The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Regulatory Program is pleased to announce the availability of new resources designed to enhance consistency of aquatic resource delineation reports (ARDRs) and facilitate more efficient and more timely USACE reviews.

These resources include:

• Recommended Minimum Standards for Aquatic Resource Delineation Reports (ARDR): This document provides recommended standards for documenting aquatic resource delineations. An accompanying Aquatic Resource Delineation Report Template is included to assist practitioners in standardizing report format for more efficient USACE verification.
   
• Guide for Recording Aquatic Resource Delineations Using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS):  This guide offers recommendations for using high-accuracy GNSS receivers and GIS to accurately map aquatic resource boundaries electronically. Consistent application of these guidelines will support accurate data collection, quantification of aquatic resource extent, and spatial assessment of potential project impacts.

These resources are intended to promote national consistency and accuracy in documenting aquatic resource delineations, which are critical for assessing project impacts, determining appropriate levels of review, and evaluating compensatory mitigation requirements.

While the use of these resources is encouraged to ensure complete and verifiable ARDRs, they are not mandatory. USACE believes these tools will be valuable in supporting accurate and consistent aquatic resource delineations.

The documents are available on the USACE Regulatory Program's Technical and Biological Resources page, in the Wetlands Delineation and Classification section: https://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Regulatory-Program-and-Permits/techbio/

The Department of the Army and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced we are seeking comments on an interim final rule that establishes new National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementing regulations at Title 33 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 333 for the USACE Regulatory Program and the USACE Section 408 Program. The interim final rule became effective on July 3, 2025 for Regulatory Program permit applications and Section 408 permission requests submitted to the USACE on or after July 3, 2025. The new USACE NEPA implementing procedures at 33 CFR 333 replace the Corps Regulatory Program’s previous NEPA implementing procedures at 33 CFR 325, appendix B.

A public notice soliciting comments on the interim final rule was published in the July 3, 2025, Federal Register at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/07/03/2025-12360/procedures-for-implementing-nepa-processing-of-department-of-the-army-permits. Department of the Army and USACE will accept written comments through August 4, 2025. Comments may be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking portal at www.regulations.gov at docket number COE-2025-0006.

Last year the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers introduced its new Regulatory Request System (RRS), an online application portal that allows the public to submit permit applications and other information when requesting permission to dredge, fill or conduct activities in jurisdictional wetlands and waters of the U.S.

RRS is accessible at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs.

RRS users can submit individual permit applications, general permit pre-construction notifications, jurisdictional determination requests, and other information needed during the permit evaluation process using easy-to-follow online submission forms. Applicants can also track the status of their requests using a user-friendly dashboard. 

RRS benefits the applicant by eliminating the burden associated with the preparation and mailing of paper applications. It also reduces some of the effort associated with processing applications and data entry making the permitting process more efficient. Click here to learn more about the benefits of RRS (RRS Testimonial Video).

For more information on the USACE Regulatory Program visit https://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Regulatory-Program-and-Permits/.

For further details or to provide feedback about the RRS, please contact USACE at rrs@usace.army.mil.

All electronic applications and requests must be sent to Montana.Reg@usace.army.mil. 

To expedite your request, please include the following information in the body of the email:

1. Project name
2. Applicant/Requestor/Client Contact Information (Name, Address, Phone, Email)
3. Latitude and Longitude (in decimal degrees) of the project area
4. Location description (Address or Cross Streets, City, County, State)
5. Type of Request (Jurisdictional Determination, Pre-application Meeting, Regional / Nationwide / Individual Permit, Letter of No Objection / No Permit Required Letter, etc.)
6. Is this request related to any previous Army Corps reviews?  If so, please provide the Army Corps file number for that review (i.e., NWO-2000-00000).

Attach contents of requests to email:

1. The preferred document file format is Adobe PDF (.pdf).  We will also accept Word documents in .docx format. The Aquatic Resource/Consolidated Upload Excel spreadsheet must be submitted in .xlsm spreadsheet format.
2. Digital documents must have sufficient resolution to depict project details.  In order to have the highest quality documents, please convert original digital documents to PDF.  All forms that require signature must be digitally signed or signed manually, scanned and then transmitted electronically.
3. If transmitting via email, include all information as email attachments, and avoid transmitting information in the body of the email.
4. All documents (aquatic resource delineations, permit applications, endangered species biological assessment, historic properties reports, etc.) must be submitted as separate files. Do not combine all documents into one Adobe PDF or Word document file.
5. Name files based on their content. Please do not use company project numbers or acronyms as the sole basis for the file name(s).
6. Reduce file sizes to the maximum extent possible.

To facilitate sending large file sizes (greater than 10MB):

1. Use .zip files as attachments. Combine multiple files into a .zip file to compress file size prior to adding as an email attachment.
2. Send multiple emails. Label each email with same subject line and indicate number of emails. For example:
   • Smith Subdivision Application (1 of 2)
   • Smith Subdivision Application (2 of 2)
3. For submittals greater than 10MB and less than 8GB, please use the DoD SAFE (Secure Access File Exchange) https://safe.apps.mil/ .  Please contact us at Montana.Reg@usace.army.mil for an access code.

For those who want to submit a paper copy, please send the application package to the address below and include a copy of the entire application package on a CD/DVD.  Please note that we are unable to accept flash drives.

US Army Corps of Engineers
Montana Regulatory Office
100 Neill Ave
Helena, MT 59601-3329