New York State Banner
D E C banner
D E C banner

State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES)

New York State has a state program which has been approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for the control of wastewater and stormwater discharges in accordance with the Clean Water Act. Under New York State law the program is known as the State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) and is broader in scope than that required by the Clean Water Act in that it controls point source discharges to groundwaters as well as surface waters.

2008 SPDES Priority Ranking List

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) is providing the Environmental Benefit Permit Strategy (EBPS) priority rankings list (PDF, 126 KB) in conformance with section 17-0817(6.) of the Environmental Conservation Law. The lists are based on a ranking system that prioritizes permits for full technical review and , when necessary, modification. For additional information on EBPS, please refer to TOGS 1.2.2.

Annual Fees For SPDES Permits

ECL 03-0301 and 72-0201 establish the fee structure for the SPDES permit program. The annual fee for having a SPDES permit is contained in the table below. Title 6, Part 485 of the NYSDEC regulations also contains the fee structure for the SPDES permit program. As of January 1, 2007, the annual fee for having a SPDES permit is as follows:

Table 1 for SPDES General Permit Fees
Type Fees (in U.S. $)
SPDES (Phase II Storm) 50
SPDES (Phase 1 Storm) 50
PCI (to groundwater, 1,000 -10,000 gpd) 50
CAFO (Medium or Large) 50
Construction - annual fee 50
Construction - one time initial authorization fee 50 per disturbed acre and
300 per future impervious acre

Table 2 for SPDES Individual Permit Fees
Capacity Fee (in U.S. $)
Industrial Less than 10,000 gpd 475
10,000 - 99,999 gpd 1,575
100,000 - 499,999 gpd 4,750
500,000 - 999,999 gpd 15,750
1,000,000 - 9,999,999 gpd 23,500
10,000,000 gpd or more 47,500
Municipal Less than 200,000 gpd 375
200,000 - 999,999 gpd 1,875
1,000,000 - 4,999,999 gpd 7,500
5,000,000 - 39,999,999 gpd 15,000
40,000,000 gpd or more 37,500
Private/Commercial/
Institutional (PCI)		 Less than 100,000 gpd 100
100,000 gpd or more 200
Power Plant any size 50,000
Ballast Dischargers Less than 1,000,000 gals.
in any 24 hr. period		 100
1,000,000 gals. or more
in any 24 hr. period		 500

Disclaimer : When the fees indicated in the NYSDEC regulations or the above table are not consistent with those contained in the ECL, the annual fees indicated in the ECL shall prevail.

More about State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES):