NCG190000_FACT SHEET to Notice_20200715

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
DIVISION OF ENERGY, MINERAL AND LAND RESOURCES
FACT SHEET
GENERAL PERMIT NCG190000
NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM
PERMIT TO DISCHARGE STORMWATER
Permit No. NCG190000 Date: July 15, 2020
1. TYPES OF DISCHARGES COVERED
a. Industrial Activities Covered by this General Permit
Coverage under this general permit applies to all owners or operators of stormwater
point source discharges associated with establishments primarily engaged in operating
Marinas [standard industrial classification (SIC) 4493] including activities such as
renting boat slips and storing boats, and generally performing other services including
cleaning and incidental boat repair, and Ship and Boat Building and Repairing [SIC 3731.
Marinas where vehicle maintenance, equipment cleaning, fueling, painting,
maintenance/repair, etc.. are not conducted are not subject to this permit.
Coverage also applies to point source discharges from like industrial activities
deemed by the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources (DEMLR) to be similar
to these operations in the process, or the discharges, or the exposure of raw materials,
intermediate products, by-products, products, or waste products.
b. Characteristics of Discharged Stormwater
The draft renewal permit requires baseline sampling of all stormwater discharge
outfalls and/or authorized representative discharge outfalls in accordance with this
part.
(a) Grab samples shall be collected, analyzed and reported for the following
parameters: Total Suspended Solids (TSS), pH, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD),
aluminum, chromium III, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc for all outfalls and Non
Polar Oil and Grease for drainage areas that use greater than 55 gallons/month of
oil on average. COD, pH, chromium III, and nickel are new analytical monitoring
requirements.
(b) In addition to the grab samples, the average monthly usage of new motor and
hydraulic oil for the facility shall be tracked and recorded.
(c) The total rainfall amount for each sampling event shall be recorded in inches.
Total rainfall shall be determined from an on -site rain gauge or a regional rain
gauge located within one (1) mile of the facility.
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NCG190000 Fact Sheet - NC DEQ
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(d) Samples shall be collected from two separate monitoring periods per year. A
minimum of sixty (60) days must separate the two sampling events:
• January 1 - June 30, and
• July 1 - December 31.
c. GeographicArea(s) Covered by this General Permit
Discharges covered by this general permit are located at any place within the political
boundary of the State of North Carolina. Discharges located on the Cherokee Indian
Tribal Reservation are subject to permitting by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency and are not covered by this general permit.
d. Receiving Waters
Receiving waters include all surface waters of North Carolina or municipal separate
storm sewer systems conveying stormwater to surface waters.
2. MONITORING REQUIREMENTS
The renewal permit maintains benchmark concentrations for stormwater discharges from
industrial site activities to provide facilities with a tool with which to assess the
effectiveness of best management practices (BMPs). These benchmark concentrations are
not effluent limits, but provide guidelines for the facility's Stormwater Pollution Prevention
Plan (SWPPP). Exceedances of benchmark values require the permittee to increase
monitoring, increase management actions, increase record keeping, and/or install
stormwater BMPs in a tiered program. Four (4) benchmark exceedances trigger
notification to the Regional Office and may prompt additional requirements (Tier Three).
The proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2020 Multi Sector General Permit
(MSGP) incorporates recommendations from a National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) National Research Council (NRC) study. Some of these
recommendations have also been included in this draft permit. Specifically, Total
Suspended Solids (TSS), pH, and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) are recommended as
basic indicators of Stormwater Control Measure (SCM) effectiveness. TSS was in the
previous permit, but pH and COD have been added to this permit. In addition, chromium
and nickel have also been added as industry specific recommendations. The NAS study
concluded that these parameters could exist in the industry's stormwater discharges. The
MSGP has benchmark values, but NC benchmark values are typically used in permits. EPA's
conversion factor (or translator) is sometimes also used in calculating NC benchmarks as
explained in the following paragraphs.
Because of the sporadic nature of rainfall, DEQ considers acute (short-term) effects when
establishing stormwater benchmarks for metals. The benchmarks are derived from the US
EPA published dissolved National Recommended Water Quality Criteria (NRWQC) for
metals (where applicable) and translated into total recoverable metals as required by § 40
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NCG190000 Fact Sheet - NC DEQ
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CFR 122.45(c). (Note that EPA and DEQ use the terms "total metal" and "total recoverable
metal" synonymously to refer to the metals solubilized by digestion with strong solutions of
mineral acids.) On August 1, 2020, the DEMLR Stormwater Program will publish a fact
sheet about Calculation of Stormwater Benchmarks that will provide more detailed
information.
