Permit approvals for marine construction projects can be a time consuming and oftentimes confusing process because of the multiple applications that are required to be submitted, with each entity having a different set of protocols for their applications and for correspondence. Because of this, contractors and homeowners might choose to skip obtaining a necessary permit and as a consequence, end up reaping a lot of negative consequences. From personal experience, I have witnessed that you should never skip obtaining all of your necessary permits for your projects, especially not your federal approval from the Army Corps. When you’re preparing for a marine construction project (i.e. commercial/residential docks, seawalls, riprap, boat lifts, ramps, & other associated structures) you should always keep in mind that anyone planning to work or discharge dredged or fill material within navigable waters of the United States must obtain a permit from the Corps of Engineers. Sometimes, your army corps approvals can be streamlined through the FDEP, but this is dependent on your project site and on if your project meets the Project Design Criteria’s (PDC’s) required to obtain SPGP approval. However, if your project is not a candidate for SPGP approval, then it is crucial to understand that you will need to obtain a separate approval from the cops. Then once you submit to the corps, your project will either be applicable for an individual or a general permit. Much like with the FDEP, an individual permit requires more in depth processing, and a general permit will be used to authorize minor activities without the need for individual processing.
Regardless of if your project will qualify for a general permit, or if it will have to undergo individual permit processing, the main point that is important to understand is that you should never skip obtaining approvals from any agency when you fall within their jurisdiction. This is because when you move forward with a project without obtaining required approvals you will automatically be in violation of the law and could be forced to pay hefty fines or in some cases even be forced to restore the area back to the way it was pre-construction. For the purposes of this article, if you skip obtaining a permit with the Army Corps then you’ll be in violation of federal law.
“Any person, firm, or agency planning to work, or discharge dredged or fill material within navigable waters of the United States must first obtain a permit from the Corps of Engineers.”
The United States Army Corps of Engineers directly states that “Any person, firm, or agency (including Federal, state, and local government agencies) planning to work in navigable waters of the United States, or discharge (dump, place, deposit) dredged or fill material in waters of the United States, including wetlands, must first obtain a permit from the Corps of Engineers.”
For marine construction projects multiple applications are required to be submitted, with these applications typically consisting of local, state, and federal approvals. Sometimes there are delegation agreements between either local or state governments and the Corps that allow them to issue approval on behalf of the USACOE but if your project is not applicable for this it is important to remember that you’ll still have to go through the process of obtaining a permit through the Army Corps themselves and you will be responsible for submitting an individual application directly to the Corps. Even if you’ve already obtained your local and state approvals, you are still responsible for obtaining a separate approval from the Army Corps if the scope of work for your project requires this.
Designing your Project to Eliminate United States Army Corps of Engineers Approval
If you would prefer to eliminate the need for army corps approval for your project then there are some ways that you can design your project to eliminate the need for a Corps permit. For example, if your project is in an area of tidal waters, the best way to avoid the need for a permit is to select a site that is above the high tide line and avoids wetlands or other water-bodies. If your project is within fresh water, then you can avoid the need for a permit with the corps by staying above the ordinary high water line and avoiding wetlands adjacent to the stream or lake.
Why should I even apply if my application will probably be denied?
The likelihood of your application submitted to the Army Corps being denied is 1% (likely even less). The Army Corps directly states that nationwide less than one percent of all requests for permits are denied and those who have been denied usually have refused to change the design, timing, or location of the proposed activity. With that being said, if for some reason your project design is one that will be denied for approval then the project manager that is handling the approval process for the project will assist you in navigating your project design to one that is applicable for approval. It is important to comply with any regulations and requirements given by your project manager in order to ensure that the design of your project won’t negatively impact the surrounding ecosystems and environment. Typically the USACOE takes 3-4 months for permit processing therefore make sure to get those applications in as soon as possible so that you can get your approvals and projects started as soon as possible.
Obtaining Army Corps Approval for Your Projects
Our process here starts with seeing if your project is applicable for State Programmatic General Permit (SPGP) approval which streamlines your Corps approval through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). If your project is further than 300 ft from any federal channels then we go ahead and attempt to obtain SPGP approval for your project, providing everything that your FDEP project manager will need to process this approval if your project is applicable. In order to make sure we are streamlining the process and are as efficient as possible, we always also go ahead and sent an individual application to the Army Corps for processing in case your project ends up getting denied for SPGP approval that way we can make sure to cover all bases and have your application assigned to a project manager since the Army Corps does tend to take the longest to process approvals. When/if we do end up obtaining SPGP approval for your project, we will also always make sure to let the USACOE proejct manager assigned to your project know that we have obtained this approval so that they can delete the application and stop further processing.