Reissuance of the Illinois General National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit for Storm Water Discharges from Industrial Activities.
On April 5, 2017, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) released the final version of the Renewed Illinois General National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit for Storm Water Discharges from Industrial Activities (General Permit). The provisions of the newly issued General Permit take effect immediately and must be implemented no later than180 days from the date of issuance (October 2, 2017).The reissued General Permit includes numerous changes, some of which are minor in scope, while others are much more significant and may present some challenges, as well as increased costs for a number of the impacted industrial segments.
Undoubtedly, the most significant change to the General Permit is the establishment of a quantitative storm water sampling provision for select industries based upon the facility's Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code. Under the newly revised permit language, performance standards (also referred to as benchmarks) have been established for certain industries that must be met for a period of the first four (4) quarters of permit coverage. These benchmarks range from simple analysis of total suspended solids (TSS) to an extensive evaluation of nutrients and heavy metals using the hardness coefficient of the receiving water body to calculate the relevant benchmark.
Additionally, based on the location of the facility and the receiving stream or water body to which it contributes, there may also be more stringent limitations, which would have to be determined on a case-by-case basis. For example, facilities discharging to impaired waters within Illinois would be required to ascertain what parameter caused the impairment, and, if the facility has the potential to release that parameter, to calculate the loading potential to the receiving stream. If a waste load allocation (WLA) has been set for the receiving water body, the contributing storm water source may have to implement an approved best management practice (BMP) to reduce/eliminate the impact on the receiving stream to maintain the WLA.
Failure to meet the established benchmark or case-by-case established limit would require corrective action in the form of additional control measures to reduce storm water run-off, and/or contact with impacted areas and the completion of four (4) additional quarters of sampling. The cycle would then continue until conformance to benchmarks for established limits have been demonstrated or until the facility could demonstrate that reasonable corrective measures had been exhausted.
In addition to the quantitative sampling requirements, permit holders will need to develop a written sampling plan, implement and maintain the plan, and train employees on correct procedures and protocols for completion of quantitative sampling. The plan must be incorporated into the storm water pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) for the facility and must be implemented within 180 days of the reissuance date of the General Permit (October 2, 2017). For new storm water operations requesting permits, a Notice of Intent (NOI) and a SWPPP incorporating all of the newly required elements will need to be submitted to the IEPA a minimum of 180 days prior to the date on which the discharge is to commence. The latter is not a new requirement but due to the additional information that must be included in the SWPPP, it will require additional planning and an increase in lead times.
Other changes to the permit, which will also impact current and perspective General Permit holders include the following:
- Mobile facilities such as concrete and asphalt batch plants will need to apply for a permit a minimum of 30 days prior to discharge. (Previously, mobile facilities weren't specifically on the radar for coverage under the General Permit, although many were incorporated into SWPPPs by virtue of co-location on covered facilities).
- The permit holder must now identify all outfalls at the facility, and if the permittee claims that the outfalls are "substantially identical" he must identify the features and activities which make it similar and "provide appropriate justification for the claim in the application." This is a new requirement that in most cases will be a minor adjustment to the SWPPP. At larger sites however, the distinction may result in the establishment of multiple outfalls with monitoring requirements for each.
- Facilities must now evaluate off-site sources contributing run-off to the site to evaluate the potential for contributing pollutants. This evaluation needs to be documented and included in the revised SWPPP.
- Permit holders will be required to conduct facility inspections of all areas subject to the storm water provisions. Inspections will be required to be completed "at least quarterly and during a period when a storm water discharge is occurring." Additionally, all inspections must be performed by "qualified persons," and all findings must be fully documented along with corrective actions implemented and submitted annually with the Annual Facility Inspection Report. These inspections must be included in the SWPPP as well. This requirement is in addition to the quarterly visual inspections of the storm water discharge implemented during the previous reissuance of the General Permit (2009).
- Permittee's will be required to not only train their employees who work in areas where industrial materials or activities are exposed to storm water but to include specific training elements as outlined in the permit. The frequency of the training (annually), a log of the date the training occurred, identification of those trained, and the specific elements of the training program administered are now required to be included in (or attached to) the SWPPP. This documentation will be subject to review by IEPA storm water inspectors and will be a factor in successfully passing an IEPA storm water inspection.