Parameter
FW BM
SW BM
Rational
m L
mg L
Total Suspended Solids (TSS)
100
100
EPA MSGP recommended basic
indicator of SCM effectiveness
TSS (HQW, ORW, Tr, PNA)
50
50
Non -Polar Oil & Grease by EPA
15
15
Adopted in 2015, more specific
Method 1664 (SGT-HEM)
test for petroleum based oils
and greases
Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)
120
120
EPA recommended basic
indicator of SCM effectiveness
pH
6-9
6-9
EPA recommended basic
indicator of SCM effectiveness
Aluminum
0.75
0.24
No FW BM change.
Chromium III
0.905
None
EPA recommended sector
specific indicator of potential
pollutant sources. EPA and NC
have same FW BM. No data
available to determine SW BM
Copper(a)
0.010
0.006
No FWBM change. SW BM= NC
CMC (acute dissolved SW Cu
standard, 0.0048 mg/L)/EPA
translator 0.83
Lead
.075
.22
No FWBM change. SW BM= NC
CMC (acute dissolved SW Pb
standard, 0.210 mg/L)/EPA
translator 0.951
Nickel
.335
.074
No FWBM change. SW BM= NC
CMC (acute dissolved SW Ni
standard, 0.074 mg/L)/EPA
translator 0.99
Zinc(a)
0.126
.095
No FWBM change. SW BM= NC
CMC (acute dissolved SW Ni
standard, 0.09 mg/L)/EPA
translator(0.946)
FW BM: Freshwater Benchmark
SW BM: Saltwater Benchmark
EPA: Environmental Protection Agency
MSGP: Multi Sector General Permit
SCM: Stormwater Control Measure
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NCG190000 Fact Sheet - NC DEQ July 15, 2020
HQW: High Quality Waters
ORW: Outstanding Resource Waters
Tr: Trout Waters
PNA: Primary Nursery Area Waters
CMC: Criterion Maximum Concentration
(a)Copper and Zinc are common in natural soils and some urban environments. They are
required to be monitored because the activities regulated by this permit have the potential
to contribute significant amounts to discharges.
Total Rainfall (inches) and Average Monthly Oil Usage will continue to be monitored and
neither of these parameters has a benchmark value.
Some parts of the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) have been expanded
or modified. Please refer to the proposed draft General Permit NCG190000 for those
requirements.
3. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
a. Deadlines for Submittal of Discharge Monitoring Reports
One change in the draft renewal permit is the requirement for Discharge Monitoring
Reports (DMRs) for Periods 1 and 2 to be submitted no later than 30 days from that
date that the facility receives the sampling results. Previously, permitted mining
operations were allowed to submit reports on an annual basis and there was not a 30-
day requirement. This requirement was modified in the draft renewal permit so that
the permit would be compliant with federal law and so that mining operations would
submit reports consistently with other types of covered industrial activities in North
Carolina. The administration of this requirement will become easier when eDMR is
implemented. NCG02 permittees are expected to go into eDMR on July 1, 2021.
The permit also provides that for COCs issued between June 1-30 or Dec 1-31,
sampling shall not commence until the next sampling period following initial issuance
of the COC.
b. Submittal Process before eDMR
Before eDMR, original, signed DMR form shall be scanned and uploaded to the
electronic DMR submittal form, which can be found by typing "deq.nc.gov/SW-
Industrial" into a browser window and hitting "enter."
Then, the original signed DMR Forms shall be mailed or otherwise delivered to the
appropriate Regional Office, which is indicated at:
https: [/deq.nc.gov/contact/regional-offices/.
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This is a new process that will assist DEMLR staff in maintaining the digital file on each
permit. During the past two years, all mining permit files have been scanned and are
now available on the Stormwater Laserfiche Repository, which can be found by typing
"deq.nc.gov/SW" into a window browser and hitting "enter."
c. Submittal Process after eDMR
After the Division has created an electronic reporting system to accept NPDES
stormwater permit monitoring data, the permittee shall report discharge monitoring
data electronically using the Division's Electronic Discharge Monitoring Report
(eDMR) internet application. The Division will notify permittees when eDMR is ready
to accept stormwater monitoring data.
d. Qualitative Monitoring Reports
The permittee shall record the required qualitative monitoring observations on the
SDO Qualitative Monitoring Report form provided by the Division and shall retain the
completed forms on site. Qualitative monitoring results shall not be submitted to the
Division, except upon the Division's specific requirement to do so. Qualitative
Monitoring Report forms are available the Division's website
(https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/energy-mineral-land-resources/npdes-
stormwater-gps).
