U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District map

The Department of the Army Regulatory Program is one of the oldest programs in the federal government. Initially, the Regulatory Division (RD) served a fairly simple, straightforward purpose: to protect and maintain the navigable capacity of the nation’s waters, under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. In 1972, the Clean Water Act was signed into law, and the Department of the Army was directed to administer Section 404 of the Act, which regulates the discharge of dredged and/or fill material in waters of the United States. In 1977, the Corps of Engineers’ jurisdiction was increased to include wetlands as part of the Waters of the US.