Draft §401 Water Quality Certification for Nationwide Permits Released
On October 27, 2020, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality issued a Notice of Tentative Section 401 Water Quality Certifications of Proposed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2020 Nationwide Permits, General Conditions and Regional Conditions. Comments are due by midnight on November 30, 2020. WSSI has reviewed the proposed §401 water quality certifications, and noted significant changes.
State Surface Waters Determination
Recent changes to the Navigable Waters Protection Rule mean that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) regulates less surface water in Virginia than the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). In order to prevent unauthorized impacts, DEQ will now need to issue a State Surface Waters Determination, the DEQ’s version of the Jurisdictional Determination (JD), when state waters exist and there is no COE jurisdiction. This potential for differences between the COE and DEQ jurisdiction may result in inconsistencies in wetland permits and permit types required. WSSI has reviewed the October 27, 2020 guidance from the DEQ and offers the following summary.
Bald Eagle Nest Survey Season Approaching
The bald eagle breeding season begins December 15 and continues through July 15 in the mid-Atlantic region. The start of the breeding season serves as a reminder that certain activities are restricted within the vicinity of bald eagle nests to ensure that the species and their nests remain undisturbed. If you are planning to develop land that contains bald eagle habitat, the federal regulations and state guidelines that protect this species could affect your development plans. Though breeding season begins December 15, the ideal time to evaluate whether or not nests are active and search for the eagles themselves is mid-February through the end of March.
D.C. DOEE Notice of Emergency and Proposed Rulemaking
On October 7, 2020, the Department of Energy and the Environment (DOEE) adopted an emergency rulemaking in order to add two new chapters (Chapter 25: Critical Area – General Rules, and Chapter 26: Critical Area – Wetlands and Streams) to Title 21 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations. WSSI has reviewed these new wetland and stream regulations. This emergency rulemaking is DOEE’s response to protecting wetland and streams within the District that may no longer be protected by federal law, as well as to formalize draft rules that they have been operating under in practice.
D.C. Wetland Conservation Plan – Updated for 2020!
In addition to the recent emergency rulemaking, the DOEE has released an updated Wetland Conservation Plan. WSSI worked with the DOEE from 2015 to 2018 to update the District’s Wetland Conservation Plan from its 1997 version. As part of this effort, our GIS and Environmental Science staff completed a desktop reconnaissance of the entire District, performed months of field work to delineate and assess wetlands, and helped develop the written conservation plan that focuses on the District’s wetland resources, their condition, and the regulations that ensure their continued existence and enhancement. This updated Wetland Conservation Plan is now available to the public.
U.S. Survey Foot Retiring
The U.S. has long had two different definitions of a foot, but that will officially come to an end on December 31, 2022, with the retiring of the “U.S. survey foot.” Starting on January 1, 2023, the U.S. will officially adopt the “international foot” definition in all applications, according to the October 5, 2020 Federal Register publication of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey’s joint final determination. In a field where there is no room for error, preparing for the change is a serious issue.