NCG010000_Memo RE Oil and Gas NPDES Exemptions_20210315

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March 15, 2021
MEMORANDUM
To: Regional Engineers
Through: Brian Wrenn
Division Director
William (Toby) Vinson, Jr.
Section Chief of Program Operations
Matt Gantt
Section Chief of Regional Operations
From: Julie Coco
State Sedimentation Program Engineer
Subject: Oil & Gas Stormwater Permitting Exemption
Land disturbing activities in connection with oil and gas activities require an erosion and sediment control
plan approved by the state of North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. However, Section
402(I)(2) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) provides that the EPA shall not require, nor force a state to require
a CWA section 402 permit for discharges of stormwater runoff from oil and gas exploration, production,
processing or treatment operations, or transmissions facilities, composed entirely of flows that are from
conveyances or systems of conveyances used for collecting and conveying precipitation runoff. This
means that erosion and sedimentation control plans submitted to the NCDEQ are exempt from the NPDES
NCG01 permit requirements.
This exemption applies to both construction and industrial activities associated with oil and gas
exploration, production, processing or treatment operations, or transmission facilities. Hence, it would
apply to activities or projects that include, but are not limited to, drilling sites, gathering lines from
production wells, transmission pipelines as defined by PHMSA (Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration), compressor stations, storage facilities, laydown yards that are contiguous to exempt
projects, and access roads needed to support these projects. Local borrow pits excavated for the purpose
of building the infrastructure necessary to operate oil and gas fields, crude oil pipelines, and natural gas
transmission lines are also exempt from the NPDES program provided they supply material only to an
exempt oil and gas project. Biogas collection and transmission projects also fall within this CWA and
NCG01 exemption.
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The exemption does not apply to activities or projects that include, but are not limited to, improvements
to public roads that provide access to exempt projects, distribution lines (e.g., service lines that connect
distribution centers with homes and businesses), and any stormwater conveyance or system of
conveyances that are contaminated by contact with any overburden, raw material, intermediate products,
finished product, byproduct or waste products located on the site of such operations, or to any discharge
of oil, grease or a hazardous substance that results in a "reportable quantity" as defined by 40 CFR 110.3
PDF for oil, or 40 CFR 117.3 (PDF) and 40 CFR 302.4 (PDF) for hazardous substances. This usually refers
to oil that violates applicable water quality standards or causes a film, sheen or discoloration of the water
surface.
Construction activities that result in a discharge of a reportable quantity release or that contribute
pollutants (other than non -contaminated sediments) to a violation of a water quality standard, will require
either an NCG01 or individual permit for any land disturbance equal to or greater than one (1) acre in size
or less than one acre if part of a common plan of development or sale. DEMLR staff should consult with
the Division of Water Resources when they observe such possible violations.
If you are preparing erosion and sedimentation control approval letters based off our templates, please
remove all language from your approval letters requesting oil and gas exempt projects to apply for the
NCG01 permit before sending to the recipients. We recommend you substitute the following language:
"This project meets the NCG01 exemption as defined in the Clean Water Act (CWA) section 402(I)(2) for
<transmission facilities, drill pads, processing facilities, access roads, etc.>."
Piedmont Natural Gas (a subsidiary of Duke Energy) for example, has agreed to include a request for
exemption along with supporting information within their Project Description as part of their application
to the Department. We can request that others who apply for an erosion and sedimentation control plan
approval provide information to support a project's status as exempt if we need additional clarification.
ec: Annette Lucas, Stormwater Program Supervisor