[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 40, Volume 24]

[Revised as of July 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 40CFR230.7]



[Page 260]

 

                   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., 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.