North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 15A - Environmental Quality › Chapter 02 - Environmental Management › Subchapter B - SURFACE WATER AND WETLAND STANDARDS › Section .0200 - CLASSIFICATIONS AND WATER QUALITY STANDARDS APPLICABLE TO SURFACE WATERS AND WETLANDS OF NORTH CAROLINA › Section 02B .0201 - ANTIDEGRADATION POLICY

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a) The
				  requirements for the antidegradation policy and implementation methods in
				  40 CFR
				  131.12 are incorporated by reference
				  including subsequent amendments and editions. This material is available for
				  inspection at the Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water
				  Resources, 512 North Salisbury Street, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27604-1170. A
				  copy of the most current version of
				  40 CFR
				  131.12 is available free of charge at
https://www.govinfo.gov
. These
				  requirements shall be implemented in North Carolina as set forth in this
				  Rule.
(b) The Commission shall
				  protect existing uses, as defined by Rule .0202 of this Section, and the water
				  quality to protect such uses by classifying surface waters and having standards
				  sufficient to protect these uses. In cases where the Commission or its designee
				  determines that an existing use is not included in the classification of waters
				  in accordance with Rule .0101(b)(1) of this Subchapter, a project that affects
				  these waters shall not be permitted unless the existing uses are
				  protected.
(c) The Commission shall
				  consider the present and anticipated usage of waters with quality higher than
				  the standards, including any uses not specified by the assigned classification
				  (such as outstanding national resource waters or waters of exceptional water
				  quality), and shall not allow degradation of the quality of waters with quality
				  higher than the standards below the water quality necessary to maintain
				  existing and anticipated uses of those waters. Waters with quality higher than
				  the standards are defined by Rule .0202 of this Section. The following
				  procedures shall be implemented in order to meet the requirements of this Rule:
(1) Each applicant for an National Pollutant
				  Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit or NPDES permit expansion to
				  discharge treated waste shall document non-discharge alternatives considered
				  pursuant to
				  15A NCAC
				  02H .0105(c)(2).
(2) Public Notices for NPDES permits shall
				  list parameters that would be water quality limited and state whether the
				  discharge will use the entire available load capacity of the receiving waters
				  and may, as a result, cause more stringent water quality based effluent
				  limitations to be established for dischargers downstream.
(3) The Division may require supplemental
				  documentation from an affected local government to show that a proposed project
				  or parts of the project are necessary for important economic and social
				  development under 40 CFR
				  131.12.
(4) Local governments shall have the option
				  to work with the Commission and Division to identify and develop management
				  strategies or classifications for waters with unused pollutant loading capacity
				  to accommodate future economic growth.
Waters with quality higher than the standards shall be
					 identified by the Division on a case-by-case basis through the NPDES permitting
					 and waste load allocation processes, pursuant to the provisions of
					 15A NCAC
					 02H .0100. Dischargers affected by the
					 requirements of this Paragraph and the public at large shall be notified
					 according to the provisions described herein and all other appropriate
					 provisions pursuant to
					 15A NCAC
					 02H .0109. If an applicant objects to the
					 requirements to protect waters with quality higher than the standards and
					 believes degradation is necessary to accommodate important social and economic
					 development, the applicant may contest these requirements according to the
					 provisions of
					 G.S.
					 143-215.1(e) and
					 150B-23.