['Water Programs']
['Stormwater', 'Water Programs', 'Point Sources', 'Non-Point Sources', 'Water Permitting']
11/05/2024
Copyright 2024 J. J. Keller & Associate, Inc. For re-use options please contact copyright@jjkeller.com or call 800-558-5011.
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Under EPA’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program, all facilities which discharge pollutants from any point source into waters of the United States are required to obtain an NPDES permit.
A permit is typically a license for a facility to discharge a specified amount of a pollutant into a receiving water under certain conditions. However, permits may also authorize facilities to process, incinerate, landfill, or beneficially use sewage sludge. The two basic types of NPDES permits issued are individual and general permits.
An individual permit is specifically tailored to an individual facility. Once a facility submits the appropriate application(s), the permitting authority develops a permit for that particular facility based on the information contained in the permit application (e.g., type of activity, nature of discharge, receiving water quality). The authority issues the permit to the facility for a specific time period (not to exceed five years) with a requirement that the facility reapply prior to the expiration date.
A general permit covers multiple facilities within a specific category. General permits may offer a cost-effective option for permitting agencies because of the large number of facilities that can be covered under a single permit. According to the NPDES regulations at 40 CFR 122.28, general permits may be written to cover categories of point sources having common elements, such as:
- Storm water point sources;
- Facilities that involve the same or substantially similar types of operations;
- Facilities that discharge the same types of wastes or engage in the same types of sludge use or disposal practices;
- Facilities that require the same effluent limits, operating conditions, or standards for sewage sludge use or disposal; and
- Facilities that require the same or similar monitoring.
General permits, however, may only be issued to dischargers within a specific geographical area such as city, county, or state political boundaries; designated planning areas; sewer districts or sewer authorities; state highway systems; standard metropolitan statistical areas; or urbanized areas.
By issuing general permits, the permitting authority allocates resources in a more efficient manner to provide more timely permit coverage. For example, a large number of facilities that have certain elements in common may be covered under a general permit without expending the time and money necessary to issue an individual permit to each of these facilities. In addition, using a general permit ensures consistency of permit conditions for similar facilities.
Overview of the permitting process
While the limits and conditions in an individual NPDES permit are unique to the permittee, the process used to develop the limits and conditions and issue the permit generally follows a common set of steps. The order of these steps may vary depending on whether the permit is an individual or general permit. A general description of permitting process for individual and general permits is presented below.
Individual permits
The major steps for a permit writer to develop and issue an individual NPDES permit are specified in 40 CFR part 124.
The NPDES permitting process begins when the operator of the facility (permittee) submits an application. After receiving the application and making a decision to proceed with the permit, the permit writer reviews the application for completeness and accuracy. When the application is complete, the permit writer, using the application data, begins to develop the draft permit and the justification for the permit conditions (referred to as the fact sheet or statement of basis).
The first major step in the development process is deriving technology-based effluent limits. Following this step, the permit writer derives effluent limits that are protective of state water quality standards (i.e., water quality-based effluent limits). The permit writer then compares the technology-based effluent limits with the water quality-based effluent limits and applies the more stringent limits in the permit. The decision-making process for deriving limits is documented in the permit fact sheet.
A permit may have limits that are technology-based for some parameters and water quality-based for others. For example, a permit may contain an effluent limit for total suspended solids based on national effluent limit guidelines (technology-based), a limit for ammonia based on prevention of aquatic toxicity (water quality-based), and a five-day biochemical oxygen demand limit based for part of the year on effluent limit guidelines (technology-based) and for the remainder of the year on water quality considerations.
Following the development of effluent limits, the permit writer develops appropriate monitoring and reporting conditions, facility-specific special conditions, and includes standard conditions that are the same for all permits.
After the draft permit is complete, the permitting authority provides an opportunity for public participation in the permit process. A public notice announces the permit and interested parties may submit comments regarding the draft permit. Based on the comments, the permitting authority then develops the final permit, with careful attention to documenting the process and decisions for the administrative record, and issues the final permit to the facility.
General permits
The process for developing and issuing general NPDES permits is similar to the process for individual permits. However, the order of events varies somewhat. The permitting authority first identifies the need for a general permit by collecting data demonstrating that a group, or category, of dischargers has similarities that warrant a general permit. In deciding whether to develop a general permit, permitting authorities consider the following:
- Are there a large number of facilities to be covered?
- Do the facilities have similar production processes or activities?
- Do the facilities generate similar pollutants?
- Do only a small percentage of the facilities have the potential for violations of water quality standards?
The remaining steps of the permit process are the same as for individual permits. The permitting authority develops the draft permit and fact sheet, issues a public notice, addresses public comments, documents the issues for the administrative record, and issues the final permit.
After the general permit has been issued, facilities that wish to be covered under the general permit generally submit a Notice of Intent to the permitting authority. The permitting authority may then either request additional information describing the facility, notify the facility that it is covered by the general permit, or require the facility to apply for an individual permit.
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['Water Programs']
['Stormwater', 'Water Programs', 'Point Sources', 'Non-Point Sources', 'Water Permitting']
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