Environmental Regulations: Primer and Case Studies

1. ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONSPrimerandCase Studies Presented to: University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law School February 1, 2017 Presented by: William D. Ford, P.E. Pollution Management, Inc.

2. Federal Regulations - EPA State Regulations - ADEQ Water and Wastewater – Clean Water Act Stormwater – Clean Water Act Water, Wastewater and Stormwater – Regulation 2, 6

3. CLEAN WATER ACT • Enacted in 1972 • Major Amendments 1977 and 1982 • Established goals of eliminating releases of high amounts of toxic substances into waters of the U.S. • Set standards for surface water • Does not directly address groundwater contamination • Included in Safe Drinking Water Act and RCRA

4. WATERS PROTECTED UNDER THE CWA • All waters with a “significant nexus” to “navigable waters” are covered under the CWA • In the 2006 case Rapanos v. United States the Supreme Court held that the term “waters of the United States” • …includes only those relatively permanent, standing or continuously flowing bodies of water “forming geographic features” that are described in ordinary parlance as “streams[,] …oceans, rivers, [and] lakes”

5. POLLUTION CONTROL STRATEGY IN THE CWA • National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) • Industrial facilities (including manufacturing, mining, oil and gas extraction, and service industries) • Municipal governments and other government facilities (such as military bases), and • Some agricultural facilities, such as animal feedlots

6. POLLUTION CONTROL STRATEGY IN THE CWA • Point sources may not discharge pollutants to surface water without a permit • EPA has authorized 46 states to issue permits • In the remaining states and territories, permits are issued by an EPA regional office

7. POLLUTION CONTROL STRATEGY IN THE CWA • Technology-based standards • Water quality standards • Designated uses • Antidegradation policy • Nonpoint sources • Congress exempted some water pollution sources from the point source definition • Agricultural stormwater discharges and irrigation return flows

8. POLLUTION CONTROL STRATEGY IN THE CWA • Stormwater runoff from industrial sources, municipal storm drains, and other sources were not specifically addressed in the 1972 law • A growing body of water research during the late 1970s and 1980s indicated that stormwater runoff was a significant cause of water quality impairment • Water Quality Act of 1987 – Congress required industrial stormwater dischargers and municipal separate storm sewer systems obtain NPDES permits

9. MAJOR STATUTORY PROVISIONS • Title I – Research and Related Programs • Title II – Grants for Construction of Treatment Works • Title III – Standards and Enforcement

10. TITLE III - STANDARDS • Discharge permits required • Technology-Based Standards Program • Municipal sewage treatment plants (POTW) are required to meet secondary treatment standards • Effluent guidelines (for existing sources) and New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) are issued for categories of industrial facilities discharging directly to surface waters • Categorical Pretreatment Standards are issued to industrial users (also called “indirect dischargers”) contributing wastes to POTW. There are 27 categories with pretreatment standards as of 2011.

11. WATER QUALITY STANDARDS PROGRAM • Water quality standards (WQS) set site-specific allowable pollutant levels for individual water bodies, such as rivers, lakes, streams and wetlands • States set WQS by designating uses for the water body (e.g., recreation, water supply, aquatic life, agriculture) • An antidegradation policy is also issued by each state • Water bodies that do not meet applicable water quality standards with technology-based controls alone are placed on the section 303(d) list of water bodies not meeting standards • States must submit a report every two years (even years) to EPA on the status of all waters of the State – 303(b) report

12. WATER QUALITY STANDARDS PROGRAM • Water bodies on the 303(d) list require development of a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) • A TMDL is a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a water body can receive and still meet WQS • Streams and water bodies can have more than one TMDL, i.e. TSS, BOD, DO, etc. • Some states and local governments have TMDLs for watersheds – especially for watersheds that contain drinking water sources • Overall goal is protection of water body or watershed

13. TITLE IVPERMITS AND LICENSES • State certification of compliance • States are required to certify that discharges authorized by federal permits will not violate the state’s water quality standards • NPDES permits for point sources • The NPDES permit program is authorized by CWA section 402 • Focused on POTWs and industrial wastewater – typically “process” wastewater

14. TITLE IVPERMITS AND LICENSES • The 1987 WQA expanded the program to cover stormwater discharges explicitly, both from municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4) and industrial sources • Non-stormwater permits typically include numeric effluent limitations for specific pollutants • Stormwater permits typically require facilities to prepare a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan and implement best management practices

15. NPDES PERMIT STRUCTURE Effluent Limitations • Effluent Guidelines Technology-Based • Secondary Water Quality-Based Monitoring & Reporting Requirements Special Conditions Additional Mon. / Special Studies • Pretreatment • Municipal Sewage Sludge Best Management Practices Compliance Schedules Standard Conditions

