A Jurisdictional Determination (JD) is an evaluation performed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It figures out whether the water features on a piece of property—like streams, ponds, or wetlands—are protected by federal environmental laws such as the Clean Water Act. 

There are two main types of JDs:

An Approved JD (AJD) is the official, final decision from USACE. It clearly maps out exactly which water features on the property are regulated by the government and which ones are not. Because it is an official decision, they can be appealed.

A Preliminary JD (PJD) is a faster, unofficial review. It can be used to determine if water features on a property might be regulated. Because it is not a final decision, a PJD cannot be used to prove that a property is entirely free of regulated waters. PJDs cannot be appealed, but an applicant may request an AJD instead.