NPDES - Details 

If your school's power plant discharges boiler blowdown, or blowdown water, and if this discharge does not go to a sewer authority, then a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit may be required. If the water is discharge to a POTW, a local sewer permit generally governs effluent discharge criteria.

Not all colleges and universities are required to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for stormwater discharges. However, you may already have determined that your facility needs or will need a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. This permit program addresses the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) requirements surrounding the discharge of pollutants and storm water from point sources into surface water (40 CFR Part 122). The major elements of the NPDES program covered by this section of the tour include:

• Phase I and Phase II
• Permitting
• Monitoring, Recordkeeping and Reporting
• Preparedness, Prevention and Contingency Plans, and Emergency Response

EPA developed Phase I of the NPDES storm water program in 1990. Under Phase I, EPA required NPDES permit coverage for storm water discharges from:

• "Medium" and "large" municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) located in incorporated places and counties with populations of 100,000 or more; and
• Eleven categories of industrial activity.

The Phase II Final Rule, published in December 1999, requires NPDES permit coverage for storm water discharges from:

• Certain regulated small municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) , including from certain public colleges and universities (but generally not private ones, unless some other provision applies); and
• Construction activity disturbing between one and five acres of land (i.e., small construction activities).

The timeline for meeting the Phase II NPDES requirements depends on site-specific factors. This section of the tour will focus on Phase I NPDES requirements.

The NPDES program requires permits for discharges of pollutants from point sources. "Point source" is defined as any discernible, confined or discrete conveyance, including, but not limited to, any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal-feeding operation, or vessel or other floating craft from which pollutants are or may be discharged.

In addition, a facility must submit an application for an NPDES stormwater discharge permit and comply with the permit conditions for certain industrial activities. These activities include the discharge of stormwater directly into surface waters, a municipal separate storm sewer system, or a non-municipal or non-publicly owned separate storm sewer system. (40 CFR 122.26).

Facilities subject to NPDES permitting must either apply for an individual NPDES permit or seek coverage under a local general stormwater permit. Compliance requirements are typically less rigorous under a general permit.

Those who seek coverage under a state or local general stormwater permit must complete a Notice of Intent (NOI) form and submit it to the appropriate state or local authority. In addition to the NOI, applicants for coverage under a general stormwater permit typically must submit the following items:

• A copy of correspondence notifying the municipality and county in which the stormwater discharge is located of the discharger's intent to be covered under the general permit
  
• Proof that the municipality and county received the notification
  
• A U.S.G.S. topographical map showing the location of the facility and each outfall, the drainage area served by each outfall, the direction of flow within each drainage area and the names of the receiving streams
  
• A site plan on 8.5 x 11 inch paper
  
• Documentation demonstrating that the discharge to be covered under the general permit consists entirely of stormwater
  
• Certification of eligibility to be covered by the general permit
  
• Documentation demonstrating compliance with water-quality standards and effluent limits, including (at a minimum) the following:

1. A description of the preparedness, prevention and contingency (PPC) plan
   
2. An erosion and sedimentation control plan
   
3. Other stormwater management and pollution-prevention measures being implemented at the facility
   
4. A notarized certification signed by a "responsible official," stating that the plans and measures listed above have been designed and are being implemented to reduce and prevent pollution on site. This certification is intended to ensure that any pollutants in the stormwater discharge are minimized and to meet applicable water-quality standards and effluent limitations.

The local authority reviews the NOI and, if the NOI is acceptable, issues certification of coverage under the general permit. The general permit specifies best management practices (BMPs) designed to restrict the discharge of pollutants into surface water. State or local regulations may require that an application for coverage under the general stormwater permit be denied, in which case the applicant must apply for an individual permit. For new discharges (or new owner/operators of existing discharges) NOI's must be submitted two days prior to commencing operation of the facility (or two days prior to taking operational control of the facility). An NOI does not expire. Only one NOI needs to be submitted to cover the activities at a facility. A separate NOI need not be submitted for each separate type of industrial activity at a given facility, provided that the facility's Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan covers each type of industrial activity present at the facility.