- Permittee's will be required to amend the SWPPP to include spill prevention and response procedures, including internal and third-party notification procedures, control measures for material handling and storage, and procedures for preventing spills that could contaminate storm water. The reissued General Permit also requires the permittee to specify spill clean-up equipment and procedures/protocols for maintenance, use, and disposal. In the previous General Permit, the permittee was allowed to reference other spill plans such as a spill response control and countermeasures (SPCC) plan if one had been prepared for the facility. The permittee will need to incorporate and adapt those provisions into the SWPPP.
- Certification of the SWPPP must include a description of actions taken to eliminate non-storm water discharges or to document the fact that a separate NPDES permit has been obtained for those discharges. This certification must include dates for the testing of any on-site drainage points or outfalls or any other method used to document that a separate NPDES Permit is not required. This includes a discussion of the inspection or evaluation conducted to make this determination even if no testing was conducted.
- Expanded documentation that must be included in (or attached to) the SWPPP includes the following:
- A copy of the NOI submitted to the IEPA along with correspondence related to the permit
- A copy of the General or Individual permit
- Documentation of all maintenance and repair of control measures, including dates of maintenance, repairs, replacements, control measure changes, etc.
- All inspection reports, including routine facility inspection reports and quarterly visual assessment reports as well as benchmark monitoring results
- Descriptions of any deviations from visual assessments or monitoring
- Description of any corrective action and events or conditions that mandated a corrective action
- Documentation of any benchmark exceedance and description of the steps and procedures for addressing or correcting
- Documentation to support determination of presence of constituents resulting exclusively as a result of natural background conditions
- Documentation of facility status changes from active to inactive status
Finally, the General Permit contains several new sections that clearly delineate the level and extent of the information that needs to be evaluated and included for certain elements of the SWPPP. These include the following:
- New Section F - Control Measures and Discharge Limitations: This section provides extensive guidance on how permittee must select, design, install, and implement control measures to meet discharge limitation benchmarks. Provides guidance on preventative maintenance, good housekeeping, and pollution prevention practices, spill prevention control and response measures, storm water management practices, and sediment and erosion protection. Specific guidelines incorporated into this section will need to be cross-referenced to existing storm water plans to ensure that they meet "current standard of practice."
- New Section G - Inspections: This section provides guidance and requirements for inspections required by the SWPPP and outlines specific elements of the inspection program that will be required to be addressed by the permittee.
- New Section H - Corrective Actions: This section describes conditions under which a SWPPP needs to be reviewed and revised, outlines scenarios for implementing immediate and subsequent actions, and provides minimum time requirements for implementation of corrective actions. This section also outlines how documentation is to be provided, who is to be notified, and how substantially identical outfalls are to be documented.
- New Section J - Monitoring: The section relates primarily to benchmark monitoring, although it also includes the specific requirements for quarterly visual observations (previously required under the General Permit).
- Revised Section K - Reporting: This section provides revisions, including new requirements for the annual submittal of the quarterly benchmark monitoring and a review, update, and submittal of any revisions to the SWPPP. The revisions imply a much more substantial reporting process than previously required using the single page format currently in existence.
The IEPA has stipulated that the latest revision to the General Storm Water Permit is in alignment with USEPA's 2015 Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP) for Stormwater Discharges associated with Industrial Activity. The changes discussed herein are those mandated under the MSGP, and they along with numerous others, which have not been included in this advisory, are included in the Final Permit. IEPA contends that there is little room for interpretation, change, or discussion in the reissued Illinois permit. The newly enacted revisions to the Illinois General Permit make the Illinois Storm Water Program more comparable to those in neighboring states such as Indiana, Missouri, and Iowa.
How can GHD help?
We have extensive experience in the design, development and implementation of storm water management projects ranging from the preparation of SWPPPs to the design, specification and/or construction of storm water controls. Our team includes planners, trainers, permit specialists, engineers, scientists and construction managers, who will ensure that every phase of the project is properly planned and managed. Our services include the following:
- Development of site specific SWPPPs, spill prevention and sampling/analysis plans and BMPs.
- Preparation and presentation of training programs to comply with annual training requirements.
- Preparation of inspection procedures/protocols and reporting and recordkeeping systems to ensure compliance with regulatory guidelines.
- Overseeing construction to ensure that storm water systems developed for the site are constructed in accordance with design specifications.
- Provide regulatory assistance to the owner/operator of the site to ensure on-going reporting deadlines are met and to address any inspection findings.
For more information, contact Tom Beeching by email thomas.beeching@ghd.com or phone +1 217 717 9006.