The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is developing a national framework to coordinate data on about 1,200 dredging windows and speed project reviews, a US Army official confirmed last month.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is also working with USACE on a map of federally regulated waters, with a first version accurate to within 10 metres expected to reach lawmakers within 18 months, NOAA official Erik Noble said.
Lee Forsgren, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), outlined the framework, saying it would improve coordination and shared data rather than add physical dredging assets.
Forsgren said NOAA’s data had improved substantially over the past decade and that making information interoperable across agencies could speed decisions.
“The days of linear evaluations are over,” he said.
Forsgren cited dredging needed at several New York Harbor piers before July’s Tall Ships event marking the United States’ 250th anniversary. He said USACE would have had to shut down the event within seven to eight days, but USACE and NOAA secured the required permits in 30 hours, allowing it to proceed as scheduled.
Noble, NOAA’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, said the map would help municipalities and project proponents establish whether proposed works will affect regulated waters, a question that can require them to engage consultants.
A subsequent version accurate to within two metres would be delivered, “within another 19 months”, Noble said. He said the Water Subcabinet was developing the map, describing it as an interagency group co-chaired by the Secretary of the Interior and including the heads of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Commerce and the Department of Energy.
Dredging windows in New York/New Jersey Harbor and neighbouring waters have been used to reduce potential impacts on fish and shellfish, while narrowing the periods available for dredging work.
The definition of “waters of the United States,” which identifies waters covered by federal Clean Water Act programmes, remains under review.
EPA and the Department of the Army published a supplemental proposed rule on September 9 seeking comments on revisions to the definition. Comments are due Friday, October 9.
The applicable WOTUS regime currently varies by jurisdiction. Where the amended 2023 rule is enjoined, agencies implement the pre-2015 regime consistent with the Supreme Court’s Sackett decision; elsewhere, they implement the amended 2023 rule.