GC 3364

WQC #3364
FARM BUILDINGS IN FARMED WETLANDS CERTIFICATION
GENERAL CERTIFICATION FOR PROJECTS ELIGIBLE FOR CORPS OF ENGINEERS
NATIONWIDE PERMIT NUMBER 40 (FARM BUILDINGS IN FARMED WETLANDS)
AND RIPARIAN AREA PROTECTION RULES (BUFFER RULES}
This General Certification is issued in conformity with the requirements of Section 401,
Public Laws 92-500 and 95-217 of the United States and subject to the North Carolina Division of
Water Quality (DWQ) Regulations in 15A NCAC 2H, Section .0500 and 15A NCAC 2B .0200 for
the discharge of fill material to waters and wetland areas as described in 33 CFR 330 Appendix A
(B} (40) and for the Riparian Area Protection Rules (Buffer Rules) in 15A NCAC 2B .0200. This
Certification replaces Water Quality Certification Number 2673 issued on January 21,1992,
Water Quality Certification Number 3117 issued on February 11,1997 and Water Quality
Certification Number 3291 issued on June 1, 2000. This WQC is rescinded when the Corps of
Engineers re-authorizes Nationwide Permit 40 or when deemed appropriate by the Director of the
DWQ.
The State of North Carolina certifies that the specified category of activity will not violate
applicable portions of Sections 301, 302, 303, 306 and 307 of the Public Laws 92-500 and 95-217
if conducted in accordance with the conditions hereinafter set forth.
Conditions of Certification:
1. Enumerating and Reporting of Impacts:
• Streams -Impacts to streams as determined by the Division of Water Quality shall be
measured as length of the centerline of the normal flow channel. Permanent and/or
temporary stream impacts shall be enumerated on the entire project for all impacts
regardless of which 404 Nationwide Permits are used. Stream relocations and stream
bed and/or bank hardening are considered to be permanent stream impacts. Any
activity that results in a loss of use of stream functions including but not limited to
filling, relocating, flooding, dredging and complete shading shall be considered
stream impacts. Enumeration of impacts to streams shall include streams enclosed
by bottomless culverts, bottomless arches or other spanning structures when a 404
Permit is used anywhere in a project unless the entire structure (including
construction impacts) spans the entire bed and both banks of the stream, is only
used for a road, driveway or path crossing, and is not mitered to follow the stream
pattern.
• Wetlands -Impacts to wetlands as determined by the Division of Water Quality shall
be measured as area. Permanent and/or temporary wetland impacts shall be
enumerated on the entire project for all impacts regardless of which 404 Nationwide
Permits are used. Any activity that results in a loss of use of wetland functions
including but not limited to filling, draining, and flooding shall be considered wetland
impacts. Enumeration of impacts to wetlands shall include activities that change the
hydrology of a wetland when a 404 Permit is used anywhere in a project.
