Soil Erosion

Construction activities that disturb one or more acres of land and have a point source discharge of storm water to waters of the state (streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands) are required to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s (EGLE) Water Resources Division (WRD. The WRD has adopted a process called “Permit-by Rule” (Rule 323.2190, promulgated under Part 31, Water Resources Protection, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 1994 PA 451, as amended [NREPA]) for issuing the necessary storm water coverage. Permit-by Rule “streamlines” the permitting process and is dependent upon the applicant first obtaining Part 91 coverage (Part 91, Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control, of the NREPA), i.e., obtaining a Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control (SESC) permit from the appropriate Part 91 permitting agency. For sites disturbing one to five acres, the applicant/permittee receives automatic storm water coverage upon the applicant obtaining a Part 91 permit (or undertaking the project as an APA). Although the coverage is automatic, the permittee must comply with the requirements of Permit-by-Rule. For sites disturbing five or more acres, the applicant/permittee must obtain a Part 91 permit (or undertake the project as an APA) and submit an application through MiWaters for Notice of Coverage (NOC) to the WRD. Along with the NOC application, the applicant/permittee must submit a copy of the SESC permit, approved SESC plan, site location map, and the permit fee. The permittee must also follow the requirements of Permit-by-Rule, including regular inspections of the soil erosion controls by a certified storm water operator.