On Thursday, January 14, 2021, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) released a pre-publication version of a final rule that reissued and modified 12 existing Nationwide Permits (NWPs) and issued four new NWPs that will take effect on March 15, 2021. 86 FR 2774. This final rule split the NWP 12, used to authorize utility line activities such as pipelines, into three separate NWPs. This separation of the NWP 12 functions is significant because previous challenges to NWP 12 authorizations associated with crude oil pipelines and challenges to the NWP 12 itself also affected non-oil and gas authorizations under the NWP 12. Continue reading >