The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has an administrative appeal process that enables an affected party to appeal certain USACE decisions with which they disagree while potentially avoiding the cost/delay of court litigation. Decisions which can be appealed include denied individual permits, proffered individual permits, and approved jurisdictional determinations. These appealable decisions are most commonly made by USACE district offices, and requests for appeal of such decisions are submitted to the next higher authority, most commonly the USACE division offices. It is the policy of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to promote and maintain an administrative appeal process that is independent, objective, fair, prompt, and efficient.

Requests for appeal must be received by the division office within 60 days of the date of the appealable decision. Where an appeal is accepted, a site visit and/or an appeal conference or meeting may be conducted. The division engineer will make a determination on the merits of the appeal based on a review of the district’s administrative record, and either confirm the district’s initial decision or remand the decision to the district for reconsideration. The Division Engineer will make a final decision on the merits of the appeal at the earliest practicable time.

Electronic Submissions of Request for Appeal

The Northwestern Division requests all incoming regulatory appeal correspondence be submitted electronically to melinda.m.larsen@usace.army.mil. The Division Office is fully operational in a virtual environment and staff is available via email and phone. If electronic submission is not possible, or if you have any questions or concerns related to the appeal program, please contact:

Melinda M. Larsen, Regulatory Appeals Review Officer
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Northwestern Division
1201 NE Lloyd Blvd., Suite 400
Portland, OR 97232     
Telephone: (503) 726-6194
Email: melinda.m.larsen@usace.army.mil