The NPDES General Permit Inventory search tool allows users to search for NPDES general permits by permit number, permit name, state, EPA Region, date issued, date expired, or permit category. Search results display basic permit information, as well as a link to electronic permit documents when available.
Because this is an ongoing effort, the search engine below may not include all general permits. If you are unable to find a permit or would like more information on a specific permit in the inventory, contact your permitting authority for assistance.
EPA’s general permits cover discharges in areas where EPA is the NPDES permitting authority, which includes four states (Idaho, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New Mexico), Washington, D.C., all U.S. territories except the Virgin Islands, most Indian Country lands, federal facilities in four additional states (Colorado, Delaware, Vermont, and Washington), and a few additional areas as specified on the Specific State Program Status page. All other states have the authority to issue general permits.
The information in this inventory is obtained from PMOS, EPA Regional offices, and states and is updated semi-annually. The information in this inventory is current as of April 2016.
If you have any questions about this web inventory, or would like to report any data errors, please contact Jackie Clark.
A general permit is an NPDES permit that covers multiple facilities that have similar discharges and are located in a specific geographic area. A general permit applies the same or similar conditions to all dischargers covered under the general permit. Using a general permit to cover numerous facilities reduces paperwork for permitting authorities and permittees, and ensures consistency of permit conditions for similar facilities.
Once EPA or a state has issued a general permit, a facility wishing to be covered under the permit typically submits an application or Notice of Intent (NOI) to the permitting authority. In a few cases, such as EPA’s vessel permit and the pesticide general permit*, the general permit will identify when an application or NOI is not required. Check the state’s general permit to determine when this applies to state issued permits.
A general permit that expires before it is reissued may be administratively continued. In this situation all facilities covered under the permit maintain coverage until the permit is reissued and a new NOI is required. No new coverage may be obtained under the general permit until the permit is reissued.
EPA or the State may still require the facility to submit an individual permit application and receive an individual NPDES permit if it determines that coverage under the general permit is inappropriate. Like individual NPDES permits, general permits, and not simply coverages authorized under the permit, must have a term that does not exceed 5 years [CWA Section 402(b)(1)(B); 40 CFR 122.46(a)].
If you are interested in finding more detailed information about a specific facility covered by a general permit, EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) may have additional information.
* Pesticides and Vessels General Permits - EPA estimates that approximately 365,000 operators need permit coverage for discharges from pesticide applications. Because of the large number of operators and the fact that many of those operators are very small and may only need a permit for a very short time (e.g., they are only discharging for a couple of hours on one day a year over the course of five years), EPA and most states opted not to require all operators to have to submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) to be covered under the permit. While the number of facilities covered by the EPA-issued pesticide general permit for each state will show as zero in this inventory, EPA estimates approximately 35,000 operators may need permit coverage where EPA is the permitting authority, with about five percent needing to submit NOIs. State pesticide general permit facility coverage may also appear as zero in this inventory. In these cases, the state permitting authority may be contacted for additional information.
Additionally, Vessels greater than 79 feet in length, but less than 300 gross tons that do not have the capacity to hold or discharge more than 8 cubic meters of ballast water are not required to file an NOI, they are automatically covered by the permit. EPA estimates approximately 20,000 vessels fall into this category.
Search results will be presented in a table; however, you can also download more detailed information on the General Permits identified in these search results into an excel spreadsheet, or an HTML file, which can be saved to your desktop for further review and analysis.
