[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 40, Volume 22]
[Revised as of July 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 40CFR230.7]

[Page 256-257]
 
                   TITLE 40--PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT
 
         CHAPTER I--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED)
 
PART 230--SECTION 404(b)(1) GUIDELINES FOR SPECIFICATION OF DISPOSAL SITES 
FOR DREDGED OR FILL MATERIAL--Table of Contents
 
                           Subpart A--General
 
Sec. 230.7  General permits.

    (a) Conditions for the issuance of General permits. A General permit 
for a category of activities involving the discharge of dredged or fill 
material complies with the Guidelines if it meets the applicable 
restrictions on the discharge in Sec. 230.10 and if the permitting 
authority determines that:
    (1) The activities in such category are similar in nature and 
similar in their impact upon water quality and the aquatic environment;
    (2) The activities in such category will have only minimal adverse 
effects when performed separately; and
    (3) The activities in such category will have only minimal 
cumulative adverse effects on water quality and the aquatic environment.
    (b) Evaluation process. To reach the determinations required in 
paragraph (a) of this section, the permitting authority shall set forth 
in writing an evaluation of the potential individual and cumulative 
impacts of the category of activities to be regulated under the General 
permit. While some of the information necessary for this evaluation can 
be obtained from potential permittees and others through the proposal of 
General permits for public review, the evaluation must be completed 
before any General permit is issued, and the results must be published 
with the final permit.
    (1) This evaluation shall be based upon consideration of the 
prohibitions listed in Sec. 230.10(b) and the factors listed in 
Sec. 230.10(c), and shall include documented information supporting each 
factual determination in Sec. 230.11 of the Guidelines (consideration of 
alternatives in Sec. 230.10(a) are not directly applicable to General 
permits);
    (2) The evaluation shall include a precise description of the 
activities to be permitted under the General permit, explaining why they 
are sufficiently similar in nature and in environmental impact to 
warrant regulation under a single General permit based on subparts C 
through F of the Guidelines. Allowable differences between activities 
which will be regulated under the same General permit shall be 
specified. Activities otherwise similar in nature may differ in 
environmental impact due to their location in or near ecologically 
sensitive areas, areas with unique chemical or physical characteristics, 
areas containing concentrations of toxic substances, or areas regulated 
for specific human uses or by specific land or water management plans 
(e.g.,

[[Page 257]]

areas regulated under an approved Coastal Zone Management Plan). If 
there are specific geographic areas within the purview of a proposed 
General permit (called a draft General permit under a State 404 
program), which are more appropriately regulated by individual permit 
due to the considerations cited in this paragraph, they shall be clearly 
delineated in the evaluation and excluded from the permit. In addition, 
the permitting authority may require an individual permit for any 
proposed activity under a General permit where the nature or location of 
the activity makes an individual permit more appropriate.
    (3) To predict cumulative effects, the evaluation shall include the 
number of individual discharge activities likely to be regulated under a 
General permit until its expiration, including repetitions of individual 
discharge activities at a single location.