NCG180000_Response to Comments and Changes_20140909

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DEMLR Response to Comments on NCG18
September 9, 2014
North Carolina DEMLR Response to Comments
and Summary of Changes to
NPDES Stormwater draft General Permit NCG18OOOO
(2014 Renewal)
Background
NPDES Stormwater General Permit NCG180000, which regulates stormwater discharges from
furniture mills and like industrial activities, expired on August 31, 2014. The North Carolina
Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources (DEMLR) posted the draft General Permit and
the supporting Fact Sheet on the Stormwater Permitting Program website beginning June 4,
2014. We announced in selected newspapers across the state on or before June 10, 2014 that
the draft of the proposed revised General Permit was available on our website for public
comment. DEMLR also ran this notice in the June 16, 2014 issue of the North Carolina Register.
The public comment period closed on August 13, 2014 (58 days), consistent with the regulatory
minimum duration of 30 days.
DEMLR revises and reissues our NPDES stormwater General Permits on a five-year schedule.
Every five years we solicit public comment, especially from the particular regulated industry
sector; we review analytical data from the previous five-year term of the permits; we evaluate
identified compliance problems and problems in our enforcement of the permits as may be
reported by our Regional Office inspectors; and we seek to improve the effectiveness of the
permits as stormwater management tools for the permittees.
As required by agreement with EPA, DEMLR sent the proposed General Permit to EPA Region IV
staff in Atlanta on May 27, 2014 for the agency's review. On July 29, 2014, EPA Region IV
responded that the agency had no comments on it. EPA's additional review and approval
would be necessary if the proposed final General Permit incorporated significant changes from
the published draft version, or if significant public comments objecting to the permit were
received. DEMLR concluded that neither of these criteria was met, and therefore further EPA
review before final issuance was not required.
DEMLR routinely prepares this summary document both for those that submit written
comments on the draft General Permits, as well as for other interested parties. This document
will be posted on our website for public access.
Comments and Responses
DEMLR received no public comments on the proposed draft General Permit NCG180000 during
the public comment period mandated by North Carolina rules. We note that we received no
comments on NCG18 during the previous public comment period five years earlier.

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DEMLR Response to Comments on NCG18
September 9, 2014
However, in 2013 DEMLR did receive public comments on five other General Permits covering
five other regulated industrial sectors. For the sake of a consistent regulatory approach across
multiple industry sectors, several of those comments received on the 2013 General Permits
have been incorporated into the revised NCG18.
Summary of Significant Changes from the draft General Permit
There were no public comments received during the public comment period, and no significant
changes to the published draft General Permit.
Summary of Significant Changes from the Previous General Permit
1. The following minor changes appear throughout the revised General Permit:
a. Minor word changes, format changes, and sequencing of paragraphs;
b. Table of Contents reflects minor re -ordering of some sections;
c. Reference now to the Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources as the
permitting authority, rather than the Division of Water Quality.
2. Part I, Section B now provides that the permittee's Certificate of Coverage is an
enforceable part of the General Permit.
3. Part II, Section A has renamed the several elements required as part of the Stormwater
Pollution Prevention Plan (SPPP).
4. Part II, Section A includes minor re -wording to be more specific on the required content
of several of the elements of the SPPP.
5. Part II A 2(b) now further clarifies that an Oil Spill Control and Countermeasure Plan
(SPCC) can serve to partially comply with the SPPP requirements.
6. Part II A 3 amends the requirement to have a responsible person on site during facility
operations that have increased potential to contaminate stormwater.
7. Part II, Sections B and C require monitoring during a measureable storm event (new
term) rather than a representative storm event (old term.) This revised sampling
requirement should make it easier for permittees to obtain the required samples.
8. Part II, Section C removes the requirement to sample for pH in discharges from vehicle
maintenance areas. Basis for change: During the last permit cycle no permittees
reported pH measurements outside the benchmark range of 6<pH<9 for discharges
from qualifying vehicle maintenance activities. We concluded that it is not appropriate
to include monitoring of this parameter in a permit intended to prevent pollution
industry wide. While vehicle maintenance activities could introduce materials that
affect pH (alkaline cleaners and acid batteries, for instance), our review suggests that
the risk to water quality from pH in these discharges is minimal, and that SPPP and BMP
requirements for these areas should suffice.
9. Part II, Section C replaces Oil & Grease sampling with Non -polar Oil & Grease sampling.
Non -polar Oil & Grease is a subset of the previous test that is more specific for
petroleum -based oils. A lower benchmark has been set, 15 mg/L, rather than 30 mg/L.
10. Part II, Section C adds a new lower benchmark for TSS (50 mg/L), applicable to

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DEMLR Response to Comments on NCG18
September 9, 2014
especially protected and sensitive waters classified as Outstanding Resource Waters,
High Quality Waters, Trout Waters, and Primary Nursery Area waters.
11. The Standard Conditions in old Parts III — VI have been reorganized to be consistent with
other NPDES permits Standard Conditions. All newly re -issued General Permits are
being written to include the elements of the new Standard Conditions. Most of the
provisions are unchanged. However, some significant changes include:
a. Part III A 1 clarifies SPPP compliance requirements for existing facilities applying
for renewal.
b. Federal and state law and rule citations have been added for reference in several
of the paragraphs throughout the Standard Conditions.
c. Part III B 1 no longer requires the permittee to submit a renewal application
within 180 days of permit expiration.
d. Part III, Sections B, D, and E provide new standard conditions related to the
anticipated roll -out of on-line electronic reports and electronic records.
Conclusion
DEMLR's overall intent in proposing changes to the General Permit was to provide permit
requirements that will encourage permittees to respond with prompt corrective action to the
discovery of pollutant discharges indicated by visual observation or analytical results in excess
of the benchmark values. DEMLR incorporated public comments on other recent (2013) draft
General Permits where we agreed that the comments were helpful and relevant to NCG18.
END