Adopted Amendments to Part 608
Revised subsections 608.1, 608.3, and 608.6. New text is underlined. Deletions are shown in brackets.
Effective: August 19, 2009
608.1 Definitions.
Subdivision (c) of section 608.1 is renumbered as subdivision (d), and a new subdivision (c) is added to read as follows:
(c) 'Breach' of a dam shall have the meaning set forth in Part 673 of this Title.
Newly renumbered subdivision (d) is amended to read as follows:
(d) Commissioner means the Commissioner of Environmental Conservation or a duly authorized designee.
Subdivisions (d), (e) and (f) of section 608.1 are renumbered as subdivisions (f), (g), and (h), and a new subdivision (e) is added to read as follows:
(e) 'Construct' means to build. With respect to a dam, 'construct' shall have the meaning set forth in Part 673 of this Title.
Newly renumbered subdivisions (f) and (h) are amended to read as follows:
(f) 'Dam' [or impoundment structure' means any artificial barrier, together with its appurtenant works, that impounds or will impound waters, and includes but is not limited to earth fills, with or without controllable outlet gates, and roads, bridges or fords that unduly impede the flow of water] shall have the meaning set forth in Part 673 of this Title.
(h) 'Docking facility' means any marina, boat basin, marine terminal, and any other areas on navigable waters containing a single structure or a collection of related structures, such as docks, piers, platforms, bulkheads, breakwaters, and pilings, used for the reception, securing, and protection of boats, ships, barges or other water craft.
Subdivision (g) of section 608.1 is renumbered as subdivision (m), and new subdivisions (i), (j), (k) and (l) are added to read as follows:
(i) 'Emergency Action Plan' shall have the meaning set forth in 6 NYCRR Part 673.
(j) 'Engineer', with respect to the requirements of this Part that are applicable to dams, shall have the meaning set forth in 6 NYCRR Part 673.
(k) 'Environmental Conservation Law' or 'ECL' means the New York State Environmental Conservation Law.
(l) 'Erect', as used in ECL article 15 section 0503, with respect to a dam, means to construct a new dam.
Subdivision (h) of section 608.1 is renumbered as subdivision (o), and new subdivision (n) is added to read as follows:
(n) 'Height', with respect to a dam, is the vertical dimension from the downstream toe of a dam at its lowest point to the top of a dam.
Subdivision (i) of section 608.1 is renumbered as subdivision (r), and new subdivisions (p) and (q) are added to read as follows:
(p) 'Local public corporation' means any municipal corporation or district corporation, as is set forth in ECL Article 1 section 0303 subdivision 15, and further defined in the General Construction Law section 66 subdivisions 2 and 3.
(q) 'Maximum impoundment capacity' is the volume of water that is impounded when the water level is at the top of a dam.
Subdivisions (j), (k), and (l) of section 608.1 are renumbered as subdivision (s), (t) and (u), and new subdivisions (v) and (w) are added to read as follows:
(v) 'Ordinary maintenance', with respect to a dam, means work that does not affect the structural integrity or function of a dam or an aspect of the safety of the dam. Ordinary maintenance is work involved in the routine or regular upkeep of a dam, and includes, by way of example only, activities such as debris removal, mowing grass, cleaning trash racks, and exercising valves.
(w) 'Owner', with respect to a dam, shall have the meaning set forth in 6 NYCRR 673.
Subdivisions (m), (n), (o), (p) and (q) are renumbered as (x), (y), (z), (aa) and (bb), and new subdivision (cc) is added to read as follows:
(cc) 'Removal' of a dam means eliminating a dam to the approximate original topographic contours.
Subdivisions (r), (s), (t), (u), (v) and (w) are renumbered as subdivisions (dd), (ee), (ff), (gg), (hh) and (ii).
Newly renumbered subdivisions (dd) and (gg) are amended to read as follows:
(dd) ['Reconstruction or repair of a dam or impoundment structure' means work that may affect structural integrity or function; shanging the spillway elevation; modifying the spillway capacity; and breaching or removal of a dam.]'Repair' or 'Reconstruction' of a dam means alterations, changes or modifications to a dam which may affect the structural integrity or function of a dam, or an aspect of the safety of a dam. Repair or reconstruction includes, by way of example only, activities such as changing the spillway elevation or spillway capacity of the dam. Repair or reconstruction does not include ordinary maintenance.
(gg) 'Substantial reconstruction of structures', other than dams, means restoration or rebuilding involving 50 percent or more of an existing fixed structure's surface area.
