between 1 and 10 acres of such waters, the applicant is required to notify the Corps of 

 Engineers prior to proceeding with any discharge. In some States, general permits 

 authorize activities covered by a State wetlands regulatory program. 



Permit Review Period -- Approximately 92% of all permit evaluations (that is, both 

 individual and general permits) are completed in less than 60 days after a completed 

 permit application has been received by the Corps. 



Individual permit applications that involve complex projects or sensitive environmental 

 issues usually require more than 60 days to reach a decision. After a completed 

 individual permit application has been received by the Corps: 



- over 50% are processed in less than 60 days; 



- approximately 25% percent are processed in 61 to 120 days; 



- approximately 20% require 121 days to a year to process; and 



- less than 5% require more than one year to process. 



In addition, the Administration announced on August 9, 1991, a comprehensive plan for 

 improving the protection of the Nation's wetlands, including a provision that permits 

 will be deemed approved within six months unless the deadline is extended for good 

 cause (see attached Fact Sheet on "Protecting America's Wetlands"). EPA and the 

 Corps will provide further guidance as we move in this direction. 



Statistics on Section 404(q) and Section 404(c) actions 



Section 404(c^ Actions ~ Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act authorizes the 

 Administrator of EPA to prohibit or restrict discharges of dredged or fill material into 

 waters of the United States when such discharges would have unacceptable adverse 

 effects on municipal water supplies, shellfish beds and fishery areas, wildlife or 

 recreational areas. To date, EPA has completed only eleven Section 404(c) actions, out 

 of an estimated 150,000 permit applications received since the Section 404(c) 

 regulations went into effect in late 1979. 



Section 404rq^ Actions -- Pursuant to Section 404(q), the Corps and EPA have 

 developed a process through a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to resolve any 

 differences over permit decisions within a clear timeframe to minimize delays in the 

 permit process. Since 1980 when the Section 404(q) MOA was first agreed to, EPA 

 has requested Headquarters level review of a permit decision only 28 times out of an 

 estimated 150,000 permit applications received throughout this period. 



