The Corps is now where your application starts
Since September 1, 2025, the Corps is the central point of receipt for all Joint Permit Applications in Virginia — a role VMRC held before a federal mandate moved it. Applications are filed through the Corps’ online Regulatory Request System and distributed from there to VMRC, Virginia DEQ, and your local wetlands board for concurrent review. Your contractor handles the filing; nothing changes about who reviews what.
What the Corps evaluates
Two main questions: whether your structure affects navigation in navigable waters, and whether your project places fill or dredged material into U.S. waters or wetlands. Most private residential docks and piers in the Norfolk District qualify for a streamlined regional general permit, Regional Permit 17 (RP-17), which authorizes open-pile piers, mooring structures, covered boathouses, boat lifts, and similar private structures in a non-reporting capacity. That keeps the federal layer from becoming a significant bottleneck for typical projects.
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When the federal review gets more involved
Larger structures, dredging, significant fill, and wetlands impacts can move a project from a general permit to individual permit review with additional federal coordination. Bulkheads and living shorelines involving fill below the high-water line also draw Corps attention. If your project includes any of those elements, plan for additional time in the review timeline.
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