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Home My WebLink AboutNCG010000_General Permit (2010-11) Fact Sheet_20091229FACTSHEET (Fact Sheet is unchanged from the Draft submitted August 12, 2009.) GENERAL PERMIT NATIONAL POLLUT4;i s 1- 6 Ji jj am " t Ajff I I wrowton-lui grading, and excavation activities which will result in the disturbance of one or more acres of total land area. Point source conveyance of storinwater runoff from construction activities including clearing, grading, and excavation activities that result in the disturbance of one or more acres of total land area that have a Sedimentation and Erosion Control plan approved by the N.C. Division of Land Resources or a delegated local program approved by that agency pursuant to the requirements of NCGS 11 3A-54.1 and NCGS 11 3A-61. Those construction activities which do not have an approved Sedimentation and Erosion Control plan will have to obtain required NPDES permit coverage under an individual permit or an alternative general pen -nit. Total suspended solids (TSS) is a measure of the suspended material in water. The measure of TSS in stoniiwater allows for an estimation of sediment transport, which can have significant effects in downstream receiving waters. �IWJIIWI Wit 1111VA 111111"1111121 M��= in water. It has been demonstrated to adversely affect aquatic species, such as the ability of small macroinvertebrates to survive or reproduce as well as affinafv�V.&� populations directly and indirectly. Also, potential for contamination during construction activity exists from fluids (fuels, lubricants, hydraulic fluids, coolants, etc,) from construction equipment or machinery. Materials stored on the construction site such as chemicals, explosives, etc., could also enter the stormwater runoff discharge. of the State of North Carolina (discharges located on the Cherokee Indian Tribal Reservation are subject to permitting by the US Environmental Protection Agency and are not covered by this General Permit). 23MEMMM systems conveying stonnwater to surface waters. A general permit for construction activities is an appropriate permitting approach for the following reasons: • A general permit is an efficient method to establish the essential regulatory requirements that are appropriate for a broad range of construction activities; • A general pen -nit is the most efficient method to handle the large number of construction stormwater pernnt applications; • The application requirements for coverage under a general pen -nit are far less rigorous than individual permit application requirements and hence more cost effective; • A general permit is consistent with EPA's four -tier permitting strategy, the purpose of which is to use the flexibility provided by the Clean Water Act in designing a workable and reasonable permitting system. See item c. below,for a summary (?f the differences in the conditions qf the proposed Draft General Perinit,kom those of the present permit. R. Description of Typical Storrawater Controls and Treatment Facilities I I M111411 1111!�1!111�1111p�� 1� 111;1� ;11:1111ii; I I 19xmg1 or types of sediment and erosion control practices are listed below: NEEMMIREM I I I I ISITIMM161L Straw Hydro mulch Blankets and other "rolled" products Vegetative Practices Temporary seeding Permanent seeding Sod stabilization Vegetative buffer strips Protection of existing trees and vegetation Structural Practices Earth dike Silt fence Drainage swales Check dams Level spreader Pipe slope drain Storm drain inlet protection Rock outlet protection Sediment Traps and Basins b. Proposed General Permit dischard3=1Wl1ffMUT? Me See "Part 1, Section A - Final Limitations and Controls for Stormwater Discharges" of the GENERAL PERMIT10000 for the proposed controls and limitations. Listed below are several conditions of the proposed General Permit that are critical to assure that compliance is attained. (Some of the conditions are in the existing General Permit GP 01 and some have been added.) • Construction activities disturbing one or more acres of land will need a local or state sediment and erosion control plan and coverage under the NPDES General Permit for stormwater point source discharges; • Local or state sedimentierosion control plans must be approved before disturbance occurs; • Must implement the state or local plan — deviations are a violation of the permit; • Copy of all plans retained by permittee; • Deposition of sediment offsite or in a stream or wetiand are considered violations of the permit; • Visible deposition of sediment shall be reported to the DWQ within 24 hrs of inspection; • A rain gauge shall be maintained on the site; • A written record of the daily rainfall amounts shall. be retained; • At least once per week, each control measure shall be inspected to ensure that it is operating correctly and records maintained; • Inspections should also be made within 24 hours of rain events > 0.50 in; • The quality of all stormwater discharges shall be observed and