EDMS Construction General permit (CGP) low erosivity waiver (LEW)
Instructions for Completing a Low Erosivity Waiver (LEW) - Notice of Intent (NOI) Form for Stormwater Discharges Associated with Construction Activity under an APDES Construction General Permit (CGP) using EDMS.
Contact Information
Each legal entity that meets DEC's definition of “operator” (see definitions in Appendix C of DEC's APDES Construction General Permit) and that meets the eligibility conditions for the low erosivity waiver must file this form to have the permit requirements waived. The operator is the legal entity that either (1) has operational control over construction plans and specifications, including the ability to make modifications to those plans and specifications, or (2) has day-to-day operational control of some or all activities.
It is possible that there will be more than one operator at a site and, in such cases, each entity that meets the operator definition must complete a Low Erosivity Waiver Certification. Enter the legal name of your firm, public organization, or other entity that operates the project described in this waiver certification. Usually this will be a company or organization's name but for construction activities undertaken by you as an individual, this should be your name. Enter the operator's complete mailing address and name of contact person, telephone number, fax number (optional) and email who can answer questions about the site (e.g., a project or site manager).
Project Information
Enter the estimated construction start date and estimated completion date. The construction period begins with the initial earth disturbance and ends with final site stabilization. To qualify for this waiver, the rainfall erosivity factor for the project must be less than five during the entire construction period. Specify the construction period by entering the project start date (date of initial earth disturbance) and project completion date (date of final site stabilization). For example, a grading contractor that is operating on-site for only one week during a nine-month construction project, must enter the start date and completion date of the entire nine-month construction period.
Enter a brief description of the project.
Enter complete street address, including city, state, zip code, and county or similar government subdivision of the project. Do NOT use a P.O. Box. If the project lacks a street address, indicate the general location of the site (e.g., Intersection of State Highways 61 and 34). Complete project location information must be provided for permit authorization to be granted.
Select correct borough for project location.
Enter the latitude and longitude of the project site in decimal degrees format with up to 6-digit accuracy. You can obtain the project's latitude and longitude through Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, internet map service, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) quadrangle or topographic maps, or EPA’s web-based siting-tools, among other methods. For consistency, DEC requests that measurements be taken from the approximate center of the project site.
Select the method used to determine geographic coordinates.
Enter the estimated area (acres) to be disturbed including but not limited to grubbing, excavation, grading, and utilities and infrastructure installation. Indicate to the nearest tenth of an acre. Note: 1 acre = 43,560 sq. ft. Select the North American Industry Classification System code (NAICS) that best describes the primary activity your project involves under which you are required to obtain permit coverage.
Select the Standard Industry Code (SIC) code that best describes the primary activity your project involves under which you are required to obtain permit coverage.
Enter the Rainfall Erosivity Factor and the Erosivity Factor calculation method.
The construction period begins with the initial earth disturbance and ends with final site stabilization. To qualify for this waiver, the rainfall erosivity factor for the project must be less than five during the entire construction period.
DEC believes, where the environmental threat is low (i.e., in arid and semi-arid climates), that “final stabilization” can include techniques that employ re-vegetation combined with other stabilization measures, consisting of temporary degradable rolled erosion control products, also known as “erosion control blankets (ECBs). With proper selection, design, and installation of the combination re-vegetation/ECB technique in arid or semi-arid areas, an operator can be considered to have achieved final stabilization upon completion of the installation process. Note that if more than three years is required to establish 70 percent of the natural 2021 CGP NOI (December 2020) Page ii of ii vegetative cover, this technique cannot be used or cited for fulfillment of the final stabilization requirement. If your waiver is based on use of interim non-vegetative stabilization measures, such as erosion control blankets, to establish the end of the construction period, you must indicate so on this form. In doing so, you must commit and certify (as a condition of waiver eligibility) to periodically inspect and properly maintain the area until the criteria for final stabilization, as defined in the Construction General Permit, have been met.
The rainfall erosivity factor "R" is determined in accordance with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Handbook Number 703, Predicting Soil Erosion by Water: A Guide to Conservation Planning with the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), Chapter 2 pages 21-64, dated January 1997.
If the R factor is five or greater during the project's construction period, you must have or obtain coverage under an APDES stormwater permit. If the project was eligible for the waiver during the original construction period, but the construction activity will extend past the project completion date specified in the Low Erosivity Waiver Certification, the operator must recalculate the R factor using the original start date and a new project completion date. If the recalculated R factor is still less than five, a new waiver certification form must be submitted before the end of the original construction period. If the new R factor is five or greater, the operator must submit a Notice of Intent to be covered by the Construction General Permit before the original project completion date.
Review
This step allows you to review the form to confirm the form is populated completely and accurately, prior to certification and submission.
Certify and Submit
This step allows you to certify the form as complete and accurate and to submit the form to DEC for review and processing.
At the time of submission, it will be transmitted to DEC and it will become part of the public record.
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