Intent to Reissue Three General Permits Authorizing Minor Activities on Dams
Notice of Tentative Determination: Intent to Reissue Three General Permits Authorizing Minor Activities on Dams Under the Jurisdiction of the Commissioner
TENTATIVE DETERMINATION
The commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection ("DEEP") hereby gives notice that a tentative determination has been reached to reissue the following three Dam Safety General Permits:
DEEP-DAMSAFETY-GP-014: General Permit to Conduct Maintenance, Repairs, and Alterations to Dams – Non-Filing Categories
Eligible activities include: minor repair or replacements of track racks, weir boards, gates/valves, fencing, masonry and concrete joints, riprap; Removing vegetation, debris; Placing topsoil and establishing grass cover; and Filling up to 10 animal burrows.
DEEP-DAMSAFETY-GP-015: General Permit to Conduct Repairs and Alterations to Dams – Filing with Confirmation of Eligibility Categories
Eligible activities include: two intermediate levels of minor repairs and alterations to dams and removal of remnants of dams. The first level authorizes dam owners to take care of a variety of maintenance and minor repair or alteration activities on smaller dams without professional engineering oversight including: All activities authorized under the General Permit-014; Repairs to dams 15 feet or less in height and 50 ac-ft. or less of water storage; Replacing missing and storm scoured riprap; Restoring eroded areas; Patching of spalling and sealing of concrete surfaces done by hand; Repair of up to 200 linear feet of cracks in concrete; and Repair of up to one cubic yard of concrete in total for the dam; Repointing voids and repairing masonry. The second level authorizes increased amounts of work on any size dam but requires professional engineering oversight including: Projects receiving authorization under Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, 33 U.S.C. § 408 (Section 408) from the US Army Corps of Engineers; Emergency drawdown of the impoundment; Drawdowns for inspection or investigation work on dams; Removal of recently accumulated sediment from areas ancillary and adjacent to dams; Installation or replacement of up to 200 linear feet of engineered toe drain systems; Minor repair or modification of trash racks, gates and valves within inlet or outlet or drop inlet structures that can be completed without excavation into the dam; Sliplining and grouting up to 100 linear feet of up to 36-inch diameter existing outlet pipes; Grouting voids by means of gravity fed cement or pressure injection chemical grouting process; Installation of footbridges or vehicular bridges over spillways not requiring center support piers; Digging test pits, drilling soil borings, or installing piezometers while investigating dams; and Removal of dam remnants or stabilization of naturally breached dams;
DEEP-DAMSAFETY-GP-016: General Permit to Conduct Repairs and Alterations to Dams – Approval of Filing Required Categories
Eligible activities require Professional Engineering oversight and include: All activities authorized under the General Permit-014 and General Permit-015; Installation of greater than 200’ of engineered toe drain systems; Repair, removal, or replacement of trash racks, gate valves, and sluice Gates; Placing new or replacing greater than 25 cubic yards of riprap; Removing tree root systems and restoration of earth dam crests, slopes, and abutments; Repairs to and construction of concrete structures on dams (limited concrete volume by formula); Repointing masonry (no volume limit); Sliplining and grouting existing outlet pipes (no size limit); Installing bridges over spillways which may require center support; Installation of utility poles on the dam embankment; Removal of low or moderate hazard class dams meeting certain criteria; Removal of weir board or creation of a notch in a spillway to incrementally lower an impoundment; Installation of fishways at spillways that does not reduce the capacity of the primary or auxiliary spillways and does not require excavation at the abutments of the dam; Installation and maintenance of triploid grass carp screens meeting certain criteria; and Improvements to spillway discharge channels to allow for fish migration.
The current General Permits 014, 015, and 016 expire on October 16, 2025. By publishing this Notice at least 180 days prior to the expiration date of the current general permits, section 22a-6aa of the Connecticut General Statutes authorizes each of the current general permit to continue in effect until October 16, 2026, or until the Commissioner makes a final decision on the renewal of general permit, whichever is earlier.
COMMISSIONER’S FINDINGS/REGULATORY CONDITIONS
In accordance with applicable state statutes, the commissioner has made a tentative determination that issuance of General Permits 014, 015, and 016 will be protective of the environment and public safety.
PROPOSED GENERAL PERMITS
The purpose of the three general permits is to establish and authorize categories and quantities of maintenance, repair, alteration (including removal), and improvement work to dams, dikes, reservoirs, and similar structures which are minor and have minimal impacts to the environment.
COMMISSIONER’S AUTHORITY
Under Connecticut General Statutes Section 22a-411 the commissioner may issue a general permit for any minor activity regulated under Connecticut General Statutes Sections 22a-401 to 22a-410, inclusive, (Chapter 446j, Dams and Reservoirs) except for any activity covered by an individual permit, if the commissioner determines that such activity would cause minimal environmental effects when conducted separately and would cause only minimal cumulative environmental effects. Such activities may include routine maintenance and routine repair of any dam, dike, reservoir or other similar structure or the removal of any dam to improve fish passage or to provide other ecological benefits.
INFORMATION REQUESTS
Interested persons may obtain a copy of this public notice, the proposed general permits, and fact sheets on the DEEP website at https://www.ct.gov/deep/publicnotices. For questions, call the Dam Safety Program at 860-424-3706 or email DEEP.DamSafety@ct.gov.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Before making a final decision on these proposed general permits, the Commissioner shall consider written comments from interested persons that are received within 30 days from the publication date of this notice. Written comments should be directed to: Water Planning & Management Division, Bureau of Water Protection & Land Reuse, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106-5127 or may be submitted via electronic mail to: DEEP.DamSafety@ct.gov.
PETITIONS FOR PUBLIC HEARING
The Commissioner may conduct a public hearing if the Commissioner determines that the public interest will be best served thereby, or shall hold a hearing upon receipt of a petition signed by at least twenty-five persons. Petitions should include the name of the general permit noted above and also identify a contact person to receive notifications. Petitions may also identify a person who is authorized to engage in discussions regarding the proposed general permit and, if resolution is reached, withdraw the petition. Original signed petitions may be scanned and sent electronically to deep.adjudications@ct.gov or may be mailed or delivered to: DEEP Office of Adjudications, 79 Elm Street, 3rd floor, Hartford, CT 06106-5127. All petitions must be received within the comment period noted above. If submitted electronically, original signed petitions must also be mailed or delivered to the address above within ten days of electronic submittal. If a hearing is held, timely notice of such hearing will be published in a newspaper of general circulation.
/s/Emma Cimino
Emma Cimino
Deputy Commissioner
Published in the Connecticut Post, The Hartford Courant, The New Haven Register, The Day, Waterbury Republican-American, The Chronicle, and The Advocate on April 16, 2025
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer that is committed to complying with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Please contact DEEP by phone 860-418-5910 or email deep.accommodations@ct.gov if you have a disability and need a communication aid or service; have limited proficiency in English and may need information in another language; or if you wish to file an ADA or Title VI discrimination complaint.
Dam Safety GP-14 Draft 2025
Dam Safety GP-15 Draft 2025
Dam Safety GP-16 Draft 2025
GP-014 Fact Sheet - Non-Filing
GP-015 Fact Sheet - Filing with Confirmation
GP-016 Fact Sheet - Approval of Filing