Water Quality Permitting

What we do

DWR Permitting consists of eight branches with staff located in Raleigh as well as at seven regional offices that work to regulate point-source discharges to North Carolina's surface waters. DWR's permit programs include programs for permitting for industrial and municipal wastewater treatment plants; non-discharge permitting, which is responsible for permitting and compliance of residual and wastewater effluent land application facilities; as well as the 401 & Buffer, 401 & Buffer Transportation and Animal Feeding Operations permitting programs.

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Water Resources Permitting Programs

Compliance and Expedited Permitting

Compliance and Expedited Permitting reviews and issues NPDES permits for minor privately owned wastewater facilities, NPDES general permits (including for single-family residences, groundwater remediation and pesticides), minor industrial facilities and minor municipal facilities. This unit also works with regional offices to enforce compliance with NPDES permit conditions.

Industrial Permitting

Industrial Permitting handles NPDES permitting for industrial facilities discharging industrial processed wastewater directly into waters of the state.

Municipal Permitting

Municipal Permitting reviews and issues NPDES permits for municipal wastewater facilities; administers the Pretreatment program; handles permitting for Collection Systems that transport untreated wastewater; and performs modeling and speculative limits reviews.

ARPA and SL 2023-134 Permitting

The program is responsible for permitting for NPDES facilities and collection systems funded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and North Carolina Session Law 2023-134. This unit also issues Authorization to Construct permits.

401 & Buffer Permitting

401 & Buffer Permitting is responsible for implementing water quality standards and other state regulations within the state's waters, such as lakes, ponds, streams and wetlands; riparian buffer regulatory programs; and assisting with compliance and enforcement procedures.

401 & Buffer Transportation Permitting

401& Buffer Transportation Permitting works with the general public, towns, cities and the N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to assist with the planning, permitting and design of transportation projects.

Non-Discharge

Non-Discharge is responsible for the permitting and compliance of residual and wastewater effluent land application facilities, as well as for permitting facilities for the beneficial use of reclaimed water for the purpose of conserving the state's potable water, surface water, and groundwater resources.

Animal Feeding Operations

Animal Feeding Operations is responsible for overseeing permitting, compliance, and enforcement of animal facilities.

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Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs)

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SSO reporting requirements to DWR

Collection systems transport sewage, or untreated wastewater, to wastewater treatment facilities through sewer lines and force mains, which are sewer lines that carry wastewater under pressure from pumps or lift stations. In North Carolina, collection systems are regulated under 15A NCAC02T. Sanitary Sewer overflows, or SSOs, are discharges of untreated wastewater from collection systems.

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More about Collection Systems

Sewer easements often double as greenways? Doing so offers several mutual benefits. Environmental protection is one as less trees need to be cut down for greenways where sewer easements already exist.

More About Wetlands

The 401 & Buffer Permitting Branch oversees the water quality of wetlands. Wetlands are the interfaces between land and water, and are important for us and ecosystems. They provide habitats for plants and animals. Wetlands also help with flood control as they can store large amounts of water during heavy rains or hurricanes. Wetlands also function as a water purifier, purifying the water of chemicals (such as pesticides), pathogens, and particulates.

View Benthos Stations & Data

Hundreds of benthic freshwater macroinvertebrate species live in North Carolina’s streams and wetlands. The abundance and variety of these aquatic animals are good indicators of a waterbody’s health. A wide variety and high number of macroinvertebrate species, including many that are intolerant of pollution indicate the waterbody is healthy. Less healthy waterbodies may consist of only pollution-tolerant species with little diversity or abundance.

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Miles of river

North Carolina has approximately 37,853 miles of river. This is equivalent to about 9 lengths of the Nile River (4,132 miles). North Carolina is also home to one of the oldest rivers in the world. The New River is believed to be between 10 and 360 million years old and begins near Blowing Rock.

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sq. mi. of the Cape Fear River Basin

The Cape Fear River Basin covers more than 9,300 square miles, making it the state’s largest. The basin includes all or portions of 26 counties.

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Number of General Permit CoCs

There are 1,774 General Permit Certificates of Coverage (CoCs). General permits are issued based on a given state-wide activity such as wastewater discharge. General wastewater permits exist for non-contact cooling water discharges, petroleum-based groundwater remediation, sand dredging, seafood packaging, and domestic discharges from single family residences.

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Number of active & expired NC00 individual permits

There are 1,083 active & expired NC00 individual permits. NC00 individual permits are written according to site-specific conditions of a discharger or on a case-by-case basis. The individual permit is issued directly to an individual discharger.