Wetland Rules-NC Aggregates Assoc

1
Homewood, Sue
From:Jay Stem <[e-mail]>
Sent:Thursday, November 4, 2021 5:57 PM
To:SVC_DENR.publiccomments
Subject:[External] Wetland Rules
CAUTION: External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless you verify. Send all suspicious email as an attachment to
Report Spam.

Ms. Sue Homewood:

The aggregates industry appreciates the opportunity to submit comments concerning the Permanent Rules for 15A
NCAC 02H .1301 and 02H .1400-.1405.

The North Carolina Aggregates Association opposes the proposed permanent rule because we do not believe that the
Department of Environmental Quality has jurisdictional authority to implement the proposed permanent rule.

We do not believe there is a need for the proposed permanent rule. With the implementation of the June 22, 2020
WOTUS rule, the NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) said that they need a rule to be able to issue permits
for impacts to wetlands and streams that are now not under federal jurisdiction. We believe the state should not have
the authority to regulate any wetlands, other than basins and bogs, that are not regulated by Section 404 of the Clean
Water Act.

The DEQ is also using “significant nexus” to make the determination about which wetlands would be under state
jurisdiction, but the current WOTUS rule does not recognize the significant nexus method of determining wetlands that
are under federal jurisdiction. So, why is DEQ using a method that is no longer recognized by the Clean Water Act, US
EPA, and US Army Corp. of Engineers?

The current WOTUS rule eliminated “isolated” wetlands from the federal rule. These wetlands are now considered
“excluded”. The DEQ wants to create a new class of state isolated wetlands by adding “isolated” to the wetland
definitions.

If the proposed new permanent rule is implemented, the regulated community will be working under two sets of rules:
the federal WOTUS rule and a state rule that will be using invalid methods to determine state jurisdiction.

The NC Aggregates Association does not believe there is a need for the permanent rule and opposes the new rule.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Jasper G. Stem, Jr., P.E.
Executive Director
North Carolina Aggregates Association
353 East Six Forks Road, Suite 270
Raleigh, NC 27609
919 782-7055
Fax: [phone]
2
www.ncaggregates.org

Serving the Aggregates Industry Since 1964