Ohio EPA Issues Public Notice for New Stream Permit
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has issued public notice on a new Draft General Permit for Impacts to Ephemeral Streams.
Projects impacting ephemeral streams could now require additional steps, including mitigation, to acquire permit authorization.
This coincides with the finalization of updated federal rules governing Waters of the United States (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA).
The comment period for the new General Permit ends on June 17, 2020, five days before the new WOTUS rules are to take effect.
This does not create new regulation but defines a permitting process for ephemeral streams (which lost federal CWA protection) in the state of Ohio. Ephemeral Streams are those that only flow directly after rain events or snow melt.
This new permit does not regulate agricultural ditches, roadside ditches, or grass swale waterways.
Projects impacting ephemeral streams could now require additional steps, including mitigation, to acquire permit authorization.
As such, there is no change to the standard procedure of obtaining a Jurisdictional Determination from the United State Army Corps of Engineers.
It is always best to quantify water resources on a project site before any permanent or temporary disturbances take place.