Impaired Waters and Outstanding Arizona Waters Requirements Under Proposed ADEQ Permit

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has released a draft Construction General Permit (AZG2008-001). This permit replaces the previous construction general permit that was issued for a five-year term by ADEQ. As written, this general permit becomes effective on March 1, 2013.

The draft permit coverage has the following conditions and requirements apply if any portion of the construction site is located within 1/4 mile of a receiving water listed as impaired under section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act:

• The operator must submit a copy of the SWPPP with the NOI to ADEQ; and
• The SWPPP must include a sampling and analysis plan for analytical monitoring if there is potential for discharges from the site to include the pollutant(s) for which the receiving water is impaired. If the operator can demonstrate there is no reasonable expectation that construction activities could be an additional source of the identified pollutant(s), analytical monitoring is not required. As part of this demonstration, the operator must consider all on-site activities, including the potential for the pollutants (metals, nutrients, etc.) to be present in site soils. The demonstration must be included in the SWPPP submitted for ADEQ’s review;
• If a discharge contains pollutants for which a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) has been established, the SWPPP must specifically identify control measures necessary to ensure the discharges will be consistent with the provisions of the TMDL.

For discharges to outstanding Arizona waters (OAW) the following conditions and requirements apply if any portion of the construction site is located within 1/4 mile of a receiving water listed as an OAW in A.A.C. R18-11-112(G):

• The operator must submit a copy of the SWPPP with the NOI to ADEQ; and
• The SWPPP must include a sampling and analysis plan for analytical monitoring of pollutants expected to discharge from the site, including sediment.

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