CENAO-WR-R
March 20, 2017
FEDERAL PUBLIC NOTICE
Effective immediately, and until further notice, the attached Regional Conditions are applicable within the Commonwealth of Virginia for the 2017 Nationwide Permits (NWPs), which were printed in the Federal Register on January 6, 2017, and became effective on March 19, 2017. The Regional Conditions specify additional restrictions and requirements that have been placed on the applicable Nationwide Permits to ensure that impacts within the Commonwealth of Virginia will not be more than minimal. The North Atlantic Division Commander, Colonel William H. Graham, Jr., approved the 2017 Nationwide Permit Supplemental Decision Documents and the Regional Conditions on March 13, 2017.
As of the date of this public notice, the Norfolk District Corps of Engineers (Corps) has not received certifications regarding water quality (WQC) under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act or the consistency determination under the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) for the 2017 NWPs. After the Norfolk District receives the WQC certification and CZMA determination from the respective agencies, the District will review the certification/determination and any associated conditions to assure that they are reasonably implementable or enforceable, according to 33 CFR 325.4(c). Until such time as a WQC certification and CZMA determination is obtained, any person or entity proposing to perform work or activities pursuant to or under the authority of this NWP must obtain individual WQC and CZMA certifications from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality before initiating work.
Please note that if your project was verified under a 2012 Nationwide Permit and you will not complete the proposed work by March 18, 2017, you should follow the guidance in the Federal Register "Issuance and Reissuance of the Nationwide Permits; Final Rule" dated Friday, January 6, 2017:
“An activity completed under the authorization provided by a 2012 NWP continues to be authorized by that NWP (see 33 CFR part 330.6(b)). Activities authorized by the 2012 NWPs that have commenced or are under contract to commence by March 18, 2017, will have one year (i.e., until March 18, 2018) to complete those activities under the terms and conditions of the 2012 NWPs (see 33 CFR section 330.6(b)). Activities previously authorized by the 2012 NWPs that have not commenced or are not under contract to commence by March 18, 2017, will require reauthorization under the 2017 NWPs, provided those activities still comply with the terms and conditions of qualify for authorization under the 2017 NWPs. If those activities no longer qualify for NWP authorization because they do not meet the terms and conditions of the 2017 NWPs (including any regional conditions imposed by division engineers), the project proponent will need to obtain an individual permit, or seek authorization under a regional general permit, if such a general permit is available in the applicable Corps district and can be used to authorize the proposed activity.”
For complete pre-construction notifications received after February 2, 2017, the 45-day PCN review clock starts on March 19, 2017, unless we have otherwise authorized the work under the 2012 NWPs and you have started work or were under contract by March 18, 2017.