Division of Water Resources

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) Division of Water Resources (DWR) is happy to answer questions and provide technical assistance pertaining to any water-related inquiry. For program information, visit our website at: www.tn.gov/environment/water.

There are many projects that commonly seek TDEC-DWR’s review through a request for environmental consultation.  The term “environmental consultation” includes but is not limited to environmental review requests, phase I or II environmental site assessment investigations, or requests for information for projects in the scoping phase for planned preparation of an Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).1

What type of projects are suitable for environmental consultation from TDEC-DWR?

Projects suitable for environmental consultation from DWR generally fall into three, broad categories:

• Projects that will disturb one acre or more of land and/or will impact or are likely to impact a stream, river, lake and/or wetlands. Common examples include: road and right-of-way projects, industrial access routes, non- linear projects such as commercial or industrial site developments, local government and non-profit site projects, and mitigation projects dredging, excavation, channel widening, or straightening; constructing a dam; bank sloping or stabilization; channel relocation; water diversions or non-agricultural related water withdrawals; flooding, draining, excavating and/or filling a wetland; and road and utility crossings, and structural fill.
• Public drinking water infrastructure projects. Common examples include: new or modified drinking water plant and/or new water source (intake or ground water well); existing drinking water plant capacity upgrades new or modified treatment plant technology and upgrades distribution system expansion and/or upgrades, including service lines, water tanks and meters; and Corrective Action Plans.
• Municipal wastewater infrastructure improvement projects and decentralized wastewater technologies. Common examples include: wastewater plant capacity changes; treatment regime/technology changes/upgrades; plant optimization strategies; alternatives to direct discharges such as decentralized wastewater treatment projects; large subsurface sewage disposal systems; collection system upgrades/reported overflows; nature of water quality challenges; and Corrective Action Plans.

Requests for consultation pertaining to any of the aforementioned purposes may be submitted directly to a dedicated email address for reviews: dwr.environmentalreview@tn.gov. Electronic submittal of requests and supporting documentation are preferred.2

What should I include in my request to TDEC-DWR? When submitting a request for environmental consultation to TDEC-DWR, the following documentation is helpful. Please keep in mind that the level of detail provided with your request dictates the level of detail provided within DWR’s response.

• All projects should include:
  • Narrative and scope of project
  • Locational information, such as coordinates and a map of the site and critical components (e.g., source water bodies, intakes, discharge sites, etc.) to scale
  • Engineered site plans, specs, and/or schematics
  • Estimated amount of land to be disturbed for the project as a whole
  • If the project includes construction of a facility, name of the public water system that will serve the business or location
• For projects impacting streams, rivers, lakes and/or wetlands:
  • Hydrologic determination of the site, if available, prepared by a Qualified Hydrologic Professional
  • An inventory of aquatic resources (wetlands, streams, farm ponds/impoundments) located within the scope of the project. Strive to include all aquatic resources within the project plans whether such water features are thought to be affected or not.
  • Estimate or description of known impacts to water resources
  • Anti-degradation social and economic benefit justification if project anticipated to cause more than degradation of a small magnitude
  • Endangered species and state species of concern, if known
  • Known Brownfields, historic structures or other relevant environmental/archeological information
• Requests for reviews of public drinking water infrastructure projects should include, when available:
  • Name of relevant municipality, utility or utility district and contact information
  • Groundwater tests
  • Known source water treatability concerns
• Requests for reviews of municipal wastewater infrastructure improvement projects and decentralized wastewater technologies should include, when available:
  • Name of receiving stream
  • River mile of wastewater discharge location, if applicable
  • Wastewater treatment technology proposed or being utilized
  • Wastewater characterization
  • Soil mapping information where treated wastewater is re-introduced through soil resources

What should I expect to receive from TDEC-DWR? DWR units will review the details of projects and provide a response which may include:

• Description of any known environmental concerns, impacts, or other information deemed relevant (for example, aquatic resource impacts, geologic information, or locations of known underground injection control sites or private wells within the project area).
• Recommendations for best management practices or actions to reduce potential impacts or address concerns with the proposed project
• Information pertaining to permits, certifications, or other approvals which may be required from DWR.

Who should I contact for more information?

• For specific questions regarding projects impacting streams, rivers, lakes, and/or wetlands, please contact Lee Barber, Natural Resources Unit Manager, at (615) 532-3292 or Lee.2.Barber@tn.gov.
• Specific questions regarding drinking water infrastructure may be submitted to Anna Sartors, Drinking Water Unit Engineer, at (615) 532-0159, or Anna.Sartors@tn.gov.
• Questions regarding wellhead protection areas, geology considerations and underground injection control may be submitted to Brian Ham, Environmental Consultant, at (615) 532-9224 or Brian.Ham@tn.gov .
• For questions pertaining to point source discharge systems (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits), please contact Vojin Janjic, Water-Based Systems Unit Manager, at (615) 532-0191 or Vojin.Janjic@tn.gov.
• For questions pertaining to onsite wastewater disposal systems (State Operating Permits (SOPs), decentralized projects and subsurface sewage disposal systems), please contact Brad Harris, Land-Based Systems Unit manager, at (615) 532-0191 or Brad.Harris@tn.gov.
• For questions pertaining to stormwater runoff please contact Ann Morbitt, Integrated Water Resources Consultant,  at (615) 687-7119 or Ann.Morbitt@tn.gov.

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1 If a draft Environmental Assessment or draft Environmental Impact Statement pursuant to NEPA has been developed, it should be sent with all supporting materials and a request for review to TDEC.NEPA@tn.gov.
2 Mailing address if necessary: TDEC Division of Water Resources; Attn: Tom Moss, 312 Rosa L. Parks Avenue, 11th Floor, Nashville,TN 37243.

In addition to staffing at the Nashville Central Office, DWR staff are located in each of the eight TDEC Environmental Field Offices, as well as the many county offices across the state. DWR contact information within each of the field offices is provided below.