The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has noticed an increase in the number of incidents of permit noncompliance; and on April 13, 2006, issued a Public Notice of this fact and a warning that offenders should expect increased mitigation requirements.

One reason for the increase in incidents is a combination of increased resources being devoted to compliance in coordination with other local and state agencies. Another appears to be a lack of awareness that the lowering of general permit thresholds is subjecting many more projects to the lengthy permit process for Individual Permits and that virtually every impact to streams and wetlands needs some type of permit and/or notification – with the result being permittees who are not prepared for the regulatory delays.

For more information, contact Mark Headly, Dan Lucey, or Bill Nell.