How the process works: Administrative Appeals of Corps of Engineers Regulatory Program Decisions
The Corps of Engineers has an administrative appeal process that enables an affected party to appeal certain Corps decisions with which they disagree while potentially avoiding the cost/delay of court litigation. Decisions which can be appealed include denied individual permits, proffered individual permits, and approved jurisdictional determinations. These appealable decisions are most commonly made by Corps district offices, and requests for appeal of such decisions are submitted to the next higher authority, most commonly the Corps division offices. It is the policy of the Corps of Engineers to promote and maintain an administrative appeal process that is independent, objective, fair, prompt, and efficient.
Requests for appeal must be received by the division office within 60 days of the date of the appealable decision. Where an appeal is accepted, a site visit and/or an appeal conference or meeting may be conducted. The Division Engineer will make a determination on the merits of the appeal based on a review of the district’s administrative record, and either confirm the district’s initial decision or remand the decision to the district for reconsideration. The Division Engineer will make a final decision on the merits of the appeal at the earliest practicable time.
For more information, please visit the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Program and Permits page.