4. COMPLIANCE SCHEDULE
The compliance schedule in Part I, Section I-1 advises that the permittee comply with
Limitations and Controls specified for stormwater discharges in accordance with the
following schedule:
Existing Facilities already operating but applying for permit coverage for the
first time: The Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan shall be developed and
implemented within 12 months of the effective date of the Certificate of Coverage
and updated thereafter on an annual basis. Secondary containment, as specified in
Part B, Section B-9 of this general permit, shall be accomplished within 12 months of
the effective date of the issuance of the Certificate of Coverage.
New Facilities applying for coverage for the first time: The Stormwater
Pollution Prevention Plan shall be developed and implemented prior to the
beginning of discharges from the operation of the industrial activity and be updated
thereafter on an annual basis. Secondary containment, as specified in Part B,
Section B-9 of this general permit, shall be accomplished prior to the beginning of
discharges from the operation of the industrial activity.
Existing facilities previously permitted and applying for renewal under this
General Permit: All requirements, conditions, limitations, and controls contained
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NCG190000 Fact Sheet - NC DEQ
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in this permit (except new SWPPP elements in this permit renewal) shall become
effective immediately upon issuance of the Certificate of Coverage. New elements
of the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan for this permit renewal shall be
developed and implemented within six months of the effective date of this general
permit and updated thereafter on an annual basis. Secondary containment, as
specified in Part B, Section B-9 of this general permit, shall be accomplished prior to
the beginning of discharges from the operation of the industrial activity.
S. BASIS FOR CONTROLS AND LIMITATIONS
The conditions of this general permit have been designed using best professional judgment
to achieve water quality protection through compliance with the technology -based
standards of the Clean Water Act (Best Available Technology [BAT] and Best Conventional
Pollutant Control Technology [BCT]). Where the Director determines that a water quality
violation has occurred and water quality -based controls or effluent limitations are required
to protect the receiving waters, coverage under the general permit shall be terminated and
an individual permit will be required. Based on a consideration of the appropriate factors
for BAT and BCT requirements, and a consideration of the factors discussed in this fact
sheet for controlling pollutants in stormwater discharges associated with the activities as
described in Item 1 (Types of Discharge Covered), this permit retains a set of requirements
for developing and implementing stormwater pollution prevention plans, and specific
requirements for monitoring and reporting on stormwater discharges.
The permit conditions reflect the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) and North
Carolina's pollution prevention approach to stormwater permitting. The quality of the
stormwater discharge associated with an industrial activity will depend on the availability
of pollutant sources. This renewal permit still reflects the Division's position that
implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs) and traditional stormwater
management practices which control the source of pollutants meets the definition of BAT
and BCT. The permit conditions are not numeric effluent limitations, but rather are
designed to be flexible requirements for developing and implementing site specific plans to
minimize and control pollutants in the stormwater discharges associated with the
industrial activity.
Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 122.44(k)(2) authorizes the use of BMPs in
lieu of numeric effluent limitations in NPDES permits when the agency finds numeric
effluent limitations to be infeasible. The agency may also impose BMP requirements which
are "reasonably necessary" to carry out the purposes of the Act under the authority of 40
CFR 122.44(k)(3). The conditions of the renewal permit are retained under the authority
of both of these regulatory provisions. The pollution prevention requirements (BMP
requirements) in this permit operate as limitations on effluent discharges that reflect the
application of BAT/BCT. The basis is that the BMPs identified require the use of source
control technologies which, in the context of these general permits, are the best available of
the technologies economically achievable (or the equivalent BCT finding).
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NCG190000 Fact Sheet - NC DEQ
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All facilities covered by this general permit must prepare, retain, implement, and (at a
minimum of annually) update a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP). The term
"pollution prevention" distinguishes this source reduction approach from traditional
pollution control measures that typically rely on end -of -pipe treatment to remove
pollutants in the discharges. The plan requirements are based primarily on traditional
stormwater management, pollution prevention and BMP concepts, providing a flexible
basis for developing site -specific measures to minimize and control the amounts of
pollutants that would otherwise contaminate the stormwater runoff.
