Volume 25, Number 6 ● March 23, 2017
Nationwide Permit Update:
Baltimore District Regional Conditions and Suspensions Issued
On March 20, 2017, the Baltimore District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released their Final Regional Conditions and Suspensions for the 2017 Nationwide Permits (NWPs). One noteworthy change has been made since the draft regional conditions were issued on January 6, 2017, and is addressed in further detail below. The associated 2017 NWPs took effect on March 19th. In Maryland, 38 of 52 NWPs were suspended and one was partially suspended because they are replaced by the Maryland State Programmatic General Permit–5 (MDSPGP-5) . In the District of Columbia, five of the NWPs were suspended; however, no significant changes occurred to the reissued NWPs. Furthermore, in Maryland and the District of Columbia, the Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification (WQC) and the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) consistency determination for the 2017 NWPs are finalized.
Changes to Maryland Regional Conditions
In addition to several minor text edits, there is one significant change:
NWP #3: Maintenance (Partially suspended)
All previous regional conditions for NWP #3 have been eliminated except for the requirement to submit a Pre-Construction Notification for activities authorized under NWP #3(a), which include repairs, rehabilitation or replacement of existing structures that are damaged by natural or discrete events.
Section 401 Water Quality Certification
The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) will grant WQC and CZMA certifications for all NWPs if the applicant obtains all the required State permits, licenses, and approvals for the proposed project. However, the District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) will not grant WQC for all NWPs and will require applicants to submit individual, project-specific WQC or WQC waivers to the DOEE. In addition, the District of Columbia does not have a Coastal Zone Management program so a consistency determination is not required.
If you have any questions about how these regional conditions will impact your project, please contact Mike Klebasko, Scott Petrey, Christie Blevins, Doug Chapin, Annie Colturi, Mark Headly, or Mike Rolband.