While it is recognized that most colleges or universities would fall under the general permit, information related to individual permits is also provided here. Those who discharge stormwater and who require an individual NPDES permit must submit a complete application to state or local authorities. For new and substantially modified discharges, the applicant must also submit evidence that a notice of the application has been published in a local newspaper.

NPDES permits typically are issued for a fixed term of no more than five years. Provided a renewal application has been submitted 180 days prior to the expiration date, the terms and conditions of an expired permit are automatically continued pending the issuance of the new one. An application for a new NPDES permit typically must be submitted and a new permit obtained prior to a facility expansion or process modification that will result in new or increased discharges of pollutants.

If a facility can demonstrate that they have "no exposure" of industrial materials and/or activities to stormwater, then they may be excluded from stormwater permitting requirements (40 CFR 122.26(g)). "No exposure" means that all industrial materials and activities are protected by a storm-resistant shelter to prevent exposure to rain, snow, snowmelt, and/or runoff. Industrial materials or activities include, but are not limited to, material handling equipment or activities, industrial machinery, raw materials, intermediate products, byproducts, final products, or waste products. Material handling activities include the storage, loading and unloading, transportation, or conveyance of any raw material, intermediate product, final product or waste product. In order to demonstrate they satisfy the criteria for the "no exposures" exclusion, facilities must meet the requirements contained in 40 CFR 122.26(g)(1) through 122.26(g)(4).

Key permit conditions applicable to all NPDES permits in 40 CFR 122.41include those for monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting. These conditions apply to both stormwater and non-stormwater discharges. Although the state or local authority, or EPA's general permits can impose additional requirements, the permit holder must typically monitor discharges within the following parameters:

• Flow (in gallons/day or millions of gallons/day)
  
• Pollutants listed in the terms of the permit conditions
  
• Pollutants that could have a significant impact on the quality of the receiving streams, according to the findings of the state or local authority, based on the information provided
  
• Pollutants specified as subject to monitoring by EPA regulations
  
• Other pollutants for which the EPA requests monitoring in writing

Each of these monitoring parameters must be measured at the frequency specified in the NPDES permit or at intervals sufficiently frequent to yield data that would characterize the nature of the discharge. Records of all information resulting from required monitoring activities must be retained for at least three years. Typically, records of discharge monitoring must include the following for all samples:

• The date, time and exact place of the sampling and measurement
• The name of the person who performed the sampling and measurement
• The date of the laboratory analyses and the analytical techniques and methods used
• The results of the analyses

Each NPDES permit holder must meet requirements in its permit for reporting to the EPA, which likely includes on the following circumstances and activities:

• Planned changes that may be considered "new sources," and/or that may change the nature or increase the quantity of pollutants discharged, or change sludge use or disposal practices
  
• Anticipated noncompliance
  
• Transfer of ownership of the facility from one entity to another
  
• Monitoring reports
  
• Compliance schedules
  
• Noncompliance which may endanger health or the environment (within 24 hours of discovery)

All NPDES stormwater permits require the facility to prepare an implement a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP), which must describe the facility's steps for identifying potential sources of pollution or contamination and carrying out activities to prevent or control the pollution of storm water. These steps fall into five broad categories, which include:

• Planning and organization;
• Assessment;
• Best Management Practices (BMPs) identification;
• Implementation; and
• Evaluation/monitoring

The federal NPDES regulations define BMPs to include schedules of activities, prohibition of practices, and maintenance procedures to prevent or reduce pollution of surface water. Treatment requirements, operating procedures and practices to control runoff, leaks, spills, waste disposal and drainage from stored materials should also be covered.

If any pollutant is spilled or discharged into surface water as a result of an accident or other incident, the emergency coordinator at the facility must immediately notify the state and/or local authority by telephone. He or she must also notify downstream users of the water, if it is reasonably possible to do so. In addition, the party responsible for the spill or discharge must immediately take the necessary steps to contain the pollutants, and must remove the pollutants from the ground and from the water within 15 days.

Additional information on the EPA's Storm Water Program can be found at:

http://cfpub1.epa.gov/npdes/home.cfm?program_id=6

For the complete text of the NPDES regulations (40 CFR 122), which contain the requirements for stormwater management, click here: