Compliance and Enforcement

Discharging dredged or fill material into waters of the United States, including wetlands, without authorization by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is a violation of federal law and can have serious repercussions.  Similarly, construction of structures or other obstructions, excavating or depositing materials in, over or under navigable waters, or any work that would affect the course, location, condition, or capacity of those waters, without a Corps permit is prohibited by federal law.  Likewise, failure to comply with the terms and conditions of a Corps permit is a violation of federal law.

Regulated activities that include discharging of dredged or fill material into waters of the U.S. are often associated with, but not limited to mechanized land clearing, constructing crossings over streams or wetlands, replacing or installing utility lines, stabilizing, relocating or manipulating stream channels and filling wetlands for development.    

Regulated activities associated with navigable waters often include, but are not limited to constructing piers, dredging channels, boring under navigable waters, discharging dredged material, construction of revetments, bulkheads, living shorelines, construction of aquaculture projects or constructing aerial crossings over navigable waters.

The Baltimore District works diligently to ensure that work in jurisdictional waters and wetlands is authorized with appropriate permits and that work complies with the conditions of those permits.  If a violation is suspected, steps are taken to inspect the suspected violation in a timely manner. These investigations should confirm whether a violation exists, and if so, will identify the extent of the violation and the responsible parties.

How to Report a Violation

The Corps appreciates and encourages the public, in addition to other local, state, and Federal agencies, to report possible violations to help us find and resolve these issues.  About 90 percent of all District actions involving the enforcement of the wetland/waterway permit laws are referred from the public.  If you provide your contact information so we may reach you for follow up information, you will remain anonymous. 

Please complete as much information as possible and include maps, photographs and any other pertinent information if available.  At a minimum, an accurate location of the violation is required in order to initiate an investigation. 

To report violations in the Baltimore District, fill out a Reporting Violations checklist and email it to NAB-Regulatory@usace.army.mil.

On this checklist, please provide ALL available information. We will use the information provided to initiate an investigation; however, for best results, we ask that you also furnish maps, photographs, and any other pertinent information to us at the following address:

Enforcement & Compliance Section
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District
2 Hopkins Plaza
Baltimore, Maryland 21201-2930

814-235-1762 or NAB-Regulatory@usace.army.mil