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National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) |  |
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Vessel General PermitIntroductionEPA currently regulates vessel discharges with the Vessel General Permit (VGP). The current permit, the 2008 Vessel General Permit (VGP) is in effect until 2013. To view the permit and information on the 2008 VGP, click here. EPA is proposing a draft 2013 Vessel General Permit (VGP) and Small Vessel General Permit (sVGP) to authorize discharges incidental to the normal discharge of operations of commercial vessels. This site is intended to answer many questions the commercial vessel owner/operator may have concerning the draft VGP and/or the sVGP. EPA expects a final 2013 Vessel General Permit to be issued by March 15, 2013, with an effective date of December 19, 2013. For a brief overview of the two draft permits, click here (PDF). (2 pp, 590K)
Draft 2013 Vessel General Permit (VGP) and Small Vessel General Permit (sVGP)DocumentsFR Notice (PDF) (10 pp, 192K) Draft 2013 Vessel General Permit (VGP) (PDF) (136 pp, 1.14MB)
Draft 2013 Small Vessel General Permit (sVGP) (PDF) (24
pp, 355K) Opportunity for Public CommentThe public will have 75 days to comment on the draft VGP and sVGP. Comments must be submitted on or before February 21, 2012. EPA seeks the views of the interested public on requirements currently contained in the draft VGP and sVGP (and the accompanying fact sheets and economic analyses), and any changes or additions recommended for the final VGP and sVGP. EPA will also host at least two public meetings and one webcast to present the proposed requirements of the VGP and sVGP, to receive public comment, and to answer questions concerning the proposed permit. The dates and locations of the public meetings and webcasts are as follows: Tribal Consultation Tribal Information and Consultation Session
National Tribal Consultation Teleconference- Presentation of VGP and sVGP requirements
For more information about tribal consultation for the 2013 draft VGP and sVGP, please contact Robin Danesi at danesi.robin@epa.gov. Public Meetings
Webcast
To view the Federal Register notice announcing the draft permits and instructions for submitting written comments, please click here (PDF) (38 pp, 225K) . Docket InformationTo see the support documents used to develop the draft 2013 VGP and sVGP and to see public comments on the permits, please search and view the dockets at http://www.regulations.gov. The docket numbers for the two permits are as follows:
Draft 2013 VGP – EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0141
2008 Vessel General Permit
Recreational vessels as defined in section 502(25) of the Clean Water Act are not subject to this permit. In addition, with the exception of ballast water discharges, non-recreational vessels less than 79 feet (24.08 meters) in length, and all commercial fishing vessels, regardless of length, are not subject to this permit. Click here to find out how to obtain authorization to discharge under the VGP. EPA signed the final VGP on December 18, 2008, with an effective date of December 19, 2008. Subsequently, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California signed an order providing that "the exemption for discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel, contained in 40 C.F.R. § 122.3(a), is vacated as of February 6, 2009." Therefore, the regulated community needed to comply with the terms of the VGP as of February 6, 2009. For information on how the court order affects the "effective date" and other dates in the VGP, see the "DATES" section of the Federal Register Notice announcing the availability of the VGP. Permit OverviewShort fact sheet (PDF) (2 pp, 120KB) describing applicability, general requirements, and example effluent limits for the VGP. The fact sheet is also available in the following languages:
The PermitThe following documents include the Vessel General Permit, the Vessel General Permit Fact Sheet, and other supporting documents and information:
Final Permit (PDF) (165 pp, 1.2MB) How to Become Authorized Under the VGPEPA highly recommends using the Vessels eNOI system to submit your NOI. However, if you cannot use the system, you may use the paper NOI (PDF) (5 pp, 317K) instead. Vessels of 300 gross tons or more or have the ability to hold or discharge more than 8 cubic meters of ballast must submit an NOI in order to receive permit coverage. Terminating Authorization Under the VGPIf you are required to submit an NOI, and subsequently meet one of the conditions identified in the VGP for terminating coverage, you must submit a Notice of Termination (NOT), preferably to the Vessels eNOI system. However, if you cannot access the system, you may use the paper NOT (PDF) (2 pp, 252K) instead. Monitoring, Reporting, and Contact Information for Filing ReportsAdditional information on monitoring, reporting, and contact information for filing noncompliance reports can be found under Monitoring and Reporting. Additional Permit ResourcesDescriptions of additional resources, including listings of changes to the permit since issuance and listings of nutrient impaired waters can be found under Additional Permit Resources. Reporting ViolationsIf you are a third party and wish to report a violation of EPA's Vessel General Permit please refer to EPA's Report an Environmental Violation. Supporting Documentation For additional supporting materials, including the VGP response to comments document can be found at www.regulations.gov
Contact InformationFor questions on the VGP, email VGP@epa.gov. For questions on the sVGP, email sVGP@epa.gov. |
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The 2008 Vessel General Permit (VGP) regulates discharges incidental to the normal operation
of vessels operating in a capacity as a means of transportation. The VGP includes general
effluent limits applicable to all discharges; general effluent limits applicable to 26
specific discharge streams; narrative water-quality based effluent limits; inspection,
monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements; and additional requirements
applicable to certain vessel types.
