Application for a Watershed Permit

(1) Any Local Government Unit seeking a Watershed Permit may file an application with the Department. A Watershed Permit application or a Notice of Intent for a Watershed Permit must be filed pursuant to 310 CMR 15.215(2) to suspend any Title 5 New Construction requirements under 310 CMR 15.215(2)(b) or to prevent any applicable Title 5 system upgrade requirements under 310 CMR 15.215(2)(a) from going into effect. Multiple Local Government Units that share a watershed or sub-watershed may apply jointly for a Watershed Permit, provided they have entered into a mutually enforceable agreement among the parties that confirms each applicant's percentage share of the Necessary Nitrogen Load Reductions and provides a framework to coordinate resource management decision-making and arrangements relating to the receipt and expenditure of funds for implementation. Unless otherwise stated in the mutually enforceable agreement among the parties, each Local Government Unit is only responsible for the proportion of the Controllable Attenuated Nitrogen Load that originates from within its political boundaries. Authority to enforce the Watershed Permit is reserved to the Department. (2) Contents of an Application. An application for a Watershed Permit shall contain sufficient information for the Department to evaluate whether the application meets the applicable review criteria. Unless otherwise determined by the Department, the application shall include: (a) a complete application using a form provided by the Department for such purposes; (b) a Watershed Management Plan, signed and stamped by a Massachusetts Registered Professional Engineer, for the watershed or sub-watershed that is the subject of the application and includes: 1. maps depicting the watershed boundary, including each parcel of land within the area proposed for coverage, and a narrative describing the area proposed to be covered under a Watershed Permit; 2. a description of the current and historic water quality conditions, including short-term (daily/seasonal) and long-term (annual) variability; 3. any earlier planning approaches taken prior to filing the application, including any related findings and recommendations; 4. the types, locations, and timing of any ongoing and proposed TMDL, Alternative Restoration Plan, MEP Report, or Scientific Evaluation implementation activities within the watershed or sub-watershed proposed for coverage, including a table identifying: a. the Updated Nitrogen Load that the area proposed for coverage under the Watershed Permit contributed to the Surface Waters of the watershed, specifying and accounting for implementation of all nitrogen reduction measures; b. projected loads for the following 20 years (projections must include scenarios for proposed nitrogen-load reducing activities; a MEP Report or other Scientific Evaluation buildout scenario may suffice); c. the percentage of Necessary Nitrogen Load Reductions to be attained during the term of the permit and a concise description of the means of achieving those specified reductions; d. the Conventional Control Technologies and Alternative Control Approaches or Technologies selected for pollutant load reductions and identification of each permittee that will be responsible for implementing each activity; e. the area each selected Conventional Control Technology and Alternative Control Approach or Technology would service; f. the apportionment of Necessary Nitrogen Load Reductions for each of the selected Conventional Control Technologies and Alternative Control Approaches or Technologies; g. the implementation schedule for each Alternative Control Approach or Technology proposed, including a timeframe for demonstration, testing, and acceptance or abandonment of such approaches or technologies; 5. maps depicting the watershed boundary, including each parcel of land within the area proposed for coverage, and a narrative describing the Core Sewer Area, if applicable, and the service areas prioritized for wastewater collection and treatment after accounting for implementation of the selected Alternative Control Approaches and Technologies; 6. documentation of what each permittee proposes to do to reduce its pollutant load in the watershed or sub-watershed and when those reductions would occur; 7. if Alternative Control Approaches and Technologies are proposed, a contingency plan for a back-up Conventional Control Technology in the event that the Alternative Control Approaches and Technologies selected do not function as predicted; 8. a description of each of the proposed pollutant reduction actions to reduce current and projected loads identified above; 9. cost estimates for the infrastructure and programs associated with the proposed actions, if available; 10. an implementation schedule, not to exceed 20 years, currently envisioned by the applicant(s), including a designated set of activities that will occur in each five-year period and a methodology for analyzing the results of those activities and making necessary adjustments for each subsequent five-year period of the permit to meet required load reductions; 11. a watershed or sub-watershed scale monitoring plan that defines the goals of the monitoring plan, the selected water quality parameters, the method(s) of monitoring to be employed, the sampling frequency, locations, timing and duration, and a Quality Assurance Program Plan; 12. the information sources relied upon to develop the proposed Watershed Management Plan; 13. if the application seeks a Watershed Permit based on a Watershed Management Plan that will not attain Necessary Nitrogen Load Reductions during the permit term, documentation showing the financial costs and environmental impact of: a. complete compliance with those goals and b. a proposed alternative that makes reasonable progress toward achievement of the goals in accordance with 314 CMR 21.04(1)(a); and (c) if there is more than one applicant, an inter-municipal agreement or other legally binding and appropriate agreement among the applicants that confirms each permittee's percentage share of the aggregate pollutant reduction responsibility and provides a framework to administer implementation of the Watershed Management Plan, including arrangements for the receipt and expenditure of funds.