Vol. 29, No. 10  ●  November 23, 2021

Corps Guidance Positions Permitting to Move Forward

Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. received confirmation from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that they have resumed issuing permits that until recently relied on the 2020 Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification. This means that the Corps can begin to finalize Individual Permits and authorizations for work under the sixteen 2021 Nationwide Permits that were halted when a U.S. District Court vacated the Certification in October 2021. 

Corps headquarters has indicated that “the order requires a temporary return to EPA’s 1971 Rule until EPA finalizes a new certification rule. Districts will work with certifying authorities to identify an appropriate path forward for pending Corps Regulatory actions with individual water quality certifications that were issued during the period the 2020 Rule was in effect.” This means that if the Corps is processing an Individual Permit or a 2021 Nationwide Permit requiring Individual 401 Certification that has already been provided by the state, the Corps will need to confirm with the state that it still stands. For any new 401 certifications, a pre-filing request is no longer needed.

We will review any guidance as it becomes available and will provide updates in future Field Notes as needed. To discuss the implications for your projects – current or upcoming – please contact your project manager, or

• Northern Virginia/headquarters: Christie Blevins, Lauren Conner, or Mark Headly

• Hampton Roads: Bob Kerr or Mark McElroy

• Central Virginia: Rebecca Napier

• Southwestern Virginia: Nathan Staley or Andy Kassoff

• Maryland: Mike Klebasko or Scott Petrey

Check out past issues in the Field Notes Archive.

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