ADMINISTRATIVE CORRECTION TO THE
NORFOLK DISTRICT’S FINAL REGIONAL CONDITIONS
FOR THE 2026 NATIONWIDE PERMITS:
REGIONAL CONDITION 4 FEDERALLY LISTED THREATENED OR ENDANGERED SPECIES AND DESIGNATED CRITICIAL HABITAT FOR NON-FEDERAL PERMITTEES
On January 8, 2026, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) published a final action in the Federal Register (91 FR 768) announcing the reissuance of 56 existing nationwide permits (NWPs) and one new NWP, as well as the reissuance of NWP general conditions and definitions with some modifications. The 2026 NWPs went into effect on March 15, 2026, and will expire on March 15, 2031:
- NWP 1. Aids to Navigation
- NWP 2. Structures in Artificial Canals
- NWP 3. Maintenance
- NWP 4. Fish and Wildlife Harvesting, Enhancement, and Attraction Devices and Activities
- NWP 5. Scientific Measurement Devices
- NWP 6. Survey Activities
- NWP 7. Outfall Structures and Associated Intake Structures
- NWP 8. Oil and Gas Structures on the Outer Continental Shelf
- NWP 9. Structures in Fleeting and Anchorage Areas
- NWP 10. Mooring Buoys
- NWP 11. Temporary Recreational Structures
- NWP 12. Oil or Natural Gas Pipeline Activities
- NWP 13. Bank Stabilization
- NWP 14. Linear Transportation Projects
- NWP 15. U.S. Coast Guard Approved Bridges
- NWP 16. Return Water From Upland Contained Disposal Areas
- NWP 17. Hydropower Projects
- NWP 18. Minor Discharges
- NWP 19. Minor Dredging
- NWP 20. Response Operations for Oil or Hazardous Substances
- NWP 21. Surface Coal Mining Activities
- NWP 22. Removal of Vessels
- NWP 23. Approved Categorical Exclusions
- NWP 24. Indian Tribe or State Administered Section 404 Programs
- NWP 25. Structural Discharges
- NWP 27. Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration, Enhancement, and Establishment Activities
- NWP 28. Modifications of Existing Marinas
- NWP 29. Residential Developments
- NWP 30. Moist Soil Management for Wildlife
- NWP 31. Maintenance of Existing Flood Control Facilities
- NWP 32. Completed Enforcement Actions
- NWP 33. Temporary Construction, Access, and Dewatering
- NWP 34. Cranberry Production Activities
- NWP 35. Maintenance Dredging of Existing Basins
- NWP 36. Boat Ramps
- NWP 37. Emergency Watershed Protection and Rehabilitation
- NWP 38. Cleanup of Hazardous and Toxic Waste
- NWP 39. Commercial and Institutional Developments
- NWP 40. Agricultural Activities
- NWP 41. Reshaping Existing Drainage and Irrigation Ditches
- NWP 42. Recreational Facilities
- NWP 43. Stormwater Management Facilities
- NWP 44. Mining Activities
- NWP 45. Repair of Uplands Damaged by Discrete Events
- NWP 46. Discharges in Ditches
- NWP 48. Commercial Shellfish Mariculture Activities
- NWP 49. Coal Remining Activities
- NWP 50. Underground Coal Mining Activities
- NWP 51. Land-Based Renewable Energy Generation Facilities
- NWP 52. Water-Based Renewable Energy Generation Pilot Projects
- NWP 53. Removal of Low-Head Dams
- NWP 54. Living Shorelines
- NWP 55. Seaweed Mariculture Activities
- NWP 57. Electric Utility Line and Telecommunications Activities
- NWP 58. Utility Line Activities for Water and Other Substances
- NWP 59. Water Reclamation and Reuse Facilities
- NWP 60. Activities to Improve Passage of Fish and Other Aquatic Organisms
Division Engineers are authorized to add, delete, or modify any term or condition of the NWP program to include regional conditions specific to the needs and/or requirements of a particular region or state. Regional conditions are important mechanisms to ensure that the adverse environmental effects of activities authorized by the NWPs are no more than minimal, both individually and cumulatively.
In a public notice dated March 12, 2026, the Norfolk District announced the publication of the Regional Conditions for the 2026 Nationwide Permits. Upon review, Regional Condition 4: Federally Listed Threatened or Endangered Species and Designated Critical Habitat for Non-Federal Permittees, retained text from the 2021 Nationwide Permits, that was intended to be removed. The text below is being removed from the regional condition:
“If your Official Species List from IPaC identifies any federally listed threatened or endangered species, you are required to submit a PCN for the proposed activity.”
The rationale for removal of the above referenced sentence within the condition is that following revision of the condition from the 2021 Nationwide Permits to the 2026 Nationwide Permits, this text was inadvertently leftover and is unnecessary as the condition language has been updated.
Therefore, the Norfolk District has revised the Norfolk District Regional Conditions for the 2026 Nationwide Permits, which include the removal of the restricting sentence and is applicable to all 57 2026 Nationwide Permits.
The Norfolk District’s Final Regional Conditions (Revised April 2026) and updated Enclosures for the 57 NWPs are available on our webpage at: https://www.nao.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory-Branch/Regulatory-Permits/.
If you have any questions, please contact Michael Bannon at (804) 510-3505 or michael.r.bannon@usace.army.mil or use the Regulatory Contact page at https://www.nao.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory-Branch/Regulatory-Contacts/.
PRIVACY & CONFIDENTIALITY: Comments and information, including the identity of the submitter, submitted in response to this Public Notice may be disclosed, reproduced, and distributed at the discretion of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Information that is submitted in connection with this Public Notice cannot be maintained as confidential by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Submissions should not include any information that the submitter seeks to preserve as confidential.