Why the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers?
The Corps of Engineers was first assigned responsibility for improving rivers and harbors by Congress in 1824. Today, the Corps is responsible for construction, as well as the maintenance and operation of Federal river and harbor projects. Within its permit program, the Corps of Engineers has regulatory authority for work on structures in navigable waterways under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Acts of 1899 and regulatory authority over the discharge of dredged or fill material into “waters of the United States”, a term which includes wetlands and other valuable aquatic areas. The Corps more recent activities in this regard have been strenghtened by provisions of the Clean Water Act (Section 404) as part of the Corps nationwide program. The Detroit District reviews approximately 500-600 private dredging and dredged material disposal permit applications each year in Michigan and Indiana, and maintains more than 35 congressionally authorized Federal navigation projects annually ser
