August/September 2024 Update: Residual Designation Authority (RDA) Activities Underway for the Charles, Neponset, and Mystic River Watersheds
Permit Update
EPA, Region 1 continues to work on finalizing the draft Residual Designation Authority (RDA) permit, and other associated permitting documents, and is on track to publish the draft permit later this fall. EPA will be seeking comments on both the Draft Residual Designation Permit as well as the Preliminary Residual Designation Authority determination which identified for permitting certain commercial, industrial and institutional parcels with one acre or more of impervious cover in the Charles, Mystic and Neponset River Watersheds. The public comment period, which will last 90 days, will be announced in the Federal Register and also on EPA’s website. EPA will also provide notice of public meetings and public hearings on the draft permit and preliminary determination.
EPA has updated technical information sheets for each municipality in the Charles River watershed. These information sheets contain updated parcel-level data for the Charles River Watershed.
EPA is also releasing the updated parcel-level data report (pdf) for the Charles River Watershed. This updated parcel level report relies on a more recent analysis of the parcel data in the watershed and is consistent in approach to that of the Mystic and Neponset River Watersheds.
Stakeholder Engagement
EPA has engaged in extensive outreach on this permitting matter; for further information, please go to EPA's website which includes a recently-released report (pdf) that identified issues of concern, as well as suggestions for how to address certain permitting challenges.
As part of the public comment period mentioned above, EPA will be hosting a series of public meetings and public hearings early in 2025 to answer questions, and also to get feedback, on this permitting matter.
If you have questions, please contact EPA at: R1.EPA@epa.gov.