The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Northwestern Division has approved the use of special emergency processing procedures by the Omaha District in accordance with 33 CFR § 325.2(e)(4) for activities covered by the National Energy Emergency declared in Executive Order (EO) 14156. That EO was issued on January 20, 2025, under the President’s legal authorities, including the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. §§ 1601 et seq.) and 3 USC § 301. For the reasons stated in Section 1 of EO 14156, the President has found that insufficient energy production, transportation, refining, and generation constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to our Nation’s economy, national security, and foreign policy and declared a national emergency on the basis of those findings. The President has directed agencies to use, to the fullest extent possible and consistent with applicable law, emergency USACE permitting provisions to facilitate the Nation’s energy supply.

Link to Public Notice:  Special Public Notice for Special Emergency Processing Procedures under E.O. 14156 in Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming for Section 10 Rivers and Harbors Act and Section 404 Clean Water Action Permits.

The public now has the opportunity to comment on the proposed changes to wetland indicator status ratings for one plant species in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain and Eastern Mountains, and Piedmont regions and one species in the Midwest and Northcentral and Northeast regions. Additionally, changes to eight species in the Alaska Region are proposed and available for public comment. The Federal Register Notice (FRN) for the 2024 NWPL update can be found here: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/28/2025-01798/national-wetland-plant-list .  The public comment period ends on 31 March 2025.

USACE encourages public input in the form of data, comments, literature references, or field experiences, to help clarify the status of the species reviewed for this update. Comments on these proposed changes should be emailed to nwpl@usace.army.mil. Users are encouraged to submit literature citations, herbaria records, experiential references, monitoring data, photographic documentation, and other relevant information. Specific knowledge of, or studies related to, individual species are particularly helpful. When providing input or information on the draft changes to the 2024 NWPL update, commenters should use their regional botanical and ecological expertise, field observations, reviews of the most recent indicator status information, appropriate botanical literature, floras, herbarium specimens with notation of habitat and associated species, habit data, relevant studies, and historic list information. Providing ratings without supporting documentation or information is not recommended. All submitted comments and information will be compiled and sent to the National Panel for their review and consideration.

USACE administers the NWPL for the United States and its territories.  The NWPL provides plant species indicator status ratings, which are used in determining whether the hydrophytic vegetation factor is met when conducting wetland delineations under the Clean Water Act and wetland determinations under the Wetland Conservation Provisions of the Food Security Act. Other applications of the NWPL include wetland restoration, establishment, and enhancement projects.  Additions or deletions to the NWPL represent new records, range extensions, nomenclatural and taxonomic changes, and newly proposed species.  The latest review process began in 2024 and included review by Regional Panels and the National Panel. 

Additional information on the NWPL can be found at the NWPL website (https://wetland-plants.sec.usace.army.mil/), including a new video on how to use the newly redesigned site, which can be found here: https://wetland-plants.sec.usace.army.mil/reference/.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) jointly announce the availability of the Final National Ordinary High Water Mark Field Delineation Manual for Rivers and Streams (Final National OHWM Manual). The Final National OHWM Manual serves as a non-mandatory technical resource which can be used in appropriate situations to assist with identifying and delineating the ordinary high water mark (OHWM) of rivers and streams located throughout the Nation. A joint public notice announcing the release of the Final Manual is available here: usace.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getfile/collection/p16021coll9/id/3045.

The Final National OHWM Manual, environmental assessment, response to comments, and other information regarding the OHWM can be found at the following link: https://www.erdc.usace.army.mil/ohwm.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announces the availability of new and updated Engineer (ENG) forms for use in our delivery of the USACE Regulatory Program. These new and updated forms are designed to efficiently and effectively collect information needed to implement our Regulatory Program. 

Practitioners and the public can access USACE’s Regulatory ENG forms at https://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Regulatory-Program-and-Permits/Regulatory-Program-Forms/.

USACE ENG forms can also be accessed from the USACE Publications Engineer Forms website at https://www.publications.usace.army.mil/usace-publications/engineer-forms/.

Please note that most regulatory requests, such as requests for permit actions and requests for jurisdictional determinations, can now be completed online through USACE’s Regulatory Request System (RRS). We encourage users to explore and utilize the new Regulatory Request System to take advantage of its benefits and features. Visit rrs.usace.army.mil today!

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