Secondary and Cumulative Impacts Master Management Plan - 2014

SECTON 6 – MITIGATION FOR SECONDARY AND CUMULATIVE IMPACTS

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

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