recorded; HZNMIUJLIRHM�_� �PR If any visible sedimentation is leaving the site or entering waters of the state, corrective action shall be taken immediately to control the discharge of se�iments. C. Proposed changes to present General Permit Below is a list of the most notable changes made in the Draft permit from those that are in the existing permit. The Division has made proposed changes that are intended to make compliance authorities and compliance requirements more clear. In order to reduce future paper usage, the entire document was considerably condensed by eliminating a lot of skipped lines and page breaks. Added a provision that the Division can require a site -specific Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, in addition to the approved Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan, if sediment is reaching a stream or wetland. o Where there is a potential that construction activities could affect a federally listed threatened or endangered species, the Division may require the special "Design Standards in Sensitive Watersheds" (I 5A NCAC 04B .0 124) which includes applying limitations on the amount of area that can be disturbed at any one time. The existing permit contains a requirement for monitoring once/week for all sites but twice/week in sediment or turbidity -impaired stream watersheds. After an implementation evaluation, we realized that most applicants had difficulty determining where the sediment -impaired 303(d)-listed streams were located and that the condition was not being universally implemented. Also, there is not enough clear information to establish how far upstream of an impaired segment the site must be to require the twice/week monitoring. (In some cases, you have a construction site 75 or 100 miles upstream from a segment that has a 10% turbidity violation. Should we be requiring double -monitoring for all projects in that 500 square drainage area or just at that immediate segment location?) After much discussion with our field staff, we have recommended removing the twice/week inspection requirements for 303(d)-listed streams. Instead we've added requirement that "Sites discharging to streams named on the state's 303(d) list as impaired for sediment -related causes may be required to perform additional monitoring, inspections or application of more stringent management practices if it is determined that the additional requirements are needed to assure compliance with the federal or state impaired -waters conditions." This establishes clear ability to mandate additional BMP requirements in 303(d)-listed streams. We've come to realize that requiring a twice per week inspection doesn't really contribute much toward addressing the problem of excess sediment in streams. One, after calculating the additional significant rain events that might occur between the first and second inspection, we saw that the numbers were exceeding small. Furthermore, the problem is not making the inspection but making sure the inspector accurately identifies the problems and corrects them after the inspection. We concluded that requiring twice/week ins�juectiin some watersheds mi.ht sound "twice as ...-ood" • the benefits were negligible. We strongly believe that all streams need better protection and that focusing additional DWQ staff time on enforcing twice/week monitoring, on a site that may be miles away from a stream that has been historically impaired, will be reducing resources available to enforce existing state sediment reduction requirements. Made it clear that the State can mandate additional BMP and monitoring requirements for activities in sedimeD.t-impaired 303(d) strearns. Added some definitions — "Control Measure" and "Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan" and also added some clarifying language to • Sections. Made it clearer that the Division may require additional BMPs at any site where sedime is reaching a stream • wetland. i iR I See "PART I - SECTION B. MINIMUM MONITORING AND REPORTIN REQUIREMENTS" of the General Pennit NCG 0 10000. 1 64 INII 0 4 9 discharges • disturbance has begun on the site and until completion of construction or development and the establishment of a permanent ground cover. During construction and until the completion of construction or development and the establishment of permanent ground cover, the permittee shall provide the operation and maintenance necessary to operate the storm water control measures and all erosion and sedimentation control measures at optimum efficiency. (note: Completion of construction may be signified by the Division of Land Resources or approved local program closing the site or certifying that the site is complete). Lirm tom"Arn tw-Ky. I I I VAIAM"I W11 1 -0 9 111 LU I tm If H. VA91-7114 IN OJ 1 ENS The general permit contains language that indicates that where a project is proposed and the discharge could adversely affect a Federally Listed Threatened and Endangered Species, the Division may require special "Design Standards in