• Lakes and Ponds -Impacts to waters other than streams and wetlands as determined
by the Division of Water Quality shall be measured as area. Permanent and/or
temporary water impacts shall be enumerated on the entire project for all impacts
proposed regardless of which 404 Nationwide Permits are used. Any activity that
results in a loss of use of aquatic functions including but not limited to filling and
dredging shall be considered waters impacts;
2. Proposed fill or substantial modification of wetlands or waters (including streams) under
this General Certification requires application to and prior written concurrence from the
Division of Water Quality;

WQC #3364
3. Compensatory stream mitigation shall be required at a 1:1 ratio for all perennial and
intermittent stream impacts equal to or exceeding 150 feet and that require application to
DWQ in watersheds classified as ORW, HQW, Tr, WS-I and WS-II;
4. In accordance with North Carolina General Statute Section 143-215.3D(e}, any
application fora 401 Water Quality Certification must include the appropriate fee. If a
project also requires a CAMA Permit, one payment to both agencies shall be submitted
and will be the higher of the two fees;
5. In accordance with 15A NCAC 2H .0506 (h) compensatory mitigation may be required for
impacts to 150 linear feet or more of streams and/or one acre or more of wetlands. In
addition, buffer mitigation may be required for any project with Buffer Rules in effect at the
time of application for buffer impacts resulting from activities classified as "allowable with
mitigation" within the "Table of Uses" section of the Buffer Rules or require a variance
under the Buffer Rules. A determination of buffer, wetland and stream mitigation
requirements shall be made for any Certification for this Nationwide Permit. The most
current design and monitoring protocols from DWQ shall be followed and written plans
submitted for DWQ approval as required in those protocols. When compensatory
mitigation is required for a project, the mitigation plans must be approved by DWQ in
writing before the impacts approved by the Certification occur. The mitigation plan must
be implemented and/or constructed before any permanent building or structure on site is
occupied. Please note that if a stream relocation is conducted as a stream restoration as
defined in The Internal Technical Guide for Stream Work in North Carolina ,April 2001,
the restored length can be used as compensatory mitigation for the impacts resulting from
the relocation;
6. For any project involving a stream re-alignment, a stream relocation plan must be
included with the 401 application. This plan must be approved by DWQ prior to issuance
of the 401 Certification. Relocated stream designs shall include the same dimensions,
patterns and profiles as the existing channel, to the extent practical. The new channel
shall be constructed in the dry and water shall not be turned into the new channel until the
banks are stabilized. Vegetation used for bank stabilization shall be limited to native
species, and should include establishment of a 30 foot wide wooded plus an adjacent 20
foot vegetated buffer on both sides of the relocated channel to the extent practical.
Please note that if a stream relocation is conducted as a stream restoration as defined in
The Infernal Technical Guide for Stream Work in North Carolina ,April 2001, the restored
length can be used as compensatory mitigation for the impacts resulting from the
relocation;
7. Impacts to any stream length in the Meuse, Tar-Pamlico and Randleman River Basins (or
any other river basins with Riparian Area Protection Rules [Buffer Rules] in effect at the
time of application} requires written concurrence from DWQ in accordance with 15A
NCAC 26.0200. Activities listed as "exempt" from these rules do not need to apply for
written concurrence under this Certification. New development activities located in the
protected 50-foot wide riparian areas (whether jurisdictional wetlands or not) within the
Meuse, Tar-Pamlico and Randleman River Basins shall be limited to "uses" identified
within and constructed in accordance with 15A NCAC 2B .0200. All new development
shall be located, designed, constructed, and maintained to have minimal disturbance to
protect water quality to the maximum extent practicable through the use of best
management practices;
8. Additional site-specific stormwater management requirements may be added to this
Certification at DWQ's discretion on a case by case basis for projects that have or are
anticipated to have impervious cover of greater than 30 percent. Site-specific stormwater
management shall be designed to remove 85% TSS according to the latest version of
DWQ's stormwater Best Management Practices manual at a minimum.

WQC #3364
Additionally, in watersheds within one mile and draining to 303(4) listed waters, as well as
watersheds that are classified as nutrient sensitive waters (NSW}, water supply waters
(WS), trout waters (Tr}, high quality waters (HQW), and outstanding resource waters
(ORW}, the Division shall require that extended detention wetlands, bio-retention areas,
and ponds followed by forested filter strips (designed according to latest version of the NC
DENR stormwater Best Management Practices Manual) be constructed as part of the
stormwater management plan when asite-specific stormwater management plan is
required.
For streams classified as Water Supply, High Quality Waters and Outstanding Resource
Waters, post-construction, on-site stormwater management shall be required as
appropriate and as outlined in 15A NCAC 2B .0104(m) and 2H .1000 to .1007,
respectively, in addition to that required in this General Certification.
Alternative designs may be requested by the applicant and will be reviewed on a case-by-
case basis by the Division of Water Quality.
