PUBLIC NOTICE
DATE: December 20, 2022
TO: DEQ-DWR-Wetlands-Public Listserv
FROM: Erin Davis, 401 & Buffer Permitting Branch Acting Supervisor
Amy Chapman, 401 & Buffer Transportation Permitting Branch Supervisor
RE: NRCS Published Soil Survey / USGS Topo Mapping Tool Available on DWR Website
The purpose of this Public Notice is outlined below. This notice is available electronically at https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-resources/water-resources-permits/wastewater-branch/401-wetlands-buffer-permits/401-public-notices.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) launched an updated website on October 21, 2022. The new site includes a Soil Surveys by State page for accessing historical soil surveys for download. However, the Division of Water Resources (DWR) has been made aware of issues that many individuals have encountered accessing the most recent version of the published manuscript of the soil survey maps.
In an effort to improve public accessibility to the published soil surveys for North Carolina, DWR has created a NRCS Published Soil Survey / USGS Topo Mapping Tool. The link for this tool may be found on the Riparian Buffer Protection Program webpage under the Buffer Mapping Resources section. The mapping tool includes publicly available data layers compiled by the NC Department of Transportation (NCDOT- compilation of georeferenced published/ archived NRCS soil surveys) and the US Geological Survey (USGS- The National Map).
For more details on NCDOT’s map layers employed by the tool, refer to https://ncdenr.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=17c9c3dfc84a4194aa414829e1b57653.
For details on the USGS Topo Map layers utilized, refer to https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=71074ed09aab49328a85c860fc413379.
Should verification of information beyond the tool be needed for legal purposes, official copies of soil surveys are available in county offices (paper copies) as well as the NRCS website. Individuals are advised to ensure they are viewing the topo maps at 1:24,000 scale (paper copy) or 12-15 zoom level (The National Map online) which accurately shows the National Hydrography Dataset High Resolution data at 1:24,000 scale as required by the buffer rules and USGS National Map Clarification Notice. Individuals are also advised to contact the appropriate DWR Regional Office for further stream/feature evaluations and buffer applicability determinations.
Please contact the DWR 401 & Buffer Permitting Branch (https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-resources/water-quality-permitting/401-buffer-permitting/401-buffer-permitting-contacts) with any questions.