2021 NWP Regional Conditions: The final Regional Conditions for the State of New York for the 16 2021 NWPs were approved by the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division Engineer (LRD) and North Atlantic Division (NAD), effective on March 15, 2021. On March 8, 2021, the Buffalo and New York Districts issued a joint public notice (PN) announcing the final Regional Conditions, Water Quality Certification and Coastal Consistency Determination for the 2021 NWP in the State of NY. Click HERE to view the PN. NOTE: there are 40 existing 2017 NWPs that were not reissued or modified by the January 13, 2021 final rule. Those 40 2017 NWPs, including associated WQC and CZM conditions, remain in effect until the Corps issues a final rule reissuing those NWPs or March 18, 2022, whichever comes first. Click HERE to view the details for 2017 NWPS still in effective in the state of New York.
2021 NWP Water Quality Certification (WQC): The WQC determinations and conditions have been incorporated into the NWP documents. For projects where the WQC has been denied or that do not meet the general or special WQC conditions, the use of an NWP to authorize a discharge into waters of the United States is contingent upon obtaining an individual WQC or case-specific waiver from the respective agency or tribe.
On December 14, 2020, the Districts received the following final WQC determinations:
i. New York State Department of Public Services (NYSDPS) denied WQCs for all Section 404 NWPs that may apply to activities undertaken pursuant to New York State Public Service Law (PSL) Article VII for activities that relate to the construction and operation of major natural gas or electric transmission facilities.
ii. The New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting (NYSORES) denied WQCs for all Section 404 NWPs that may apply to activities undertaken pursuant to New York State Executive Law Article 6, Section 94-C for activities that relate to the construction and operation of major renewable electric generating facilities.
iii. The New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment (Siting Board) denied the request for WQC for all Section 404 NWPs that may apply to activities undertaken pursuant to PSL Article 10 for new and repowered or modified major electric generating facilities of 25 megawatts or more.
iv. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), as the certifying agency for the seven federally recognized Indian Nations in New York (Cayuga Nation, Onondaga Nation, Oneida Nation of Indians, Seneca Nation of Indians, Shinnecock Indian Nation, Tonawanda Seneca Nation, and Tuscarora Nation) denied WQC for all Section 404 NWPs occurring on these tribal lands.
On December 23, 2020, the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe denied WQC for all applicable NWPs occurring on Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal land.
On December 18, 2020, the Districts received the final WQC determination from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) for NWP activities not covered by the above determinations. See specific NWP for WQC determination and conditions.
2021 NWP Coastal Consistency Determination: The Final Coastal Consistency Determination (CZM) for the 2021 NWP in NY State was issued on December 11, 2020 by the NYS Department of State (NYSDOS). The CZM determinations and conditions have been incorporated into the NWP documents. For the 16 NWPs effective on March 15, 2021, the NYSDOS objected with the Corps’ consistency determination for these 16 NWPs anywhere in the New York coastal area. For projects where NYSDOS has objected to the Corps consistency determination, the use of an NWP to authorize an activity within New York State's coastal zone is contingent upon obtaining an individual CZM consistency determination or case-specific presumption of CZM concurrence from NYSDOS.