Last week the United States Army Corps of Engineers reissued 48 of the 49 existing nationwide permits that authorize certain activities requiring Clean Water Act 404 permits. The Federal Register notice, published February 21, 2012, can be found here. The prior version of NWP 39, permitting certain Commercial and Institutional Development activities, excluded coverage for the constuction of oil and gas wells and attendant features. The reissued NWP 39 was amended so that it now covers oil and gas well construction. The Federal Register clarifies at 77 FR 10223 that USACE district engineers may add conditions to NWP authorizations "to require the removal of these pads and restoration of the site once oil or gas extraction operations have ceased and the wells will no longer be used."
