The St. Paul district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit to the International Falls-Koochiching County Airport Commission Sept. 14.

The airport commission had previously disputed the need for an Army Corps permit for a maintenance project at the Falls International Airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration told the airport commission in June that an area alongside the runway needed to be smoothed out by Sept. 30 to ensure that if a plane runs off the runway it will be safe.

The Army Corps asserted that the area fell under its jurisdiction because the area was classified as a wetland. The permit authorizes impacts to .80 acres of wetlands within the project area.

The airport commission submitted a permit application to the Army Corps on Aug. 30.

Airport commission member Wade Pavleck said his position is still firm that the Army Corps did not have jurisdiction over the area. But in the interest of moving forward, the commission applied for the permit under the condition that it feels the Army Corps’ permit is not needed, Pavleck said.