WQC 3631

WQC #3631
GENERAL CERTIFICATION FOR PROJECTS ELIGIBLE
FOR CORPS OF ENGINEERS NATIONWIDE PERMIT NUMBERS 18 (MINOR DISCHARGES),
29 (RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT), 39 (COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL
DEVELOPMENTS), 41 (RESHAPING EXISTING DRAINAGE DITCHES), 42 (RECREATIONAL
FACILITIES), 43 (STORMWATER MANAGEMENT FACILITIES), 44 (MINING ACTIVITIES), AND
46 (DISCHARGES IN DITCHES)
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 adjacent wetland areas or to wetland areas that are not
a part of the surface tributary system to interstate waters or navigable waters of the United States
(i.e., isolated wetlands) as described in 33 CFR 330 Appendix A (B) (18, 39, 41, 42, 43 and 44) of
the Corps of Engineers regulations (i.e., Nationwide Permit No. 39) and for the Riparian Area
Protection Rules (Buffer Rules) in 15A NCAC 2B .0200. This Certification replaces Water Quality
Certification Numbers 3106 and 3108 issued on' February 11, 1997, and Water Quality
Certification Number 3287 issued on June 1, 2000 and Water Quality Certification Number 3362
issued March 18, 2002 and WQC Number 3402 issued March 18, 2002. This WQC is rescinded
when the Corps of Engineers re-authorizes any of these Nationwide Permits or when deemed
appropriate. by the Director of 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, excavation, 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. Impacts for dam footprints and flooding will count toward the
threshold for stream impacts, but flooding upstream of the dam will not (as long as no
filling, excavation, relocation or other modification of the existing stream dimension,
pattern or profile occurs) count towards mitigation requirements. Any filling,
excavation, relocation or other modification of the existing stream (other than
flooding) must re-establish the same dimensions, patterns and profiles of the existing
channel (or those of a stable reference reach if the existing channel is unstable) to
the maximum extent practical.
• 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, excavating, 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.

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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.
Application Thresholds -Stream, wetland and water impacts that exceed any of the
thresholds below require a complete application and written concurrence to use this
Certification:
• Total stream impacts of greater or equal to 150 cumulative feet of stream length for
the entire project require written notification to and approval by the Division of Water
Quality, and/or
• Impacts to waters of equal to or greater than 1/3 of an acre require written notification
to and approval by the Division of Water Quality, and/or
• Wetland impacts of greater or equal to 1/3 of an acre east of I-95 and 1/10 of an acre
west of I-95 require written notification to and approval by the Division of Water
Quality except as specified below. Any impacts to wetlands adjacent to waters
designated as ORW, SA, WS-I, WS-II or Trout or are designated as a North Carolina
or National Wild and Scenic River and wetlands classified as SWL and/or UWL as
well as wetlands described in 15A NCAC 2H .0506 (e) require a complete application
and written concurrence from the Division of Water Quality to use this Certification.
These thresholds apply for the entire project regardless of the number of Nationwide
Permits applicable to the Certification that are issued by the USACE for the project;
• Written notification to DWQ is required for all applications that propose to use
Nationwide Permit 18. This notification requirement will be satisfied by providing two
(2) copies of the PCN form to DWQ at the same time that the PCN form is sent to the
US Army Corps of Engineers. A formal application and fee is not required unless
DWQ decides that an Individual Certification will be required for the project. In this
case, the applicant will be notified in writing from DWQ within 30 days of the receipt
of the written notification.
• Proposed fill or substantial modification of any amount of wetlands classified in
accordance with 15A NCAC 2B .0101(e)(7) as Unique Wetlands (UWL) shall require
written concurrence from the Division of Water Quality;
2. Impacts to any stream length in the Neuse, Tar-Pamlico or Randleman River Basins (or
any other major river basins with Riparian Area Protection Rules [Buffer Rules] in effect at
the time of application) requires written concurrence for this Certification 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 Neuse and Tar-Pamlico 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;
3. Irrespective of other application thresholds in this General Certification, all impacts to
perennial waters and their associated buffers require written approval from DWQ since
such impacts are allowable as provided in 15A NCAC 2B. 0212 (WS-I), 2B .0213 (WS-II),
2B .0214 (WS-III) and 2B .0215 (WS-IV). Only water dependent activities, public projects
and structures with diminimus increases in impervious surfaces will be allowed as outlined
in those rules. All other activities require a variance from the delegated local government
and/or the NC Environmental Management Commission before the 401 Water Quality
Certification can be processed. In addition, a 30 foot wide vegetative buffer for low
density development or a 100 foot wide vegetative buffer for high density development

