§326.3. Unauthorized activities. — Inbound Citations

This part prescribes enforcement policies (§ 326.2) and procedures applicable to activities performed without required Department of the Army permits (§ 326.3) and to activities not in compliance with the terms and conditions of issued Department of the Army permits (§ 326.4). Procedures for initiating legal actions are prescribed in § 326.5. Nothing contained in this part shall establish a non-discretionary duty on the part of district engineers nor shall deviation from these procedures give rise to a private right of action against a district engineer.

(a) For cases the district engineer determines to be appropriate, he will recommend criminal or civil actions to obtain penalties for violations, compliance with the orders and directives he has issued pursuant to §§ 326.3 and 326.4, or other relief as appropriate. Appropriate cases for criminal or civil action include, but are not limited to, violations which, in the district engineer's opinion, are willful, repeated, flagrant, or of substantial impact.

(2) These procedures supplement the existing enforcement procedures at §§ 326.1 through 326.5. However, as a matter of Corps enforcement discretion once the Corps decides to proceed with an administrative penalty under these procedures it shall not subsequently pursue judicial action pursuant to § 326.5. Therefore, an administrative penalty should not be pursued if a subsequent judicial action for civil penalties is desired. An administrative civil penalty may be pursued in conjunction with a compliance order; request for restoration and/or request for mitigation issued under § 326.4.

(a) If the district engineer determines that initial corrective measures are necessary pursuant to 33 CFR 326.3(d), an RFA for an appealable action will not be accepted by the Corps, until the initial corrective measures have been completed to the satisfaction of the district engineer.

(2) An order requiring initial corrective measures that resolve the violation may also be issued by the district engineer in situations where the acceptance or processing of an after-the-fact permit application is prohibited or considered not appropriate pursuant to § 326.3(e)(1) (iii) through (iv) below. However, such orders will be issued only when the district engineer has reached an independent determination that such measures are necessary and appropriate.

(c) Any person who appeals an approved JD associated with an unauthorized activity or applies for an after-the-fact permit, where the application is accepted and processed by the Corps, thereby agrees that the statute of limitations regarding any violation associated with that approved JD or application is tolled until one year after the final Corps decision, as defined at § 331.10. Moreover, the recipient of an approved JD associated with an unauthorized activity or applicant for an after-the-fact permit must also memorialize that agreement to toll the statute of limitations, by signing an agreement to that effect, in exchange for the Corps acceptance of the after-the-fact permit application, and/or any administrative appeal (See 33 CFR 326.3(e)(1)(v)). No administrative appeal associated with an unauthorized activity or after-the-fact permit application will be accepted until such signed tolling agreement is furnished to the district engineer.

The terms and definitions contained in 33 CFR Parts 320 through 330 are applicable to this part. In addition, the following terms are defined for the purposes of this part: