The identification and location of jurisdictional Waters of the United States including wetlands regulated by the Corps under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Sections 9 and 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act is determined through a process known as a Jurisdictional Determination (JD).There are two types of JD procedures used by the Baltimore District, preliminary and approved JDs.
A Preliminary Jurisdictional Determination is advisory in nature and may not be appealed. A landowner, permit applicant, or other “affected party” may elect to use a preliminary JD to voluntarily waive or set aside questions regarding CWA/RHA jurisdiction over a particular site, usually in the interest of allowing the landowner or other “affected party” to move ahead expeditiously to obtain a Corps permit authorization where the party determines that is in his or her best interest to do so. We encourage permit applicants to submit a completed, signed copy of the Preliminary JD Form and copies of the referenced supporting data with your permit application or JD request. The preliminary JD form is available by clicking here.
An Approved Jurisdictional Determination is an official Corps determination that jurisdictional waters of the United States are either present or absent on a particular site. The approved JD Form is available by clicking here. Approved JDs are valid for five years and can be appealed through the Corps’ administrative appeal process set out at 33 CFR Part 331.
The information on the Baltimore District Approved JD Information Checklist is recommended for all approved JD requests and will assist Corps staff in delineating waters of the U.S. and completing accurate JDs.