Questions or Comments?

Email: ceswt-ro@usace.army.mil

Submit Applications to:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
CESWT-RO
2488 E. 81st Street
Tulsa, OK  74137-4290

Phone: 918-669-7400

 

Regulatory News

31 January 2024 – USACE launches new Regulatory Request System 
HQ USACE Regulatory 

Published January 31, 2024 

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.

 

06 March 2023 – Updated Oklahoma Stream Mitigation Method Worksheets – As of February 15, 20213 December 30, 2022, the Tulsa District Regulatory Office.  See the updated worksheets at: https://www.swt.usace.army.mil/Portals/41/docs/missions/regulatory/Mitigation/OSMM%20Worksheets%2020230215.xlsx.

18 January 2023 - Final Revised Definition of "Waters of the United States" - On December 30, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of the Army (the agencies) announced the final "Revised Definition of 'Waters of the United States'" rule. On January 18, 2023, the rule was published in the Federal Register; the rule will be effective on March 20, 2023. The agencies developed this rule with consideration of the relevant provisions of the Clean Water Act and the statute as a whole, relevant Supreme Court case law, and the agencies’ technical expertise after more than 45 years of implementing the longstanding pre-2015 “waters of the United States” framework. This rule also considers the best available science and extensive public comment to establish a definition of “waters of the United States” that supports public health, environmental protection, agricultural activity, and economic growth. More information about the final rule is available at: https://www.epa.gov/wotus/revising-definition-waters-united-states.

Useful Links: https://www.swt.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Links/

 

Regulatory Program Overview

The mission of the Corps of Engineers Regulatory Program is to protect the nation's aquatic resources, while allowing reasonable development through fair, flexible, and balanced permit decisions. The Corps evaluates permit applications for essentially all construction activities that occur in the nation's waters, including wetlands. Corps permits are also necessary for any work, including construction and dredging, in the nation’s navigable waters.

The Corps balances the reasonably foreseeable benefits and detriments of proposed projects, and makes permit decisions that recognize the essential values of the nation's aquatic ecosystems to the general public, as well as the property rights of private citizens who want to use their land. During the permit process, the Corps considers the views of other federal, state and local agencies, interest groups, and the general public.

The results of this careful public interest review are fair and equitable decisions that allow reasonable use of private property, infrastructure development, and growth of the economy, while offsetting the authorized impacts to the waters of the U.S. Unavoidable adverse impacts to the aquatic environment are offset by mitigation requirements, which may include restoring, enhancing, creating, and preserving aquatic functions and values. The Corps strives to make its permit decisions in a timely manner.

Our Commitment to Public Service

Public service is a public trust. We, as Corps regulators, must earn this trust, and to keep this trust, we must conduct ourselves in a manner that reflects the following principles:

PROFESSIONAL - We will conduct ourselves in a professional manner in dealings with all our customers, including applicants, violators, agencies, interest groups and the general public.

FAIR AND REASONABLE - We will be open-minded, impartial, and consistent in our interactions with all our customers to ensure all actions and decisions are free from bias and are not arbitrary or capricious. Customers will be treated equally and with tolerance.

KNOWLEDGEABLE - We will remain knowledgeable of applicable laws, regulations, and scientific and technical advances which affect our program.

HONESTY - We will be truthful, straightforward, and candid in all dealings with our customers.

TIMELINESS - We will strive to provide our customers with timely regulatory responses regardless of whether those responses are favorable or adverse.

ACCOUNTABILITY - We will be decisive in all actions and accept responsibility for any of our decisions and resulting consequences. All decisions will be factual and properly documented.

RESPECT - We will treat our customers with dignity, courtesy, compassion, and sensitivity.


The Regulatory Customer Service Survey has moved  - https://regulatory.ops.usace.army.mil/customer-service-survey/  

"Value to the Nation"

 
"Regulatory Program Value to the Nation" is a brochure which describes how the Corps of Engineers applies the nation's clean water laws and regulations to ensure that environmental impacts on aquatic resources are avoided, minimized, or mitigated. The Corps of Engineers is dedicated to protecting the nation's aquatic resources while allowing reasonable and necessary development.

Authorities

Provisions written in three federal laws give responsibility to the Corps of Engineers to assess and control the impacts of human activities within specific water resource areas in the United States:

Congress' objective is to protect waterway navigation and the quality of surface water and ocean habitat. Two of these laws are applicable to the Tulsa District -- the Rivers and Harbors Act and the Clean Water Act. Additional clarification of these authorities is provided in the program's implementing regulations (33 CFR 320-332).