608.3 Dams
The title of section 608.3 is amended to read as follows:
608.3 Dams [and impoundment structures]
Subdivision (a) of section 608.3 is repealed.
Subdivision (b) of section 608.3 is renumbered as subdivision (a) and is amended to read as follows:
(a) Permit [required]Required. Except as provided in subdivision ([c]a)(3) of this section, no person or local public corporation may[:][(1)] construct, reconstruct[ or], repair, breach, or remove any dam [or impoundment structure; including any artificial obstruction, temporary or permanent, in or across a natural stream or watercourse;]without a permit issued pursuant to this Part.
Subdivision (c) of section 608.3 is repealed and new subdivisions (b) and (c) are adopted to read as follows:
(b) Exceptions. The requirement of a permit pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section does not apply to the following:
(1) The construction, reconstruction, repair, breach or removal of a dam that has a height less than 15 feet, and a maximum impoundment capacity less than three million gallons;
(2) The construction, reconstruction, repair, breach or removal of a dam with a height equal to or less than six feet, regardless of its maximum impoundment capacity, or a dam with a maximum impoundment capacity equal to or less than one million gallons, regardless of its height; and
(3) The ordinary maintenance of a dam.
(c) The permit requirements for dams, as well as design criteria, are dependent upon the dam's Hazard Classification, as determined by the department in accordance with Part 673.5.
608.6 Permit application procedures.
Subdivision (a) of section 608.6 is repealed.
Subdivision (b) of section 608.6 has been renumbered as subdivision (d).
New subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) to section 608.6 are adopted to read as follows:
(a) An application for a permit under this Part must be submitted to the appropriate Regional Permit Administrator. Applications must be made on forms prescribed by the department and must be accompanied by:
(1) a plan of the proposed project;
(2) a map showing its location; and
(3) other information that the department deems necessary to properly review and assess the effects of a proposed project.
(b) In addition to the requirements of subdivision 608.6(a) herein, all permit applications with respect to dams shall meet the following requirements:
(1) Such permit applications shall include:
(i) hydrological, hydraulic, and soils information, as required on a form prescribed by the department;
(ii) an Engineering Design Report sufficiently detailed for department evaluation of the safety aspects of the proposed dam, or the proposed activities concerning an existing dam, that shall include:
('a') a narrative description of the proposed project;
('b') the proposed Hazard Classification of the dam as a result of the proposed activities or project;
('c') a hydrologic investigation of the watershed and an assessment of the hydraulic adequacy of the dam;
('d') an evaluation of the foundation and surrounding conditions, and materials involved in the structure of the dam, in sufficient detail to accurately define the design of the dam and assess its safety, including its structural stability;
('e') structural and hydraulic design studies, calculations and procedures, which shall, at a minimum, be consistent with generally accepted sound engineering practice in the field of dam design and safety; and
('f') a description of any proposed permanent instrument installations in the dam;
(iii) construction plans and specifications that are sufficiently detailed for department evaluation of the safety aspects of the dam; and
(iv) any other information the department deems necessary.
(2) The Engineering Design Report and the construction plans and specifications that are submitted with a permit application in accordance with subdivisions 608.6(b)(1)(i) and 608.6(b)(1)(ii) of this Part shall be prepared, stamped and sealed by an engineer.
(3) In response to a request by a permit applicant concerning a Class "A" dam, the department may in its discretion accept, in lieu of the Engineering Design Report and the construction plans and specifications identified in subdivisions 608.6(b)(1)(i) and 608.6(b)(1)(ii) of this Part, a certification from an engineer that the proposed dam, or the proposed activities with respect to an existing dam, are, at a minimum, consistent with generally accepted sound engineering practice in the field of dam design and safety.
(4) In addition to the requirements in subdivisions 608.6(b)(1) and (b)(2) of this Part, the department may require the permit applicant of a Class "B" or "C" dam to submit the deliverables required by 6 NYCRR Part 673 for owners of dams that have been assigned a Hazard Classification of Class "B" or "C", including an Emergency Action Plan, or otherwise demonstrate that the proposed dam or proposed activities with respect to an existing dam, will comply with 6 NYCRR Part 673.
(c) In addition to the requirements of subdivision 608.6(a) of this Part, all permit applications for docking and mooring facilities shall include:
(1) a supplemental form, prescribed by the department, providing information about the type, size, and use of structures, including docks, piers, wharfs, platforms, breakwaters, moorings and associated docking facility and mooring area amenities; and
(2) a plan, drawn to scale, depicting structures, and where appropriate, delineated perimeters that include a reference point tied to a permanent structure or significant natural feature.
