A nationwide permit can make a project's regulatory starting point clearer without making every site interchangeable. The Corps' January 6, 2017 living-shoreline permit sets ordinary dimensional limits and a defined waiver mechanism. Structures and fill generally may extend no more than 30 feet waterward from the specified reference line, and the activity may run no more than 500 feet along the bank. [2016-31355]

The reference is mean low water in tidal waters or the ordinary high-water mark in the Great Lakes. A district engineer may waive either dimensional criterion through a written determination that the activity will have no more than minimal adverse environmental effects. That is conditional discretion, not an automatic larger-project entitlement. The permit concerns coastal shores with small fetch, gentle slopes and low- to mid-energy waves. [2016-31355]

The June 1, 2016 proposal explains why national dimensions cannot settle the whole authorization question. It anticipated district consultation on regional conditions and supplemental environmental decision documents. The final text retains general, regional and case-specific conditions, plus relevant water-quality and coastal-consistency requirements. Both sources belong to one Corps proceeding; neither measures cost savings from using this route. [2016-31355][2016-12083]

Construction requires pre-construction notification. Beach nourishment and land reclamation are excluded, while maintenance notification depends on applicable general or regional conditions. The original program schedule began March 19, 2017. For economic analysis, the meaningful trade-off is a specified authorization route with retained site constraints—not a claim that permits become effortless, or that a living shoreline delivers a proven financial return. [2016-31355]

Source documents

  1. Issuance and Reissuance of Nationwide Permitshttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2017-01-06/html/2016-31355.htm
  2. Proposal To Reissue and Modify Nationwide Permitshttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-06-01/html/2016-12083.htm