16. NPDES INDIVIDUAL PERMIT PROCESS • Application to ADEQ • ADEQ determines the permit application is administratively complete • ADEQ sends letter to other state and federal agencies • ADEQ notices the public that a NPDES permit has been requested • ADEQ technical review – 90 days • Draft permit sent to EPA for review – 30 days • Draft permit Public Notice – 30 days • Public hearing (if required) – 30 days

17. ADEQ REGULATION NO. 2Water Quality Standards for Surface Waters in Arkansas • Antidegradation Policy • Water body uses • General Standards • Specific Standards

19. ADEQ INDUSTRIAL NPDES PERMITS • NPDES Permits • Individual permits • General permits • No-Discharge Permits • Individual • General • Pretreatment Program • Stormwater Program

20. NPDES PERMITS • Individual Permits • Process water discharges to receiving streams • General Permits • Landfills • Cooling tower & boiler blowdown • Individual treatment • CAFO • Water treatment • Hydrostatic testing • Car/Truck wash • Groundwater cleanup

21. NO DISCHARGE PERMITS • Individual Permits • Animal waste disposal • Land application – biosolids • Land application – oil & gas waste • Subsurface disposal • General Permits • Septic tank for carwash • One time land application • Saltwater disposal • Land application of water treatment residuals

22. PRETREATMENT PROGRAM • Industrial wastewater can damage POTW’s • Discharges can be toxic to POTW’s treatment process • Discharges can pass through POTW’s and impair receiving streams • 24 cities in Arkansas have pretreatment programs • ADEQ/EPA monitor pretreatment programs • Categorical/non-categorical discharges

23. DREDGE AND FILL PERMITS(wetlands, lakes, streams, rivers and other waters of the U.S.) • Under sections 301 and 502 of the Clean Water Act, any discharge of dredged or fill materials into “waters of the United States,” including wetlands, is forbidden unless authorized by a permit issued by the USACE pursuant to section 404 • There are two main types of wetlands permits: general permits and individual permits • General permits (such as the Nationwide Permits) • Individual permits are utilized for actions that are not addressed by a general permit

24. CASE STUDYNPDES Permit • Industrial process water discharges • Discharges to POTW • Non-categorical discharges • Categorical discharges • POTW requires pretreatment • CASE 1 – POTW discharges to stream with TMDL • CASE 2 – POTW discharges to stream with no TMDL

25. CASE STUDYNPDES Permit • Industrial process water discharges • CASE 1 – Discharges wastewater to stream with TMDL • CASE 2 – Discharges wastewater to stream with no TMDL

26. INDUSTRIAL STORMWATER PROGRAMWilliam D. Ford, P.E.

27. Industrial Stormwater Requirements • Permit Area. This permit includes all areas within the State of Arkansas.

28. Industrial Stormwater Requirements ADEQ General Permit Part of CWA 40 CFR 122.26 2. Eligibility. • General. This permit may cover all new and existing discharges composed entirely of stormwater associated with industrial activity. • This permit may authorize stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity that are mixed with stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity from construction activities provided that the stormwater discharge from construction activity is in compliance with the terms, including applicable NOI or application requirements, of a different NPDES General Permit (ARR150000) or an individual NPDES permit or an alternate general permit authorizing the construction stormwater discharges.

29. Industrial Stormwater Requirements 3. Limitations on Coverage. The following stormwaterdischarges associated with industrial activity are not covered by this permit: • Stormwaterdischarges associated with industrial activity that are mixed with sources of non-stormwater. • Stormwaterdischarges associated with industrial activity from facilities which are subject to existing effluent guideline limitations addressing stormwateror a combination of stormwaterand process water. Facilities currently covered by guidelines for stormwaterdischarges (or a combination of stormwaterand process water) include:

30. Industrial Stormwater Requirements Cement manufacturing 40 CFR 411 Feedlots 40 CFR 412 Fertilizer manufacturing 40 CFR 418 Petroleum refining 40 CFR 419 Phosphate manufacturing 40 CFR 422 Steam electric 40 CFR 423 Coal mining 40 CFR 434 Mineral mining and processing 40 CFR 436 Ore mining and dressing 40 CFR 440 Asphalt emulsion 40 CFR 443 Landfills 40 CFR 445

31. Industrial Stormwater Requirements • Other stormwaterdischarges not subject to effluent guidelines, and not currently permitted, at the above facilities may be authorized under this general permit. • Stormwaterdischarges associated with industrial activity from facilities with a previous or existing NPDES individual permit that contains stormwaterrequirements. Stormwaterdischarges associated with industrial activity from facilities where an NPDES permit has been denied; • Stormwaterdischarges associated with industrial activity from construction activities, which may be covered under NPDES general permit ARR150000, except stormwaterdischarges from portions of a construction site that can be classified as an industrial activity; • Stormwaterdischarges associated with industrial activity that would adversely affect a listed endangered or threatened species or its critical habitat;

32. Industrial Stormwater Requirements • Stormwaterdischarges associated with industrial activity that would adversely affect property either listed on, or eligible for listing on, the National Register of Historic Places; • Stormwaterdischarges associated with industrial activity that the Director has determined to be contributing to a violation of a water quality standard; • Discharges to stream segments or waterbodies for which there is a completed and approved total maximum daily load (TMDL) allocation; • Discharges that the Department, prior to authorization under this permit, determines will cause, have the reasonable potential to cause, or contribute to an excursion above any applicable water quality standard are not eligible for coverage under this permit; • Stormwaterdischarges associated with industrial activity which are authorized by this permit may be combined with other sources of stormwater(i.e., not process water) which are not classified as associated with industrial activity.

