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Twelve changes to the 2008 federal MSGP for stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity are included in EPA’s draft 2013 MSGP.
Coverage under the 2008 MSGP, which expired September 29, 2013, is administratively extended until the 2013 permit is issued, provided facilities submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) to be covered by the new permit in a timely fashion. It will now likely be called the 2015 MSGP, and the EPA expects to release the final permit sometime this spring.
Attend the Emerging Industrial Stormwater General Permit Requirements webinar on April 2 to understand new requirements. Learn more.
The draft MSGP includes the following changes to the 2008 MSGP:
- The EPA will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to determine the potential environmental impact of the permit. For previous MSGPs, facilities seeking coverage prepared the EAs if they were in a sector subject to New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity. The EPA said it changed this provision because EAs prepared by operators were not subject to review by the Agency or public notice and comment.
- All facility submissions must be made electronically unless the facility is granted a waiver.
- A revision to the prohibition on the discharge of wash waters is included.
- Completion and submission of a work sheet is required to document compliance with the Endangered Species Act.
- Facilities must take additional steps to show compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act.
- Facilities must provide a URL on the NOI form to provide greater access to the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP).
- The draft clarifies effluent-limit requirements applicable to good housekeeping, maintenance, spill prevention, response procedures, and employee training.
- Additional specificity requirements regarding what is considered a corrective action are included.
- A change is made in annual reporting to require submission of a summary of the past year’s routine facility inspections and quarterly visual assessments of discharges instead of a summary of the results of the single comprehensive site assessment.
- Additional non-hardness-dependent metals benchmarks for facilities that discharge into saline waters are included.
- Changes are proposed to sector-specific requirements for metal mining, coal mining, and mineral mining and dressing (updated requirements consistent with the 2012 construction general permit), and air transportation (based on effluent limitation guidelines for airplane and airport deicing operations).
- Facilities would be ineligible to discharge to a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) site unless approved by the EPA regional office.
Emerging Industrial Stormwater General Permit Requirements: Practical Strategies for Meeting Increased Compliance Demands
Learn strategies for complying with the evolving manufacturing and industrial stormwater permitting requirements. Register today!
Superfund Sites
The EPA has also included in the fact sheet for the draft permit a request for comment on potential permit requirements for certain toxic pollutants in industrial stormwater discharges. The Agency is concerned that current 2008 and draft 2013 MSGP requirements may not adequately prevent certain particularly problematic toxic pollutants in stormwater discharges from causing sediment contamination and recontamination of Superfund cleanup sites and/or presenting an imminent and substantial endangerment to human health or welfare or the environment.