There are several major changes in this permit compared to the previous permit. The following summarizes some of the changes contained within the proposed Multi Sector General Permit for Stormwater Discharges Associated with Industrial Activity (GP-0-12-001)
- SWPPP Development/BMP considerations. The permit includes in various places, updated lists of BMP options that, along with any functional equivalents, shall be considered for implementation. At a minimum, the owner or operator must evaluate the applicability of the BMPs. If the owner or operator concludes that any of the BMPs are not appropriate for the facility, a written explanation of why they are not appropriate must be included in the Stormwater Pollution Prevent Plan required by the permit.
- Benchmark Monitoring & Numeric Effluent Limits – The draft permit proposes additional monitoring if Benchmarks or Numeric Limits are exceeded. The intent of this additional sampling is to document that the corrective actions taken in response to the exceedance were effective in reducing the pollutant discharge levels. The increased sampling puts the responsibility on the owner/operator to demonstrate that their actions were effective.
- Mercury. The Benchmark Monitoring Requirements for Mercury have been revised and USEPA Method 1631 has been specified for analyses of stormwater discharges associated with Sectors G, K and N. This is consistent with DEC Program Policy – DOW – 1.3.10 – Mercury – SPDES Permitting, Multiple Discharge Variance and Water Quality Monitoring. This policy states that the MSGP procedures require updating to improve water quality protection.
- Benchmark Monitoring Cutoff Concentrations. Lower benchmarks were incorporated in the Sector Specific requirements to reflect benchmarks in EPA’s 2008 MSGP.
- Stand Alone SWPPP for Construction Activities at Mines and Landfills. Construction of new mines, access roads and other impervious surfaces and construction of new landfills or expansion cells that have the potential to discharge to surface waters can be covered by the MSGP permit provided that a Stand Alone Construction SWPPP is developed that meets the requirements in Part IX which specifies construction, erosion and sediment control and post construction control, and inspection requirements. Only activities that comply with the technical standards, defined as the New York State Stormwater Management Design Manual, August 2010 and New York State Standards & Specifications for Erosion & Sediment Control, 2005 can be authorized by the MSGP. Any project that proposes to deviate must obtain coverage under the SPDES General Permit for Stormwater from Construction Activities or other SPDES permit.
- Reference to “permittee” was changed to “owner/operator” throughout the permit. This change is intended to reflect the fact that the owner obtains coverage under an issued permit rather than having a permit issued to them individually. Definition of owner or operator from 6NYCRR Part 750-1.2 has been added to the definitions.
- Forms. Many forms that were part of the permit are now being referenced in this draft permit. This change provides the Department greater flexibility in making changes to those forms without permit modification and the workload associated with the public notice process
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