USACE announces permitting guidelines for Gulf oil spill clean-up

By Lyal PayneMay 6, 2010

USACE Jacksonville District Regulatory Permitting Offices
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District announced today that emergency permitting procedures will be initiated in response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The permitting procedures will apply to all Florida counties.

Nationwide Permit 20 will be used to authorize most activities involving containment and clean up of oil and hazardous substances that are subject to the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan and where the activities are accomplished in accordance with a Spill Control and Countermeasures Plan, more commonly called the National Contingency Plan, or NCP. Unified Incident Commands (UIC) have been established in Mobile, Ala., and St. Petersburg, Fla. These commands will determine if a project conforms to the plans referenced above. The UIC in Mobile may be contacted at (251) 445-8970 and the command in St. Petersburg at (727) 502-8729 or (727) 502-8700.

If the UIC determines that a project does not comply with the NCP and therefore cannot be authorized by Nationwide Permit 20, the Jacksonville District will determine if the project may be authorized by another nationwide permit or regional general permit. If the Jacksonville District determines that neither nationwide nor regional general permits are applicable, emergency evaluation and permitting procedures will be used.

To qualify, an emergency action must be necessary to prevent a hazard to life or a significant loss of property. An emergency can also be an immediate, unforeseen, significant economic hardship that requires a Department of the Army permit to take corrective actions but cannot wait for normal permit evaluation procedures. Under emergency evaluation procedures, coordination with federal and state agencies will occur within 24 to 48 hours to verify compliance with applicable requirements to minimize impacts to aquatic resources, threatened or endangered species, and address water quality and coastal zone consistency matters.

For projects that cannot be authorized by Nationwide Permit 20, information should be provided to the closest regulatory office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District. Other locations may be found at: http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Divisions/Regulatory/Images/PermittingMap_counties.jpg. Verbal inquiries may be directed to the following points of contact for each numbered region as identified below:

Region 1 - Pensacola Permitting Section, Clif Payne (850) 433-8732

Region 2 - Panama City Permitting Section, Kevin O'Kane, (850) 763-0171, ext. 22

Region 3 - Jacksonville Permitting Section, Dale Beter, (904) 232-3502

Region 4 - Cocoa Permitting Section, Irene Sadowski, (321) 504-3771, ext. 12

Region 5 - Tampa Permitting Section, Chuck Schnepel, (813) 769-7060, ext. 7071

Region 6 - Fort Myers Permitting Section, Tunis McElwain, (239) 334-1975, ext. 30

Region 7 - Palm Beach Gardens Permitting Section, Tori White, (561) 472-3517

Region 8 - Miami Permitting Section, Paul Kruger, (305) 526-7185

Related Links:

USACE News at Army.mil

USACE Jacksonville District

HQ US Army Corps of Engineers