The pollution prevention approach adopted in the SWPPP in this renewal permit still
focuses on two major objectives: 1) to identify sources of pollution potentially affecting the
quality of stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity from the facility; and 2)
to describe and ensure that practices are implemented to minimize and control pollutants
in stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity from the facility and to ensure
compliance with the terms and conditions of the permit.
The Division believes that it is not appropriate at this time to require a single set of effluent
limitations or a single design or operational standard for all facilities which discharge
stormwater associated with industrial activity. This permit instead establishes a
framework for the development and implementation of a site -specific SWPPP. This
framework provides the necessary flexibility to address the variable risk for pollutants in
stormwater discharges associated with the industrial activities that are addressed by this
permit, while ensuring procedures to prevent stormwater pollution at a given facility are
appropriate given the processes employed, engineering aspects, functions, costs of
controls, location, and age of facility (as discussed in 40 CFR 125.3). This approach allows
flexibility to establish controls which can appropriately address different sources of
pollutants at different facilities.
There has been no significant change to this rationale since the previous General
Permit NCG190000.
6. REQUESTED VARIANCES OR ALTERNATIVES TO REQUIRED STANDARDS
There are no requested variances or alternatives to required standards. Facilities
requesting variances to required standards will not be covered under this General Permit
but will instead be required to seek coverage under an individual permit.
7. THE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD
The public notice, containing the NCG19 draft renewal permit and fact sheet are available
at the NC Stormwater Program's Public Notice web site:
https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/energy-mineral-and-land-
resources/stormwater/stormwater-program/stormwater-public.
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NCG190000 Fact Sheet - NC DEQ July 15, 2020
In addition, the historical record on the NCG19 permit is available at the Stormwater
Program Laserfiche Repository, which can be found at:
https:-Z/edocs.deq..nc.gov/WaterResources/Browse.aspx?id=280110&dbid=0&repo=Water
Resources.
B. STATE CONTACT
Additional information about the draft permit may be obtained at the above address
between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM Monday through Friday by contacting: Paul
Clark at [phone].
9. SCHEDULE OF PERMIT ISSUANCE
Draft Permit Public Notice - Statewide Notice to publish July 15, 2020;
Draft available on-line by July 15, 2020;
Comment Period Ends August 14, 2020
Permit Scheduled to Issue - No later than September 30, 2020;
Effective October 1, 2020
10. PROCEDURE FOR THE FORMULATION OF FINAL DETERMINATIONS
a. Comment Period
The Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources proposes to issue an NPDES
General Permit for the above described stormwater discharges subject to the outlined
effluent limitations, management practices, and special conditions. These
determinations are open to comment from the public.
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on the permit applications
or on the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources' proposed determinations to
the following address:
Stormwater Program
Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources
1612 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1612
Attn: Paul Clark
All comments received within thirty (30) days following the date of public notice are
considered in the formulation of final determinations.
b. Public Meeting
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NCG190000 Fact Sheet - NC DEQ
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The Director of the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources may hold a public
meeting if there is a significant degree of public interest in a proposed permit or group
of permits. Public notice of such a meeting will be circulated in newspapers in the
geographical area of the discharge and to those on the Division of Energy, Mineral and
Land Resources' mailing list at least thirty (30) days prior to the meeting.
c. Appeal Hearing
An applicant whose permit is denied, or is granted subject to conditions they deem
unacceptable, shall have the right to a hearing before the Commission upon making
written demand to the Office of Administrative Hearing (OAH) within 30 days following
issuance or denial of the permit.
d. Issuance of a Permit When no Hearing is Held
If no public meeting or appeal hearing is held, after review of the comments received,
and if the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources' determinations are
substantially unchanged, the permit will be issued and become effective on the first day
of the month following the issuance date. This will be the final action of the Division of
Energy, Mineral and Land Resources.
If a public meeting or appeal hearing is not held, but there have been substantial
changes, public notice of the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources' revised
determinations will be made. Following a 30-day comment period, the permit will be
issued and will become effective on the first day of the month following the issuance
date. This will be the final action of the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources
unless a public meeting or appeal hearing is granted.
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