The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, encouraged project planners to carefully plan projects in Minnesota and Wisconsin requiring Corps permits.
The Corps of Engineers also reminds planners that the majority of proposed projects and activities in and around waters and wetlands require Corps authorization.
The Corps urges planners to submit permit applications as soon as possible in the planning process. The Corps suggests submitting applications for work in waters or wetlands associated with projects, such as roads, utilities or development, at least one year prior to planned construction.
Currently, timeframes for general permit decisions, those with impacts generally less than 0.5 acres are averaging 85 days. Timeframes for individual permit decisions, which include letters of permission, range from 4 months to more than a year, but are currently averaging around 8 months.
The district’s regulators are working through issues related to sequestration, increased construction activities in the two states and other constraints that have significantly impacted the timeframes within which the Corps can process permit applications. These limitations are also affecting timeframes for other actions, such as jurisdictional determinations and wetland delineation report reviews.
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Press Release, May 12, 2014