does USACE know how many permit applications could be processed using the emergency procedures?

A5: No, we cannot speculate on the number of applications that may be processed using emergency procedures as that will be dependent on the number of requests submitted by the public that meet the criteria of the emergency event as described in EO 14156.

Q6: Why is USACE standing up these emergency procedures for energy-related activities? I thought the emergency procedures were just used for hurricanes and floods and other natural disasters.

A6. Executive Order (EO) 14156, signed by President Trump on January 20, 2025, declared a National Energy Emergency based upon the finding that the United States’ insufficient energy production, transportation, refining, and generation constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to our Nation’s economy, national security, and foreign policy. The EO further directed USACE and all other federal agencies to use “emergency Army Corps permitting provisions” to fully facilitate the nation’s energy supply, to the fullest extent possible and consistent with applicable law. USACE is developing these emergency procedures to comply with and implement the EO in a manner consistent with our regulations at 33 CFR 325.2(e)(4). USACE will implement these emergency procedures for permit applications that it determines meet the terms of EO 14156 and therefore represent an energy supply situation which would result in an unacceptable hazard to life, a significant loss of property, or an immediate, unforeseen, and significant economic hardship if corrective action requiring a permit is not undertaken within a time period less than the normal time needed to process the application.

Q7. Why doesn’t USACE just use the normal permit processing procedures to review and permit these energy-related activities? 

A7. In EO 14156, President Trump declared a National Energy Emergency and directed USACE and other agencies to identify, exercise, and use lawful emergency authorities available to facilitate the identification, leasing, siting, production, transportation, refining, and generation of domestic energy resources. Moreover, EO 14156 specifically directed USACE and other agencies to identify planned or potential actions to facilitate the nation's energy supply that may be subject to emergency treatment pursuant to the regulations and nationwide permits promulgated by USACE, or jointly by USACE and EPA, pursuant to section 404 of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1344, section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of March 3, 1899, 33 U.S.C. 403, and section 103 of the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, 33 U.S.C. 1413 (collectively, the "emergency Army Corps permitting provisions"). USACE implementing regulations for its regulatory program include a process to develop emergency procedures, found at 33 CFR 325.2(e)(4). This effort will facilitate the delivery to the Nation of energy infrastructure, critical minerals, and related energy activities to the fullest extent possible and consistent with applicable law.

Q8. Will these emergency procedures replace general permits and standard individual permits? 

A8. No. USACE will continue to use both general and standard permits to authorize the proposed activities that meet the EO criteria and are processed under the emergency procedures. Use of emergency procedures does not obviate legal requirements to comply with all applicable laws and regulations. Consequently, compliance with other laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, and others are still required. Coordination of these reviews will be subject to the emergency declared under EO 14156.

Q9. How will the public know when USACE begins using these emergency procedures? 

A9. USACE district and division offices will publish public notices on their websites when the emergency processing procedures for their respective regions have been developed and approved. The district offices will also publish notices announcing that emergency procedures will be applied to the processing of specific permit applications. Go to https://rrs.usace.army.mil/ to find information for your area.

Kansas City District Regulatory Branch Emergency Procedures

For questions on the FAQs, please contact Doug Garman, HQ Public Affairs at doug.m.garman@usace.army.mil, or Joe McMahan, HQ Regulatory at joseph.a.mcmahan@usace.army.mil.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), as part of an interagency effort with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, is announcing the availability of the draft changes to the 2024 NWPL and its web address to solicit public comments.  The public now has the opportunity to comment on the proposed changes to wetland indicator status ratings for one plant species in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain and Eastern Mountains, and Piedmont regions and one species in the Midwest and Northcentral and Northeast regions. Additionally, changes to eight species in the Alaska Region are proposed and available for public comment. The Federal Register Notice (FRN) for the 2024 NWPL update can be found here: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/28/2025-01798/national-wetland-plant-list .  The public comment period ends on 31 March 2025.

USACE encourages public input in the form of data, comments, literature references, or field experiences, to help clarify the status of the species reviewed for this update. Comments on these proposed changes should be emailed to nwpl@usace.army.mil. Users are encouraged to submit literature citations, herbaria records, experiential references, monitoring data, photographic documentation, and other relevant information. Specific knowledge of, or studies related to, individual species are particularly helpful. When providing input or information on the draft changes to the 2024 NWPL update, commenters should use their regional botanical and ecological expertise, field observations, reviews of the most recent indicator status information, appropriate botanical literature, floras, herbarium specimens with notation of habitat and associated species, habit data, relevant studies, and historic list information. Providing ratings without supporting documentation or information is not recommended. All submitted comments and information will be compiled and sent to the National Panel for their review and consideration.

