Rivers and Harbors Act Section 10: Permits, Fees, and Penalties

If your project will place a structure, dredge, or fill material in a navigable waterway of the United States, you need a Section 10 permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 before work begins.¹ The permit protects the physical condition of the waterway and keeps commercial shipping lanes open, and the requirement reaches far more projects than most property owners expect, including floating docks, boat ramps, and shoreline riprap.

Which Waters and Activities Are Covered

Federal regulations define “navigable waters of the United States” as waters subject to tidal influence, waters currently used for interstate or foreign commerce, waters previously used for that purpose, or waters physically capable of being used for it.² A river that has never carried a barge can still qualify if it could physically support commercial navigation, even with reasonable improvements. All tidal waters fall under Section 10 regardless of whether anyone uses them commercially.

The boundary of federal control runs to the mean high water line in tidal areas and the ordinary high water mark in non-tidal rivers and lakes.³ Anything waterward of those lines is federal territory for permit purposes.

The statute prohibits three broad categories of activity without authorization from the Secretary of the Army:¹

Creating any obstruction that reduces the navigable capacity of a waterway.
Building wharves, piers, bulkheads, jetties, breakwaters, mooring dolphins, or similar structures in navigable waters.
Dredging, excavating, or filling in a way that changes the course, depth, shape, or capacity of a navigable channel, harbor, canal, or lake.

The scope is deliberately broad. If your work sits in or affects navigable water, assume it triggers the permit requirement until you confirm otherwise.

If You’re Not Sure Your Water Qualifies

You can ask the Corps for a jurisdictional determination, which comes in two forms. An approved jurisdictional determination is a binding official ruling on whether specific waters on your property are subject to federal jurisdiction. It stays valid for five years and can be appealed.⁴

A preliminary jurisdictional determination skips the detailed analysis and treats all water features on your property as jurisdictional. It speeds permit processing because the Corps doesn’t have to resolve the question first, but it isn’t appealable and doesn’t tell you definitively whether your water actually falls under federal authority. You can request an approved determination at any time, even after receiving a preliminary one.⁴

The Three Permit Types

The Corps issues permits at three levels of scrutiny, and the level you need depends on how much environmental impact your project causes.

Nationwide Permits

Nationwide permits cover categories of activity the Corps has already found to cause only minimal harm. If your project fits within the terms and conditions of an applicable nationwide permit, the process is faster and simpler than an individual permit. The Corps reissues these permits every five years, and the current round was published in January 2026.⁵

Some nationwide permits let you proceed without contacting the Corps. Others require a pre-construction notification and written verification before you start. Notification is always required when the project might affect listed endangered species or their critical habitat, historic properties on or eligible for the National Register, components of the Wild and Scenic River System, or existing Corps civil works projects.⁵ Division engineers can add regional conditions that require notification in sensitive local areas.

If the district engineer reviews your notification and decides the project would cause more than minimal adverse effects, the nationwide permit won’t apply and you’ll need to modify the project or apply for an individual permit.⁶

Repairing or replacing a previously authorized structure is typically covered by Nationwide Permit 3, as long as you don’t change the structure’s use. Minor updates to materials or methods, including changes needed to meet current codes, are allowed. Maintenance dredging for navigation purposes does not qualify.⁵

Regional General Permits

Regional general permits work like nationwide permits but apply only within a specific Corps district or division, covering activities determined to cause minimal harm in that region. If your project doesn’t fit, it moves to individual permit review.⁷

Individual Permits

Projects that don’t fit under any general permit require a standard individual permit. This is the most thorough review, with a full public interest analysis, public notice, and comment period. Most complex waterfront developments, large-scale dredging, and major structural installations end up here.

How to Apply

Individual permit applications go on ENG Form 4345, available from your local Corps district office website.⁸ The form asks for a description of the work, the project’s purpose, and the names and addresses of adjoining property owners.

You must submit technical drawings showing the location and character of the work: typically a vicinity map, a plan view from overhead, and a cross-section showing the vertical profile. The drawings must mark the mean high water line or ordinary high water mark so the Corps can see where your project sits relative to federal jurisdiction.⁸ Inaccurate drawings are a common reason applications stall in early review.

Fees

The federal fee for a standard individual permit is $10 for noncommercial activities and $100 for commercial or industrial work. The district engineer decides which category applies. You don’t send payment with your application; the Corps requests the fee only after deciding to issue the permit. Government agencies, letters of permission, nationwide permit verifications, and permit transfers carry no fee.⁹

The federal fee is a small fraction of the real cost. Environmental assessments, engineering drawings, consultants, and state water quality certification can add up to thousands of dollars. Budget for those separately.

How the Corps Decides

Once your application is complete, the district engineer issues a public notice describing the project and inviting comments from the public, neighboring landowners, and other agencies. The comment period runs 15 to 30 days, and the district engineer can extend it by up to another 30 days for complex or controversial proposals.¹⁰

After the comment period closes, the Corps conducts a public interest review. The district engineer weighs navigation, environmental effects, wetlands, fish and wildlife, historic properties, flood hazards, recreation, water quality, economics, aesthetics, energy needs, and general public welfare.¹¹ The question isn’t just whether the project harms navigation. It’s whether the project, on balance, serves the public interest when all those factors are weighed together. The district engineer then issues a written decision that grants the permit (sometimes with conditions), grants it with modifications, or denies it.

