Army Corps would offer a shared permit for habitat restoration

The Army Corps would issue a shared permit for eligible habitat restoration projects. Projects must improve habitat overall in damaged or former habitats, including construction directly tied to that improvement. Work required by federal, state, or local wetland permits would not qualify. Projects using long-lasting chemicals on federal land or in federally covered waters would be excluded unless those chemicals are otherwise approved for aquatic use. Projects would be excluded if their activities are forbidden on federal land by an act of Congress or presidential proclamation. The Army Corps would issue the permit within one year after the bill becomes law.

The permit would generally exclude permanent road-access and recreation-path work in federally covered waters. Temporary access features must be described in project paperwork, removed when work ends, and followed by restoring the ground to its pre-construction shape. Other infrastructure exceptions require work solely for habitat improvement and incidental to restoration. New infrastructure must be the minimum necessary for project goals, and the whole project must improve habitat overall.

Eligible projects without federal involvement would receive permit coverage if the Army Corps misses its review deadline. This path covers projects off federal land with no federal funding, technical help, cooperative agreement, or conservation easement. Any required endangered-species and historic-site consultations must finish before work starts. The 45-day deadline would start when the Army Corps finds the notice complete; work must wait for verification or that deadline.

The Army Corps would presume another federal agency has verified eligibility for projects with federal involvement. Federal involvement includes federal land, funding, technical help, cooperative agreements, and conservation easements. Sponsors would submit a summary report describing the project. Environmental review and wildlife protection requirements would still apply. Work could begin no earlier than 30 days after the summary report is submitted.

The shared permit would last 10 years, with continued coverage for activities verified in writing before it expires. Continued coverage includes approved work and required maintenance, monitoring, and reporting. After expiration, new activities could receive coverage only if the Army Corps renews or extends the permit. Continuing work must follow approved plans and permit conditions. The Army Corps could still suspend, change, or revoke approvals or require corrective work.