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SECTON 6 – MITIGATION FOR SECONDARY AND CUMULATIVE IMPACTS
6-5
Additionally, the CWA provides the regulatory authority for sanitary sewer overflows and
NPDES stormwater programs.
6.1.3.1 Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act
Section 303(d) of the CWA requires states to identify waters that do not support their
classified uses. These waters must be prioritized, and a total maximum daily load (TMDL)
must subsequently be developed. TMDLs are calculations that determine the maximum
amount of a pollutant that a water body can assimilate and still meet water quality
standards, and an allocation of that amount to the pollutant’s sources. As part of the TMDL
development process, the sources of the pollutant must be identified, and the allowable
amount of pollutant must be allocated among the various sources within the watershed.
NCDWR will develop TMDLs or management strategies for the waters identified in
Section 4.10. In addition, NCDWR developed a TMDL for the upper New Hope Creek arm
of Jordan Lake and a nutrient management strategy for other portions of the lake. The
TMDL and strategies require nonpoint source reductions of nitrogen and phosphorus, as
discussed later in this section.
The Town will continue to work with NCDWR to implement TMDLs as they are developed.
In addition, the Town will work with NCDWR on management strategies developed for
impaired waters within its jurisdiction.
6.1.3.2 Sections 404 and 401 of the Clean Water Act
Two main regulatory programs that regulate impacts to jurisdictional waters, including
streams and wetlands in the project area, both of which originate from CWA-Section 404,
regulation of dredged and fill activities (administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
[USACE]) and Section 401, certification that a project does not violate the State’s water
quality standards (administered by NCDWR). All private and public construction activities
over a specific acreage or stream length that affect jurisdictional waters are required to
obtain certifications and permits from NCDWR (Section 401 Water Quality Certification)
and from the USACE (Section 404 Permits).
Although the State’s 401 Water Quality Certification Program and the Federal 404 Wetlands
Protection Program protect jurisdictional waters by requiring avoidance and mitigation for
wetlands and streams across the State, permits can be issued under both the State and
Federal programs, which allow small impacts to jurisdictional waters.
Section 401 of the CWA (33 U.S.C. 1341) requires any applicant for a federal license or
permit that conducts any activity that may result in a discharge of a pollutant into waters of
the United States to obtain a certification from the state in which the discharge originates or
would originate, or, if appropriate, from the interstate water pollution control agency
having jurisdiction over the affected waters. The jurisdiction is determined at the point
where the discharge originates or would originate, and the discharge is required to comply
with the applicable effluent limitations and water quality standards.
In 2006, the Supreme Court addressed the jurisdictional scope of Section 404 of the CWA
specifically in terms of the scope of “the waters of the U.S.” statement, in
Rapanos v. U.S.
and
in
Carabell v. U.S.
The rulings of each case provide analytical standards for the
determination of jurisdiction of water bodies that are not traditional navigable waters