State Water Quality Certification
Under RSA 485-A:12, III, and section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), any activity that may result in a discharge to surface waters of the state – rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, wetlands, tidal waters, etc. – and requires a federal license or permit, cannot start unless the NHDES Water Division certifies that any such discharge will comply with New Hampshire’s surface water quality standards, per RSA 485-A:8 and state administrative rule Env-Wq 1700. For more information on certification, please visit the Water Quality Certification webpage.
Many large projects that impact surface waters, including wetlands, need to apply for and obtain an individual permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) under section 404 of the CWA. Before the USACE issues this permit, a project is required to submit an Application for Water Quality Certification to obtain a certification from NHDES. Upon review and NHDES determination that the application is complete and approved, the application will be published on the Water Quality Certification webpage.
Following NHDES review of the application and any required additional information, and needed owner and/or resource agency coordination, NHDES will prepare a draft water quality certification with required conditions. This draft certification will then be sent to other interested agencies and the municipality and posted on the NHDES website for an approximate 30-day public comment period. All comments received during the public comment period, NHDES’ responses to those comments, and the final water quality certification, will be published on the NHDES website when the final certification is submitted to the federal permitting agency (e.g. USACE).
NHDES Watershed Management Bureau hosted a Water Quality Certification pre-application meeting on September 25, 2023, with Granite State Landfill, LLC, its consultants, USEPA and USACE representatives. The purpose of this meeting was to review the NHDES WQC application process, applicable rules and regulations, and submittal requirements.
On April 19, 2024, NHDES received an Application for Water Quality Certification for the proposed Granite State Landfill project. Application project files are available for review using the links below. In accordance with RSA 485-A:12,III(a)a, within 50 days of receipt of the application, NHDES shall either notify Granite State Landfill, LLC that the request is complete or request any additional information required to complete its evaluation of the request.
Application Documents
- GSL NHDES 401 WQC Application
- Attachment 1 Sampling and Analysis Plan
- Attachment 2 Baseline Monitoring Report (Pending)
- Attachment 3 Pollutant Loading Analysis (Summary)
- Attachment 4 USACE 404 Application
- Attachment 5 Project Plans
Please contact the NHDES Watershed Management Bureau with any questions, comments or needs of accommodation with these files at: wqc@des.nh.gov.