USACE Panel Overview Part 2 - Even More Updates and Tips to Sail Through the Permit Process

Presenting even more tips on how to have your projects sail through the USACE 404, 106, and 408 permitting processes. This two-part blog series is based on a virtual panel discussion we hosted on July 21st with USACE representatives Jenae Churchill (404 regulatory program), Lance Lundquist (106 regulatory program), and Hannah Hadley (408 civil works program). If you missed what’s new with the USACE’s 404 program from part one of this blog series, you can check it out here. Reach out to Kristen Currens (kcurrens@mackaysposito.com, 360-334-5176) if you have any questions.

General Tips

• For all 404 permits and authorizations, the USACE recommends early outreach to Ecology or EPA (depending on which agency has jurisdiction over your location) regarding the 401 authorization. The USACE also recommends early outreach to the Tribes for cultural resource coordination; consider an invitation to the Tribes to be onsite during the cultural survey.
• Be sure to give your USACE project managers an understanding of funding timing and species timing restrictions (like in-water work and species avoidance windows) for your projects. This allows them to help prioritize their workloads.
• 408 (civil works) district boundaries are different than 404 (regulatory) district boundaries, so check your project location to contact the correct district for each program.

404 Tips

• Follow the Seattle District’s project drawing checklist to prevent information requests from the regulatory project managers.
• The Seattle District now prefers that applications be submitted electronically. Be sure to follow the submittal instructions to prevent returned applications.
• Some temporary construction mats are considered a discharge of fill material and may require 404 authorization. Contact your county’s project manager to determine if your mats have the effect of fill material.

408 Tips

• Reach out to your 408 manager at 30% design with a pre-coordination request to see if your project triggers Section 408.
• Keep in mind that horizontal directional drilling triggers the need for 408 authorization.

106 Tips

• If the USACE is consulting on Section 106, this can substitute for completing the Washington State Executive Order 21-02 (formerly the Executive Order 05-05) process. However, if the USACE concludes “no potential to cause effects”, they have no consultation with DAHP, which does not close out the state’s cultural process. In this case, it’s typically best to go through the state-level review process in addition to the 106 process.

For more information, you can also check out this link for copies of the panelists’ presentations.