Sensitive Watersheds" (I 5A NCAC 04B .0 124). These measures are applicable where the listed species has the potential to be impacted by construction site iunoff. Land disturbing activities in designated "High Quality Waters" will require the addition measures specified in "Design Standards in Sensitive Watersheds." i 0 The revised pennit makes it clear that the State can mandate additional BI requirements for activities in sediment -impaired 303(d) streams. The Division of Land Quality of DENR has authority in 15ANCAC.04B.01 15 to apply "Additional Measures" when it is determined that significant erosion and sedimentation continues despite the installation of standard protective practices. The Federal Clean Water Act (FCWA, 1972, and later modifications, 1977, 198 1, and 1987) established water quality goals for the navigable (surface) waters of the United States. One of the mechanisms for achieving the goals of the Clean Water Act is the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Systern permit program (NPDES permits), which is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA has delegated responsibility to administer th(,- NPDES permit program to the State of • Carolina. There is an Agreement between the EPA and the State setting forth the authorities and specifications for delegation to North Carolina. Construction activities may result in severe localized impacts on water quality due to high loads of pollutants, primarily sediment, associated with the erosion of disturbed land surfaces. Over a short period of time, construction sites can contribute more sediment to streams than was deposited previously over several decades. Typical rates of erosion on a construction site can be 10 to 1. 00 tons per acre per year, but may also be considerably higher. These concerns are addressed by the existing Sedimentation Control Program administered by the North Carolina bii�osa 6.12mi iispiwmw I-ImmimW *f 6il u -117-71 - 77TTRUT&M-77-1,7771 A_ 14)) , nan on acrc TY M077r7mil , Me land surface to submit an erosion and sedimentation control plan at least 30 days prior to beginning of the land disturbing activity. These plans are submitted to the regional engineer for Land Quality located in. one of the seven Department regional offices or to a delegated local RM-61#101INDIMM KWHOW SM-33MEM program. The Land Resources Division developed the Erosion and Sediment Control Planning and Design Manual to assist applicants in the preparation of such plans. Additionally, each plan is compared to a checklist of and approval process. The Division of Land Resources also delegated their review and approval program to approximately 50 local governments in North Carolina. In addition to plan review and approval, the Land Quality Section inspects facilities for compliance, investigates complaints, provides technical assistance, and conducts routine overview of the delegated local programs. The specific requirements for all erosion and sediment control plans are contained in Title 15A North Carolina Administrative Code Chapter 4 (15A NCAC 4). These rules address the reouirements for submission of aWrovable erosion and sedimentation control pla I I ",-- process, mandatory standards for land disturbance activities, design and performance standards, access and haul roads, maintenance, inspections and investigations, design standards in sensitive watersheds, and buffer zone requirements in addition to other provisions. These procedures are administered and enforced in such a manner as to provide %rotection of the receivinywratusimn- pollution caused by erosion frorn the land disturbance activity. fffflyfflI �= Stormwater Permitting Unit Division of Water Quality 1617 Mail Service Center Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1617 1111111� i''ll!'1! 11111 '1111111111101111111 Illirtirom8l#lmm Archdale Building 9th Floor Syrface Vi'atcr Protection Section Stormwater Permitting Unit Z: Salisbury Street Raleigh, North Carolina between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM Monday through Friday. Copies will be provided at a charge of 10 cents per page. NOMM 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: Boyd DeVane at 919-807- 6373 or at boyd.devaiie(a-) ,ncdenr.gov Draft Permit to Public Notice — Notice published June 15, 2009 Closing date for comments — October 1, 2009 Permit Reissuance Effective Date — January 1, 2010 The Division of Water Quality proposes to issue an NPDES General Pen -nit for the above described stormwater discharges subject to the outlined effluent limitations, management practices, and special conditions. These deten-ninations are open to comment from the public. Stormwater Permitting Unit Division of Water Quality 1617 Mail Service Center Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1617 Attn: Boyd DeVane The Director of the Division of Water Quality may hold a public meeting if there is a significant degree of public interest in a proposed permit or group of permits. (No public meeting was requested.)