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This 2013 MSGP for stormwater activities associated with industrial activities covers facilities located in areas where the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting authority. This includes:
- Four states—Idaho, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New Mexico,
- The District of Columbia,
- Puerto Rico and all U.S. territories except the Virgin Islands,
- Federally operated facilities in Colorado, Delaware, Vermont, and Washington,
- Most Indian Country lands, and
- Several designated activities in certain states.
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Within these geographic areas, categories of industrial activities subject to the NDPES stormwater regulations are defined by Standard Industrial Classification, or SIC, code or by a general description of the industrial activities, with each sector having customized requirements. These sectors include:
- Facilities subject to New Source Performance Standards,
- Heavy manufacturing,
- Mining, oil, and gas,
- Hazardous waste facilities,
- Landfills,
- Recycling facilities,
- Steam electric power plants,
- Transportation industries,
- Sewage treatment facilities, and
- Light industry.
Although the 2013 MSGP will not be available until spring 2014, according to the EPA those facilities already covered under a 2008 MSGP “will automatically be granted an administrative continuance of permit coverage and are required to continue to comply with the 2008 MSGP after its expiration…”
New, as-yet unpermitted facilities that were not permitted before the September 29 expiration date of the 2008 MSGP will not be able to obtain an MSGP until the 2013 MSGP is finalized. However, the EPA stated in a September 27, 2013, Memorandum that it will not pursue permit enforcement against new, unpermitted dischargers if they essentially comply with all aspects of the 2008 MSGP during the interim period, including:
1)Facilities must meet 2008 MSGP eligibility criteria.
2) After September 29, 2013, but before discharging any stormwater associated with industrial activity, facilities must notify the applicable EPA NPDES permitting authority of their operator status and intent to operate in accordance with the 2008 MSGP.
3) New facilities must comply with all aspects of the 2008 MSGP including, but not limited to, the following activities:
- Develop and implement a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP).
- Properly install and maintain best management practices.
- Monitor stormwater discharges.
- Perform site inspections.
- Implement corrective action measures.
- Implement other sector-specific requirements of Part 8 of the 2008 MSGP.
- Submit reports required in Part 7 of the 2008 MSGP directly to the applicable EPA NPDES permitting authority.
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Although the no-action assurance allows new facilities the opportunity to begin discharging before the new MSGP is finalized, it does not exempt the facilities from enforcement for criminal violations or when “egregious circumstances exist which may cause serious harm or which may present an imminent and substantial endangerment public health or the environment, or where no best management practices are in place to protect public health or the environment.” The EPA also expressly notes that it “reserves the right, at any time, to exercise its discretion to address specific discharges should circumstance warrant.”
At this time the EPA expects to reissue the MSGP in early 2014 and the EPA Memorandum specifically states that the no-action assurance will end on March 30, 2014, “or 30 days after the issuance of a new permit, whichever comes first. When the permit is finalized, all facilities desiring coverage under the MSGP, including those with administrative continuance under the 2008 MSGP as well as those covered under the no action assurance, must submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) for permit coverage.”