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By Federal law every applicant for a Federal permit or license for an activity which may result in a discharge into a water body must request State certification that the proposed activity will not violate State
and Federal water quality standards.
 Water quality standards include:
1. Beneficial Uses of Water - aquatic life, agriculture, recreation, municipal and domestic drinking water supply, industrial supply, and propagation of wildlife;
2. Water Quality Criteria - numeric and narrative limits or bans on substances, water characteristics and activities which impact water quality including discharges of waste materials, sediment and pesticides; procedures which alter concentrations of dissolved oxygen, temperature and turbidity; and any actions which generally increase in-stream toxicity and pollution; and
3. Antidegradation - requires that surface waters whose quality is higher than the applicable standard must be protected and maintained.
Most projects requiring State certification fall into two broad Federal program categories:
1. Those seeking a Federal permit to allow discharges of dredged or fill material (e.g, as a result of navigational dredging; flood control channelization; levee construction; channel clearing; or fill of wetlands for land development) to all waters of the United States, including oceans, lakes, streams, wetlands, and other water bodies. These permits are issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) under CWA Section 404. This is a category of activities for which this information sheet is intended.
2. Projects involving construction of hydroelectric dams, power plants, and other facilities requiring Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) licenses.
The State may respond to this type of application in three ways:
1. Waiver - Under Federal law the State may waive its certification authority if it takes no action on an application within a "reasonable time" not to exceed one year. For Section 404 permit projects, the Corps has defined "reasonable time" to be 60 calendar days, starting with receipt of a complete application by the State, but may extend this period up to one year on a case-by-case basis. Waivers carry no conditions, and are, in some ways, equivalent to certification without conditions.
2. Certification - Certification is based on a finding that the proposed Section 404 discharge will comply with all pertinent water quality standards. In order to allow certification, special conditions may be required by the the State in order to remove or mitigate potential impacts to water quality standards. Such conditions must ultimately be included in the Federal Section 404 permit.
3. Denial - The State has the option to deny certification if it is unable to find that the project will comply with water quality standards or other applicable requirements. If a project is denied certification, a Section 404 permit for it cannot be issued by the Federal government. In some instances denial is necessary due to failure by the applicant to meet a procedural requirement or the ability to meet water quality standards. Once the deficiency is addressed, the application for water quality certification may be reconsidered.
State of Nevada 401 Water Quality Certification Status for current Nationwide Permits
The application is provided below in two file formats, these are not online forms
An application for 401 certification for a Section 404 activity should include: (1) a complete project description, (2) a copy of the Corps' Section 404 application (if applicable), (3) any final environmental document which has already been prepared, and (4) any other appropriate information required by the State.
For more information contact:
Nevada Division of Environmental Protection
Bureau of Water Quality Planning
901 South Stewart Street, Suite 4001
Carson City, Nevada 89701-5249
775-687-9448
US Army Corps of Engineers
Nevada Northern Office
300 Booth Street, Room 2103
Reno, Nevada 89509
775-784-5304
US Army Corps of Engineers
Nevada Southern Office
321 North Mall Drive, Suite L-101
St. George, Utah 84790-7310
(435) 986-3979
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District Regulatory Program's Page
U.S. EPA's Home Page
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