Compliance with Stormwater Regulations

1. Compliance with Stormwater Regulations

2. Module Topics • The Clean Water Act (CWA) • National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program • EPA Stormwater Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP) • Testing and Sampling • State Specific General Permit

3. The Clean Water Act (CWA)

4. The Clean Water Act (CWA) • The cornerstone of surface water quality protection in the United States • does not deal directly with ground water nor with water quantity issues • Employs a variety of regulatory and non-regulatory tools • to sharply reduce direct pollutant discharges into waterways • finance municipal wastewater treatment facilities • manage polluted runoff • Achieve the broader goal of restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters

5. Major CWA Programs • Water quality standards • includes three major components: designated uses, water quality criteria, and antidegradation provisions • Antidegradation policy • policy designed to prevent deterioration of existing levels of good water quality • Waterbody monitoring and assessment • ambient monitoring is also needed to ensure that this is the case

6. Major CWA Programs • Reports on condition of the Nation’s waters • Total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) • a strategy to meet water quality standards, • TMDLs determine what level of pollutant load would be consistent with standards • also allocates acceptable loads among sources of the relevant pollutants

7. Major CWA Programs • NPDES permit program for point sources • Section 319 program for nonpoint sources • pollution that, unlike pollution from industrial and sewage treatment plants, comes from many diffuse sources • Section 404 program regulating filling of wetlands and other waters • lands where saturation with water is the dominant factor determining the nature of soil development and the types of plant and animal communities living in the soil and on its surface (Cowardin, December 1979)

8. Major CWA Programs • Section 401 state water quality certification • requires federal agencies to obtain certification from the state, territory, or Indian tribes before issuing permits that would result in increased pollutant loads to a waterbody • State revolving loan fund (SRF) • provides large amounts of money in the form of loans for municipal point sources, nonpoint sources, and other activities

9. Clean Water Act Goals and Standards • Section 101(a)(2): Establishes “fishable and swimmable” goal • Section 303(c): Establishes framework for water quality standards program and requires States to establish water quality standards • Section 304(a): Requires EPA to develop and publish recommended water quality criteria • Section 301(b)(1)(C): Requires compliance with limits necessary to meet water quality standards

10. Healthy Waters Start withWater Quality Standards • Standards and guidelines are established to protect water for designated uses such as: • drinking, • recreation, • agricultural irrigation, or • protection and maintenance of aquatic life. • Other standards include: • Protection of aquatic life, including fish, and fish-eating wildlife such as birds

11. Healthy Waters Start withWater Quality Standards Standards also drive water quality restoration activities: By determining which waterbodies must be addressed Identifying what level of restoration is necessary Which activities need to be modified to ensure that the waterbody meets its minimum standards By designating one or more beneficial uses for each waterbody and establishing a set of criteria that protect those uses

12. Regulatory Hierarchy

13. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program

14. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) • The CWA made it unlawful to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters, unless a permit was obtained • NPDES • A national program under Section 402 of the Clean Water Act for regulation of discharges of pollutants from point sources to waters of the United States • Discharges are illegal unless authorized by an NPDES permit.

15. Types of Permits • Specific NPDES program areas applicable to industrial sources are: • Process Wastewater Discharges • Non-process Wastewater Discharges • Industrial Stormwater Program

16. NPDES in the Ready Mixed Concrete and Aggregates Industry As authorized by the Clean Water Act, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program controls water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States.

17. What Exactly is an NPDES Permit? It is a license . . . Issued by the government to persons conducting business in the United States Granting permission to do something which would be illegal in the absence of the permit There is no right to a permit and it is revocable for cause (non-compliance) An NPDES permit is a license to discharge

18. Definition of Discharge • In its simplest concept, discharge means outflow and is used as a measure of the rate at which a volume of water passes a given point • it can be used to describe the flow of water from a pipe or a drainage basin • stormwater discharge • Any water runoff, snowmelt runoff, surface runoff, or drainage that comes into contact with industrial or commercial operations/activities and enters the waters of the United States or a municipal separate storm sewer system.

19. NPDES Statutory Framework All point sources discharging pollutants into waters of the U.S./State Must obtain an NPDES permit from EPA or an authorized state

20. Authorized State Programs Blue – NPDES obtained from EPA, Others – NPDES obtained from State Programs

21. Who Must Apply for a NPDES Permit? Anyone who discharges pollutants or proposes to discharge pollutants to waters of the U.S. [122.21(a)]

22. Authorization to Discharge Under the NPDES • The Clean Water Act prohibits anybody from discharging "pollutants" through a "point source" into a "water of the United States" • unless they have an NPDES permit • Point Source Discharges • Discrete conveyances, such as pipes or man made ditches that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States • The permit contains limits on what can be discharged, monitoring and reporting requirements, and other provisions to ensure that the discharge does not hurt water quality or people's health • In essence, the permit translates general requirements of the Clean Water Act into specific provisions tailored to the operations of each person discharging pollutants

23. Two Types of Permits • Individual • requires facilities to submit detailed application forms on which the permitting authority develops a facility-specific NPDES permit • General • EPA's industrial stormwater general permit is known as the multi-sector general permit (MSGP) • Many States have an equivalent general permit • For example: Maryland has a Mineral Mine Permit • Covers a wide range of industrial and commercial activities and includes requirements that apply more broadly to this type of dischargers • Must first develop a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) • Submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) • Permit generally good for five years

24. Types of NPDES Discharges • Stormwater • Process Water • Wastewater • Total Suspended Solids (TSS) • Settleable Solids (SS) • pH • Oil and grease • Combined Discharge • Effluent Limits

