An individual, or standard permit, is issued when projects have more than minimal individual or cumulative impacts, are evaluated using additional environmental criteria, and involve a more comprehensive public interest review.
A general permit is issued for structures, work or discharges that will result in only minimal adverse effects. There are three types of general permits – Nationwide Permits, Regional General Permits, and Programmatic General Permits. General permits are usually valid for five years and may be re-authorized by USACE.
Nationwide permits are issued by USACE on a national basis and are designed to streamline Department of the Army authorization of projects such as commercial developments, utility lines, or road improvements that produce minimal impact to the nation's aquatic environment.
A regional general permit is issued for a specific geographic area by an individual USACE District.
Programmatic general permits are based on an existing state, local, or other federal program and designed to avoid duplication of that program. A State Programmatic General Permit (SPGP) is a type of permit that is issued by USACE and designed to eliminate duplication of effort between USACE districts and state regulatory programs that provide similar protection to aquatic resources.
The Regulatory Section processes the following permits and letters of permission for regulatory actions within the commonwealth.