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NPDES Permit Program Basics Recent Additions
June 02, 2008
- Water Transfers Final Rule - EPA is publishing a final rule to exclude water transfers from the NPDES permitting program. The Agency believes that Congress intended for water transfers to be subject to oversight by water resource management agencies and State non-NPDES authorities, rather than the NPDES permitting program. The final rule defines a water transfer as an activity that conveys or connects waters of the United States without subjecting the transferred water to intervening industrial, municipal, or commercial use. This does not apply to pollutants introduced by the water transfer activity itself to the water being transferred.
August 23, 2007
- Watershed-Based National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permitting Technical Guidance - This technical guidance is a follow up to the 2003 Watershed-based National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permitting Implementation Guidance and provides greater detail concerning a number of permit development and issuance questions not addressed previously. This document is focused on helping NPDES authorities develop and issue NPDES permits that fit into an overall watershed planning and management approach with input from watershed stakeholders.
August 07, 2007
- Water Quality Trading Toolkit for Permit Writers - EPA’s first "how-to" manual on designing and implementing water quality trading programs. The Toolkit helps NPDES permitting authorities incorporate trading provisions into permits. It will help improve the quality and consistency of all trading programs across the nation.
March 08, 2005
February 14, 2005
- WET Listening Sessions [PDF - 22 KB - 1 p] - EPA's Office of Wastewater Management hosted two listening sessions on its "Draft National Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) Implementation Guidance Under the NPDES Program," released for public comment on December 28, 2004. These listening sessions took place in Washington, DC (February 28, 2005) and San Francisco, CA (March 17, 2005).
December 28, 2004
- EPA Releases Draft National Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) Implementation Guidance for Public Review and Comments - The draft document gathers together previous EPA guidance, policy, and other information and organizes it in one comprehensive document. The document also addresses a number of important issues that have been raised by states, regulated industry, and interested stakeholders on the implementation of whole effluent toxicity limits in NPDES permits. Interested parties may submit comments on the draft guidance until March 31, 2005. (The February 28, 2005 public comment period was extended to March 31, 2005.) Comments were submitted to EPA's eDocket.
August 20, 2004
March 01, 2004
- View NPDES General Permits - EPA is gathering PDF copies of NPDES general permits and fact sheets for major facilities issued after Novemeber 1, 2002. Use this web page to search and view general permits issued by permit category, state, permit title, or permit number.
December 29, 2003
- Permitting Implementation Guidance [PDF Format] - Describes EPA's recommended steps and ideas for watershed-based permitting implementation under the NPDES permit program. This approach, aimed at achieving new efficiencies and environmental results, provides a process for considering all stressors within a hydrologically defined drainage basin or other geographic area, rather than addressing individual pollutant sources on a discharge-by-discharge basis.
November 04, 2003
- EPA Issues Draft Policy on Blending at Sewage Treatment Facilities for Public Comment - EPA has issued this draft policy to establish consistent national guidelines on the practice of blending that is used by municipal sewage treatment facilities to manage high flows associated with storm events. Already widely used, blending is a technique to manage high flows that could damage sensitive parts of the sewage treatment system or could lead to overflows of raw sewage into local waterways. The draft policy outlines safeguards and requirements to be followed during blending and restates the requirement that all discharges must continue to meet Clean Water Act permit limits. The public comment period ended on January 9, 2004.
August 25, 2003
- Draft Watershed-Based NPDES Permitting Implementation Guidance is Available for Comment [PDF Format] - Describes the concept of and the process for watershed-based permitting under the NPDES permit program. Watershed-based NPDES permitting is an approach to developing NPDES permits for multiple point sources located within a defined geographic area (i.e., watershed boundaries). This approach, aimed at achieving new efficiencies and environmental results, provides a process for considering all stressors within a hydrologically defined drainage basin or other geographic area, rather than addressing individual pollutant sources on a discharge-by-discharge basis. The public comment period [PDF Format] on this draft guidance closed September 24, 2003.
July 01, 2003
- 2003 Construction General Permit - EPA reissued its NPDES general permit for storm water discharges associated with construction activity. This permit is effective for five years and is available everywhere EPA is the NPDES permitting authority, except EPA Region 4. The permit provides coverage for large (>5 acres disturbed) and small (1-5 acres disturbed) construction activities, the latter being added as a result of the Phase II Storm Water Rule that was promulgated on December 8, 1999. Copies of the permit and permit fact sheet, federal register announcement, background information, and procedures on how to comply with the permit requirements are included.
April 01, 2003
- April is Stormwater Month! - A CD-based outreach kit to help communities implement the new requirements of the Phase II NPDES stormwater regulations. The kit includes a wide variety of materials for homeowners, construction site operators, children, and businesses. Local officials can use the Stormwater Month CD to customize these materials with their agency's name, address, and phone number so that citizens will know where to turn for more information.
April 01, 2003
- Watershed-based NPDES Permitting Case Studies have arrived! - EPA has developed a series of fact sheets to highlight existing examples of watershed-based NPDES permitting throughout the country. The information contained in the fact sheets provides the context for watershed-based NPDES permitting and gives details about how the approach is used in each watershed.
March 07, 2003
- Postponement of the NPDES Storm Water Permit Deadline for Oil and Gas Construction Activity Disturbing 1 to 5 Acres of Land - On March 5, 2003, the Administrator signed the final rule that postpones until March 10, 2005, the NPDES storm water permit deadline for oil and gas construction activity disturbing 1 to 5 acres of land. The NPDES storm water regulations (Phase II), finalized on December 8, 1999, include coverage for such facilities. At that time, EPA believed that few of these facilities would be affected by the rule. Since that time, EPA has become aware that as many as 30,000 facilities could be affected. During the two-year postponement, EPA will analyze and evaluate this information and its potential impact.
February 13, 2003
- February is Wastewater Month! - Materials provided will assist communities in raising awareness of important wastewater issues. Local officials will find space on many of the materials to insert local contact information so citizens will know where to turn for more information.
February 10, 2002
February 05, 2003
- Waters of the U.S. Jurisdiction: ANPRM and Guidance - On January 10, 2003, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and EPA issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) in order to obtain early comment on issues associated with the scope of waters that are subject to the Clean Water Act (CWA) in light of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 531 U.S. 159 (2001) (SWANCC). Comments in response to the ANPRM were due by March 3rd, 2003. This decision has implications for many CWA programs, including Section 404, Section 402 (NPDES), and others. The ANPRM also contains a copy of a January 10, 2003, EPA and Corps joint memorandum that provides clarifying guidance on these issues.
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