The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) issues nationwide permits (NWPs) to authorize certain activities that require Department of the Army permits under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and/or Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. The NWPs authorize activities that have minimal individual and cumulative adverse effects on the aquatic environment. The NWPs authorize a variety of activities, such as aids to navigation, utility lines, bank stabilization activities, road crossings, stream and wetland restoration activities, residential developments, mining activities, commercial shellfish aquaculture activities, and agricultural activities.
Currently, the Nationwide Permits associated with this program are being re-evaluated. There was a public notice for the reissuance of the 52 existing NWPs and the issuance of five new NWPs on September 15, 2020. Since then, 16 of those NWPs have been approved. These 16 NWPs are shown in the "March 2021 Nationwide Permits" section below and they become effective on March 15, 2021. On February 10, 2021, the revised state of Louisiana Regional Conditions were approved for use with these 16 NWPs. At this time, the remaining existing NWPs are still under review; however, these NWPs are still approved under the March 2017 requirements including the 2017 general conditions and 2017 Louisiana Regional Conditions. These NWPS and their conditions are listed under the the "March 2017 Nationwide Permits" section below.