Tier II Review - General Permit for Stormwater Associated with Construction
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Applicants seeking permits for stormwater associated with construction activity, may have to undergo additional review if their project is within a Tier II watershed. If you receive such a message, contact Angel Valdez, at
[email protected], to discuss the Tier II review requirements for your project. Email is the preferred option to provide project information, availability, and questions. Virtual meetings can be scheduled upon request.
Step 2: Fill out Preliminary Report
Step 4: MDE will contact you if additional information is needed to complete the Tier II review
- The project is in a Tier II Watershed with no assimilative capacity
- The project avoids all impacts. If yes, complete the basic review and then receive project approval. If no, proceed to the next step, determination of resource impacts.
- Are resource impacts greater than one acre? If yes, proceed to the next step, minimization and mitigation. If no, complete the basic review and then receive project approval.
- Does the project minimize and mitigate impacts? If yes, continue to next step, social and economic justification. If no, evaluate minimization and mitigation alternatives, and reevaluate whether the project minimizes and mitigates impacts until the answer is yes.
- Is the social and economic justification adequate? If yes, the project is approved. If no, the project is denied.
The Tier II Preliminary Report Template will help determine whether no additional review is necessary.
If more information is needed, the applicant will be directed to complete the Tier II No-Discharge Analysis Form, the Tier II Mitigation Form, the Tier II Minimization Form. Applicants will also be provided with either the social and economic justification (SEJ) outline for public entities, or the SEJ outline for private entities.
Additional resources to assist with the mitigation analysis include the Mitigation Plan, Mitigation Report and Mitigation Guidance documents.
Once the review is complete, Tier II review staff will provide applicants with a cover letter summarizing the review to indicate that all Tier II review requirements are satisfied. This letter can be used for any other project construction related transfers and project related permits. It is only valid if there are no future modifications to the project. If the project is modified, then MDE will conduct a follow-up Tier II review to determine if there are any additional environmental impacts.
The Tier II forms and guidance necessary to complete the Tier II review can be found on the
Tier II Homepage, under the "Other Resources" tab.
Depending upon the nature of the project, review times can increase an estimated additional 2 - 4 weeks to make a ‘no additional review required’ determination, or to process a basic Tier II review. Basic reviews generally do not require additional mitigation analysis when evaluating minimization alternatives. More complex reviews occur for projects that require mitigation analysis, additional documentation, or other conditions due to increased impacts to the Tier II water. It is difficult to estimate review times for these, more complicated projects however, comparable reviews for similar activities conducted during the nontidal wetlands and waterways construction permit review realistically take 4-8 months. It takes time to conduct a mitigation analysis, and ensure that properties, agreements, easements, or other special conditions, are in place prior to receiving an authorization.
All times are approximate and may increase or decrease depending on the nature of each specific project review.
There are steps that applicants can take to reduce estimated turnaround times.
- Use the Tier II waters interactive map to pre-screen your project to see if you may need to complete a Tier II review.
- If your project is in a Tier II watershed, arrange to have a Tier II review preapplication meeting with MDE.
- When reaching out, include sufficient background information detailed above, and any other information you believe could help review staff better understand the nature of your project. This will make it easier to identify next steps.
- Carefully follow all directions regarding the analysis required with your review submission. If any portion of the analysis is performed incorrectly or omitted in your initial submission, MDE will pause the review while you update the analysis and documentation.
- Do not hesitate to ask for assistance when completing the documentation. Clarify questions or concerns as early in the review process as possible to avoid potential submission errors, and to decrease the likelihood that MDE will determine that your submission is deficient.
