DEQ ePortal System - Water Quality Planning

Short Term Activity Authorizations and 401 Water Quality Certifications

Short Term Activity Authorizations:

The purpose of the Short Term Activity Authorization is to review all projects that can or will have temporary impacts to "Waters of the State." Therefore, any activity which causes a disturbance to the water or the stream bed to include entry of machinery, debris removal from water or wetland, bridge construction/demolition and other activities conducted in any water that might cause a violation of the Arkansas Water Quality Standards must be authorized by the ADEQ director through a Short Term Activity Authorization (STAA). Designing a project to avoid impacts on a waterbody is encouraged. In instances where impacts are unavoidable, an STAA is required. STAAs allow for an individual or entity to perform in-stream work that may cause a water quality violation in waters of the state. This authorization does not grant an applicant permission to supersede any state or federal permitting requirements. STAA authorization must be obtained prior to beginning in-stream work. The length of each STAA's validity period is based on the work that is being performed but can be no longer than six months. If the covered activity is not completed in the prescribed period, a renewal is requested.

401 Water Quality Certifications:

Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 requires state water quality certifications prior to the issuance of federal permits and licenses to ensure that proposed projects will not violate state water quality standards. The decision to issue a Section 401 water quality certification rest with the ADEQ director and is based on compliance with APC&EC Regulation 2, Establishing Water Quakity Standards for Surface Waters of the State of Arkansas.

The majority of CWA Section 401 water quality certification requests are associated with permits issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) pursuant to CWA Section 404. Individual water quality certifications are required for projects that have potential to impact Extraordinary Resource Waters, Ecologically Sensitive Waterbodies, or Natural and Scenic Waterways of the state.

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