USACE administers the NWPL for the United States and its territories.  The NWPL provides plant species indicator status ratings, which are used in determining whether the hydrophytic vegetation factor is met when conducting wetland delineations under the Clean Water Act and wetland determinations under the Wetland Conservation Provisions of the Food Security Act. Other applications of the NWPL include wetland restoration, establishment, and enhancement projects.  Additions or deletions to the NWPL represent new records, range extensions, nomenclatural and taxonomic changes, and newly proposed species.  The latest review process began in 2024 and included review by Regional Panels and the National Panel. 

Additional information on the NWPL can be found at the NWPL website (https://wetland-plants.sec.usace.army.mil/), including a new video on how to use the newly redesigned site, which can be found here: https://wetland-plants.sec.usace.army.mil/reference/.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) jointly announce the availability of the Final National Ordinary High Water Mark Field Delineation Manual for Rivers and Streams (Final National OHWM Manual). The Final National OHWM Manual serves as a non-mandatory technical resource which can be used in appropriate situations to assist with identifying and delineating the ordinary high water mark (OHWM) of rivers and streams located throughout the Nation. A joint public notice announcing the release of the Final Manual is available here: usace.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getfile/collection/p16021coll9/id/3045.

The Final National OHWM Manual, environmental assessment, response to comments, and other information regarding the OHWM can be found at the following link: https://www.erdc.usace.army.mil/ohwm.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is excited to announce the launch of the Public Notice module on the Regulatory Request System (RRS). Released in January 2025, this new feature allows users nationwide to search, review, and comment on projects being reviewed by the Regulatory Program, significantly enhancing transparency, accessibility, and efficiency. The Public Notice module provides access to Regulatory projects requiring a standard permit or when public notices are issued to develop Mitigation Banks, In-lieu Fee Programs or to issue/reissue a Regional or Programmatic Permit or Section 404 Letter of Permission.  It organizes notices by state and district, which can be viewed in a table format or on an interactive map. Users can easily search for notices by project name or address and submit comments directly through the platform, streamlining public engagement and reinforcing USACE's commitment to improving transparency and the permitting process.

The RRS is a web-based platform, currently in its beta version, designed to simplify the permitting process and enhance user experience. In addition to the new Public Notice Module, RRS enables users to submit permit applications, request jurisdictional determinations, and schedule pre-application meetings, all through a user-friendly interface.

We encourage you to explore the Regulatory Request System and its new features by visiting rrs.usace.army.mil. For additional information or to provide feedback, please contact us at rrs@usace.army.mil.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announces the availability of new and updated Engineer (ENG) forms for use in our delivery of the USACE Regulatory Program. These new and updated forms are designed to efficiently and effectively collect information needed to implement our Regulatory Program. 

Practitioners and the public can access USACE’s Regulatory ENG forms at https://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Regulatory-Program-and-Permits/Regulatory-Program-Forms/.

USACE ENG forms can also be accessed from the USACE Publications Engineer Forms website at https://www.publications.usace.army.mil/usace-publications/engineer-forms/.

Please note that most regulatory requests, such as requests for permit actions and requests for jurisdictional determinations, can now be completed online through USACE’s Regulatory Request System (RRS). We encourage users to explore and utilize the new Regulatory Request System to take advantage of its benefits and features. Visit rrs.usace.army.mil today!

USACE announces the launch of its new Regulatory Request System (RRS). RRS is designed to make the review of permit requests a transparent and efficient process for the public. RRS, currently in a beta version, provides general information on the Regulatory Program and allows the public to submit pre-application meeting requests and jurisdictional determination requests. 
Additional capability is scheduled in Spring 2024. This added capability will allow users the ability to electronically submit individual and general permit applications and other necessary information, saving time and reducing the need for paper-based submissions.
RRS will streamline the permit application process and underscores USACE commitment to modernizing our application process, meeting user expectations, and providing a transparent, straightforward process for the timely review of permit requests. 
Stay tuned for further updates on the full release of the RRS. Please click on the following link to access RRS: rrs.usace.army.mil
For additional information on or to provide feedback on RRS, please contact the rrs@usace.army.mil. rrs@usace.army.mil