Timeline

The Corps targets 120 days from receipt of a complete application to a decision, but actual timelines usually run six to twelve months and sometimes longer. Incomplete applications, project redesigns, endangered species consultations, cultural resource surveys, water quality certification delays, tribal trust obligations, and public opposition can all extend review.¹² The clock doesn’t start until the Corps considers your package complete, so preparing thorough documentation up front saves time later.

Appealing a Denial or Conditions You Don’t Accept

You have 60 days from the notification date to file a Request for Appeal with the division engineer. For individual permits, you first write to the district engineer explaining your objections. The district engineer may modify the permit to address some of them. If you still disagree with the revised permit, you can decline it and appeal to the division engineer. You cannot begin any in-water work while an appeal is pending.¹³

Other Approvals You’ll Need in Parallel

A Section 10 permit alone rarely gets you to construction. Several companion authorizations run alongside it, and any one can delay or block the project.

Section 404 of the Clean Water Act

Section 10 governs structures and work in navigable waters. Section 404 governs the discharge of dredged or fill material into “waters of the United States,” a broader category that includes wetlands and smaller streams beyond Section 10’s reach. Any water covered by Section 10 is also covered by Section 404. Most projects that involve filling, dredging, or placing material in navigable waters trigger both simultaneously, and the Corps processes them together on one application. The standards differ, though: Section 404 applies the EPA’s environmental guidelines, which impose stricter requirements around wetlands and aquatic habitat. A project that passes Section 10 review can still fail under Section 404.

Section 401 Water Quality Certification

The Corps cannot issue a Section 10 permit for any activity that may result in a discharge into U.S. waters until the state (or authorized tribe) issues a water quality certification or waives its right to do so.¹⁴ The certifying authority has up to one year to act; failure to act within that window waives certification. State fees range from a few hundred dollars to $10,000 or more depending on jurisdiction and project complexity.

Coastal Zone Management Act Consistency

If your project falls within a state’s coastal zone, you may need to certify that the work is consistent with the state’s federally approved coastal management program. The state’s lead coastal agency performs this review under NOAA’s federal consistency regulations.¹⁵ Whether this applies depends on whether the state has listed the particular federal permit on its consistency review list.

Penalties If You Skip the Permit

Working in navigable waters without authorization is a federal misdemeanor. Conviction carries a fine between $500 and $2,500, up to one year in jail, or both.¹⁶ The criminal fine is often the least painful part. A federal court can order removal of any unauthorized structure, with the violator paying for demolition.¹

When the Corps discovers unauthorized work, the district engineer evaluates whether immediate corrective action is needed to protect life, property, or important public resources. If so, the Corps issues an order specifying corrective measures and a completion deadline.¹⁷

After-the-Fact Permits

If work is already done, the Corps may accept an after-the-fact permit application, but not always. The district engineer won’t process one if the violator has already restored the site, if federal or state enforcement litigation is underway, if a required state certification has been denied, or if legal action is considered more appropriate than permitting.¹⁸

An after-the-fact application goes through the same public interest review as any standard permit. If the Corps denies it, the denial notice spells out required corrective actions and a deadline. Refusing to comply opens the door to federal enforcement.

Keeping the Permit Valid

Individual permits specify a deadline for completing the authorized work, set by the district engineer based on the scope of the project. The permit may also require that work begin within one year of issuance. If you can’t finish on time, request an extension before the authorization expires; letting it lapse means starting over. Extensions are generally granted unless the district engineer determines one would be contrary to the public interest.¹⁹

If you sell property with an authorized structure on it, the permit’s terms and conditions transfer to the new owner automatically. The new owner should still sign and submit a permit transfer request to the Corps district office to validate the transfer and clarify who is responsible for ongoing compliance.²⁰ The construction window has a finite deadline, but the permit itself, with its conditions and limitations, doesn’t expire as long as the authorized structure remains in place.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 33 USC 403 – Obstruction of Navigable Waters Generally; Wharves; Piers, Etc.; Excavations and Filling In
2
eCFR. 33 CFR 329.4
3
GovInfo. 33 CFR 329.12
4
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Jurisdictional Determination Process
5
Federal Register. Reissuance and Modification of Nationwide Permits
6
eCFR. 33 CFR Part 330 – Nationwide Permit Program
7
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District. Permit Types
8
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. ENG Form 4345 – Application for Department of the Army Permit
9
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District. Standard Permits
10
eCFR. 33 CFR 325.2 – Processing of Applications
11
eCFR. 33 CFR 320.4
12
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Permit Processing
13
eCFR. 33 CFR 331.6 – Filing an Appeal
14
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Overview of CWA Section 401 Certification
15
NOAA Office for Coastal Management. Applying Federal Consistency
16
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 33 USC 406 – Penalty for Wrongful Construction of Bridges, Piers, Etc.
17
eCFR. 33 CFR 326.3 – Unauthorized Activities
18
eCFR. 33 CFR 326.3 – Unauthorized Activities
19
eCFR. 33 CFR 325.6 – Duration of Permits
20
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Jacksonville District). Request for Transfer of Department of the Army Permit