Emergency Letter

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
441 G STREET, NW
WASHINGTON, DC 20314-1000

Mr. Richard Revesz
Administrator Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Office of Management and Budget
725 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20503

Dear Mr. Revesz:
Pursuant to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) procedures established at 5
C.F.R. Part 1320, Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public, I request that the
proposed Department of Defense (DoD) information collection covered by the enclosed
“Jurisdictional Determination Forms” (JD Forms), be processed as an emergency
clearance request in accordance with 5 C.F.R. § 1320.13, Emergency Processing.
I have determined that certain information must be collected to support processing of
jurisdictional determinations by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and that
the JD Forms are essential to the Regulatory mission of the agency because provide
the most structured and efficient way of collecting this information. The final rule
“Revised Definition of ‘Waters of the United States’; Conforming” (hereinafter “the
Conforming Rule”) was published in the Federal Register on 8 September 2023 and
became effective on that same date. It would greatly enhance our ability to ensure
consistent implementation of the Conforming Rule to have these forms in place prior to
the time periods established under Part 1320 of the regulations.
There is no requirement in USACE's regulations that requires us to use the JD
Forms to collect the information needed to process a jurisdictional determination
request. However, the JD Forms provide a highly efficient and organized process for
consistently collecting and summarizing that information. Our use of the JD Forms will
provide public benefit by improving the expediency, accuracy, and consistency of the
information we need to respond to a request for a jurisdictional determination.
The Conforming Rule was announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
and the Department of the Army (the agencies) on 29 August 2023, was published in
the Federal Register on 8 September 2023, and became immediately effective.
Because USACE was not party to the agencies’ rulemaking process we did not have an
opportunity to complete our development of the JD Forms needed to process
jurisdictional determinations under the Conforming Rule prior to 29 August 2023.
Therefore, it was not possible for USACE to start the final collections process prior to 29
August 2023. USACE proactively initiated the collections emergency approval process
for the Conforming Rule information collections on 4 August 2023, in anticipation that
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emergency approval from OMB would be needed in order for USACE districts to collect
information needed to respond to requests for jurisdictional determinations under the
Conforming Rule. Now that the Conforming Rule has been published, USACE
respectfully requests emergency approval of the JD Forms. I have determined that
emergency approval is necessary because collection of the information on the JD
Forms is needed prior to the expiration of the time periods required for the full approval
process set forth in part 1320 and that use of normal clearance procedures is
reasonably likely to prevent or disrupt the collection of information required for this
public service. USACE will continue its effort to complete the full approval process for
the JD Forms, and we anticipate that full approval will be obtained prior to the expiration
of any emergency approval that is granted. If the JD Forms are not made available to
the public, the public will not be able to benefit from the streamlined documentation of
USACE’s jurisdiction that it provides.
DoD and USACE have an urgent need to use the JD Forms to assist with collection
of the information needed to respond to requests for jurisdictional determinations.
Because of the need for USACE to use the JD Forms to collect information needed to
process requests for jurisdictional determinations concurrent with the immediate
effective date of the Conforming Rule, it is impracticable for DoD to consult in advance
with interested agencies and members of the public in order to minimize the burden of
the collection of information pursuant to 5 C.F.R. § 1320.13(c). Therefore, DoD requests
a 180-day emergency clearance to establish the collection covered by the JD Forms as
soon as possible because the need for the JD Forms already exists. During the 180-day
emergency clearance period, DoD will work to establish a regular clearance submission
of this information collection request under the Paperwork Reduction Act procedures.
As this request for approval concerns an urgent need, DoD is also seeking OMB’s
approval to waive the need for the Federal Register Notices otherwise required by 5
C.F.R. §§ 1320.5(a)(1)(iv) and 1320.8(d)(1) prior to publication and implementation of
this disclosure.
We would appreciate if you could please provide a determination on this request to
collect information under an emergency clearance as soon as possible.
Sincerely,

William T. Walker
Acting Chief, Regulatory

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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Headquarters
Enclosure:
As stated