25. Stormwater Runoff • Stormwater is the runoff generated from rain, melting snow, or other forms of precipitation • Polluted stormwater runoff is a leading cause of impairment to the nearly 40 percent of surveyed U.S. waterbodies which do not meet water quality standards

26. Point Source Stormwater Discharge Associated with Industrial Activity • The discharge from any conveyance which is used for collecting and conveying stormwater and which is directly related to manufacturing, processing, or raw materials storage area at an industrial plant

27. Common Sources of Pollutants from Stormwater Runoff • Uncovered outside fuel dispensing • Uncovered outside vehicle maintenance • Contaminated or oil soaked pallets • Open dumpsters or compactors • Compressor or cooling system blow down discharging onto the ground or into the sewer • Uncovered loading dock platforms • Uncovered storage tanks • Outside storage of chemicals and/or empty containers • Visible materials on roofs, driveways or sides of buildings • Equipment stored outside or uncovered (machine fluids, oil, and grease) • Piles of material, including dirt, sand, aggregates, etc.

28. Process Water • Process Water – the wastewater generated from various processes at a facility • Washing of aggregates • Truck washing • Mobile equipment cleaning stations

29. Process Water • Sand and gravel wash water • Quarry dewatering • Dust control water • Equipment wash water • Wheel wash water

30. Combined Discharge • When stormwater mixes with process water, then the mix must be treated as process water

31. Effluent Limits • Any restriction imposed on quantities, discharge rates, and concentrations of "pollutants" which are "discharged" from "point sources" into "waters of the United States," the waters of the "contiguous zone," or the ocean.

32. EPA Stormwater Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP)

33. EPA Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP) • 2008 MSGP • Effective on September 29, 2008 (Re-Issued) • Covering 29 Industrial Sectors • Sector E - GLASS, CLAY, CEMENT, CONCRETE, AND GYPSUM PRODUCTS • Sector J - MINERAL MINING AND DRESSING • EPA Regions Covered • Alaska • Idaho • New Mexico • New Hampshire • Massachusetts • DC • U.S. Territories (except Virgin Islands)

34. EPA Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP) • The MSGP regulates the discharge of stormwater from an estimated 4,100 industrial facilities in 29 different industrial sectors • The final permit offers several changes from the MSGP 2000, including a reorganized permit that clearly spells out: • requirements affecting the installation of stormwater controls to meet technology-based and water quality-based effluent limits • inspection and effluent monitoring requirements • development of the stormwater pollution prevention plans (SWPPPs)

35. EPA Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP) • New requirements to annually report inspection findings and the results of corrective actions to EPA • Improved tools for identifying receiving waters and notifying EPA of the location of impaired waterbodies and the pollutants of concern • Fast and easy electronic submission of Notice of Intent (NOI) through the e-NOI system operated by Headquarters • with automated e-mail explanations and reminders of monitoring requirements • Electronic submission of monitoring results under the e-NOI system

36. Notice of Intent • Electronic (if covered under EPA’s multi-sector general permit) • Website • http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/enoi.cfm

37. Notice of Intent

39. Testing and Sampling

40. Water Quality Regulations • For aggregate operations: • Limits on sediment (total suspended solids {tss} and settleable solids {ss}) • Limits the pH of process wastewater and mine pit discharges to waterways • For ready mixed operations: • Limits on suspended solids • Limits the pH and oil • The limits are attainable respectively by settling, neutralization, and flotation

41. VIDEO

42. Testing • Temperature • Flow • pH (Hydrogen Ion) • Settleable Solids (SS) • Total Suspended Solids (TSS) • Oil & Grease/TPH

43. Table 1. Common Activities, Pollutant Sources, and Associated Pollutants at Glass, Clay, Cement, Concrete, and Gypsum Product Manufacturing Facilities (continued)

45. Temperature • The amount of oxygen that can dissolve in water is limited by the temperature of the water. • The colder the water, the more oxygen it can hold. • However, even at the warmest temperatures seen in the Chesapeake Bay (around 91o), water is capable of having dissolved oxygen concentrations of 6 to 7 mg/L. • So while high water temperatures can affect dissolved oxygen levels, they are not solely responsible for the low-oxygen areas found in the Bay each summer. • Elevated temperatures impacts aquatic life.

47. Flow • Flow directly affects the amount of oxygen dissolved in the water • Higher volumes of faster moving water increases the turbulent diffusion of atmospheric oxygen into the water • Low flow conditions are much less conducive to oxygenation and when water temperature is high, dissolved oxygen (DO) levels can become critically low • The amount of sediment and debris a stream can carry also depends on its flow since higher velocity increases stream bank and stream channel scouring and erosion, and also keeps particulate materials suspended in the water

48. Measured Flow • The general permit authorizes the discharge of material washing water to surface water or ground water, and of water pumped from mine pits, and stormwater runoff to surface water. • For concrete plants, it authorizes the discharge of excess process water, stormwater, and equipment and mixer-truck wash water to ground water or surface water.

49. pH • A pH range of 6.0 to 9.0 appears to provide protection for the life of freshwater fish and bottom dwelling invertebrates http://waterontheweb.org/under/waterquality/pH.html

50. Impact of High pH pH measures hydrogen ions in liquids Logarithmic scale (like Richter Scale) Example pH readings (scale is 0-14) 7 – Distilled Water 10 – Kills Fish 12 – Concrete Washout 12.5 – Hazardous Waste Washout is 100,000 times more concentrated than distilled water