WQC #3631
must be maintained adjacent to all perennial waters except for allowances as provided
under the Water Supply Watershed Protection Rules. For the purposes of this condition,
perennial waters are defined as those shown as perennial waters on the most recent
USGS 1:24,000 topographic map or as otherwise determined by local government
studies;
4. 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.
Additionally, in watersheds within one mile and draining to 303(d) 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
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.
5. Compensatory stream mitigation shall be required at a 1:1 ratio for not only perennial but
also intermittent stream impacts that require application to DWQ in watersheds classified
as ORW, HQW, Tr, WS-I and WS-II unless the project is a linear, publicly-funded
transportation project, which has a 150-foot per-stream impact allowance;
6. 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

WQC #3631
project also requires a CAMA Permit, one payment to both agencies shall be submitted
and will be the higher of the two fees;
7. 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 for an entire project. For linear public transportation projects, impacts equal to
or exceeding 150 feet per stream may require mitigation. In addition, buffer mitigation
may be required for any project with Riparian Area Protection Rules (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, unless otherwise specified
in the approval letter. The mitigation plan must be implemented and/or constructed before
any permanent building or structure on site is occupied. In the case of public road
projects, the mitigation plan must be implemented before the road is opened to the
travelling public. 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;
8. For any project involving re-alignment of streams, a stream relocation plan must be
included with the 401 application for written DWQ approval. Relocated stream designs
should include the same dimensions, patterns and profiles as the existing channel (or a
stable reference reach if the existing channel is unstable), to the maximum extent
practical. The new channel should 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 woody species, and should include establishment of a 30 foot
wide wooded and an adjacent 20 foot wide vegetated buffer on both sides of the relocated
channel to the maximum extent practical. A transitional phase incorporating coir fiber and
seedling establishment is allowable. Also, rip-rap, A-Jacks, concrete, gabions or other
hard structures may be allowed if it is necessary to maintain the physical integrity of the
stream, but the applicant must provide written justification and any calculations used to
determine the extent of rip-rap coverage requested. If suitable stream mitigation is not
practical on-site, then stream impact will need to be mitigated elsewhere. 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;
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 including open bottom or bottomless arch 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 to do so 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;

WQC #3631
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
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 wetlands and waters shall be
removed and the original grade restored within two months after the Division of Land
Resources has released the project;
12. 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;
13. Measures shall be taken to prevent live or fresh concrete from coming into contact
with waters of the state until the concrete has hardened;
14. If an environmental document is required, this Certification is not valid until a Finding of
No Significant Impact (FONSI) or Record of Decision (ROD) is issued by the State
Clearinghouse;
15. If this Certification is used to access building sites, all lots owned by the applicant must be
buildable without additional fill beyond that explicitly allowed under other General
Certifications. The applicant is required to provide evidence that the lots are buildable
without requiring additional impacts to wetlands, waters or buffers if required to do so in
writing by DWQ. For road construction purposes, this Certification shall only be utilized
from natural high ground to natural high ground;
16. Deed notifications or similar mechanisms shall be placed on all lots with remaining
jurisdictional wetlands and waters or areas within 50 feet of all streams and ponds. These
mechanisms shall be put in place within 30 days of the date of issuance of the 401
Certification letter or the issuance of the 404 Permit (whichever is later). A sample deed
notification format can be downloaded from the 401/Wetlands Unit web site at
http://h2o.enr.state.nc.us/ncwetlands . DWQ shall be sent copies of all deed restrictions
applied to these lots;
17. 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;
18. 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 18, 39, 41, 42, 43 or 44,
whichever is sooner.

WQC #3631
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: 19 March 2007
DIVISION OF WATER QUALITY
By
Alan W. Klimek, P.E.
Director
WQC # 3631