• Final package of 50 nationwide permits to be published early 2017

• States Urge OMB to expedite review of draft final permits

Oct. 21 (BNA) — A package of 50 nationwide permits that authorize dredge-and-fill activities in wetlands and streams will be issued in final form at the start of 2017, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers told Bloomberg BNA Oct. 21.

“We are hoping to get the final nationwide permits published in the Federal Register early next calendar year,” Doug Garman, a corps spokesman, said in an e-mail.

Garman’s response came a day after state water, wetlands and environmental officials wrote to the White House Office of Management and Budget to find out what they could do to expedite an interagency review of the final nationwide permits currently under review.

An interagency review at the OMB is usually the final step before a policy, rule or permit is released to the public. State officials fear the OMB won’t finish its review on time before the existing set of nationwide permits expire.

Package Proposed in June

The corps June 1 proposed a package of 50 nationwide permits (NWPs) that would authorize dredge-and-fill activities in federally protected waters and wetlands with minimal adverse impacts for a variety of projects, including mining, home building, agriculture, manufacturing and road construction. The agency took public comment on the nationwide permits until Aug. 1.

Absent a final package, state officials reiterated that the corps would have to issue individual dredge-and-fill permits for projects. That in turn would place an expanded burden on state and corps staff, “result in substantially increased cost and construction delays, and possible adverse local economic and public works project impacts by delaying an entire building season—which typically begins in March across the U.S.,” the officials wrote.

“The current NWPs expire on March 18, 2017, less than 6 months from now and they cannot be administratively extended,” the state officials warned. They also said states are required to certify that the nationwide permits in final form won’t violate state water quality standards under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act or that they comply with coastal zone plans required under the Coastal Zone and Management Act.

The letter was signed by the Environmental Council of the States, the Association of Clean Water Administrators and the Association of State Wetland Managers.