Approval of stormwater management plans by the Division of Water Quality's other
existing state stormwater programs including appropriate local programs are sufficient to
satisfy this Condition as long as the stormwater management plans meet or exceed the all
of the design requirements specified in this condition. This condition applies unless more
stringent requirements are in effect from other state water quality programs.
• Unless specified otherwise in the approval letter, the final, written stormwater
management plan shall be approved in writing by the Division of Water Quality's
Wetlands Unit before the impacts specified in this Certification occur.
• The facilities must be designed to treat the runoff from the entire project, unless
otherwise explicitly approved by the Division of Water Quality.
• Also, before any permanent building or other structure is occupied at the subject site,
the facilities (as approved by the wetlands Unit) shall be constructed and operational,
and the stormwater management plan (as approved by the Wetlands Unit) shall be
implemented.
• The structural stormwater practices as approved by the wetlands Unit as well as
drainage patterns must be maintained in perpetuity.
• No changes to the structural stormwater practices shall be made without written
authorization from the Division of Water Quality.
9. Placement of culverts and other structures in waters, streams, and wetlands must be
placed below the elevation of the streambed to allow low flow passage of water and
aquatic life unless it can be shown to DWQ that providing passage would be impractical.
Design and placement of culverts and other structures including temporary erosion control
measures shall not be conducted in a manner that may result in aggradation, degradation
or significant changes in hydrology of wetlands or stream beds or banks, adjacent to or
upstream and down stream of the above structures. The applicant is required to provide
evidence that the equilibrium shall be maintained if requested in writing by DWQ.
Additionally, when roadways, causeways or other fill projects are constructed across
FEMA-designated floodways or wetlands, openings such as culverts or bridges must be
provided to maintain the natural hydrology of the system as well as prevent constriction of
the floodway that may result in aggradation, degradation or significant changes in
hydrology of streams or wetlands;
10. That appropriate sediment and erosion control practices which equal or exceed those
outlined in the most recent version of the "North Carolina Sediment and Erosion Control
Planning and Design Manual'° or the "North Carolina Surface Mining Manual" whichever is
more appropriate (available from the Division of Land Resources (DLR} in the DENR

WQC #3364
Regional or Central Offices) shall be in full compliance with all specifications governing
the proper design, installation and operation and maintenance of such Best Management
Practices in order to assure compliance with the appropriate turbidity water quality
standard;
11. All sediment and erosion control measures placed in wetland or waters shall be removed
and the original grade restored within two months after the Division of Land Resources
has released the project;
12. If an environmental document is required, this Certification is not valid until a Finding of
No Signficant Impact (FONSI) or Record of Decision (ROD) is issued by the State
Clearinghouse;
13. That additional site-specific conditions may be added to projects proposed under this
Certification in order to ensure compliance with all applicable water quality and effluent
standards;
14. When written concurrence is required, the applicant is required to use the most recent
version of the Certification of Completion form to notify DWQ when all work included in the
401 Certification has been completed;
15. Concurrence from DWQ that this Certification applies to an individual project shall
expire three years from the date of the cover letter from DWQ or on the same day as the
expiration date of the corresponding Nationwide Permit 40, whichever is sooner.
Non-compliance with or violation of the conditions herein set forth by a specific fill project
may result in revocation of this Certification for the project and may also result in criminal and/or
civil penalties.
The Director of the North Carolina Division of Water Quality may require submission of a
formal application for individual certification for any project in this category of activity that requires
written concurrence under this certification, if it is determined that the project is likely to have a
significant adverse effect upon water quality or degrade the waters so that existing uses of the
wetland or downstream waters are precluded.
Public hearings may be held for specific applications or group of applications prior to a
Certification decision if deemed in the public's best interest by the Director of the North Carolina
Division of Water Quality.
Effective date: 18 March 2002
DIVISION OF WATER QUALITY
By
Acting Director
WQC # 3364
4