33. Stormwater Pollutant Types • Section 313 Water Priority Chemicals • Oil and Grease • Metals • Suspended Solids • Phosphorus, Nitrate, Nitrite Nitrogen • pH – Acidic or Alkaline runoff • Pollutants that increase BOD and COD

34. Loading Mechanisms • Pollutants are conveyed into the stormwaterby spills, leaks, raw materials storage, finished product storage, transfer of products. • Minimize contact of materials with precipitation. • Clean up spills and leaks immediately. • Fueling areas. • Repair areas. • Product staging areas. • Unloading areas.

35. General Permit Requirements 1. Coverage Under This Permit. • Permit Area • Eligibility • Limitations on Coverage • Industrial Facilities which Must Submit Applications for Stormwater Permits • Requiring an Individual NPDES Permit or an Alternative General Permit Authorization • Notice of Intent Requirements • Notice of Termination Requirements

36. General Permit Requirements 2. Business Categories and Subcategories. • Facilities subject to stormwatereffluent limitations guidelines, new source performance standards, or toxic pollutants effluent standards under 40 CFR, Subchapter N [except facilities which are exempt under category (xi)]. "Note that the phrase 'toxic pollutant effluent standards' refers to the standards codified at 40 CFR 129 which applies only to manufacturers of 6 specific pesticide products that are defined as toxic pollutants. The phrase does not apply to facilities subject to effluent limitation guidelines for toxics under 40 CFR Subchapter N."

37. General Permit Requirements • Facilities classified as:

38. General Permit Requirements • Facilities classified as SIC 10 through 14, including active or inactive mining operations and oil and gas exploration, production, processing, or treatment operations, or transmission facilities that discharge stormwatercontaminated by contact with, or that has come into contact with, any overburden, raw material, intermediate products, finished products, byproducts, or waste products located on the site of such operations.

39. General Permit Requirements • Hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal facilities, including those that are operating under interim status or a permit under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). • Landfills, land application sites, and open dumps that receive or have received any industrial wastes including those that are subject to regulation under subtitle D or RCRA.

40. General Permit Requirements • Facilities involved in the recycling of material, including metal scrap yards, battery reclaimers, salvage yards, and automobile junkyards, including but limited to those classified as:

41. General Permit Requirements • Steam electric power generating facilities, including coal handling sites. • Transportation facilities which have vehicle maintenance shops, equipment cleaning operations, or airport de-icing operations. Only those portions of the facility that are either involved in vehicle maintenance (including vehicle rehabilitation, mechanical repairs, painting, fueling, and lubrication), equipment cleaning operations, or airport de-icing operations, or which are otherwise listed in another category, are included.

42. General Permit Requirements • Treatment works treating domestic sewage or any other sewage sludge or wastewater treatment device or system, used in the storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of municipal or domestic sewage, including lands dedicated to the disposal of sewage sludge that are located within the confines of the facility, with a design flow of 1.0 million gallons per day or more, or required to have an approved pretreatment program under 40 CFR Part 403. Not included are farmlands, domestic gardens, or lands used for sludge management where sludge is beneficially reused and which are not physically located in the confines of the facility, or areas that are in compliance with Section 405 of the CWA.

43. General Permit Requirements • Construction activity including clearing, grading, and excavation activities that result in the disturbance of five (5) or more acres of total land area or less than five (5) acres of total land area which is part of a larger common plan of development or sale. However based on 40 CFR 122.26(b)(15), construction activity that results in the disturbance of one (1) acre or more of total land area or less than one (1) acre of total land area which is part of a larger common plan of development or sale is defined as "small construction activity" and must obtain a stormwaterpermit.

44. General Permit Requirements • Facilities under the following SICs [which are not otherwise included in categories ii - x], including only stormwaterdischarges where material handling equipment or activities, raw materials, intermediate products, final products, waste materials, byproducts, or industrial machinery are exposed to stormwater.

45. General Permit Requirements

46. General Permit Requirements 3. Relationship to Other NPDES Permits. • You may have an existing individual NPDES permit for some other type of discharge. • You my need to add General Permit for Stormwaterrequirements or modify the Individual Permit to incorporate stormwater requirements. • Is stormwaterone word or two?

47. Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) 1. Planning & Organization • Designate a Pollution Prevention Team. • Shall be prepared with good engineering practices. • Shall identify potential sources of pollution that may reasonably affect stormwater. • Shall describe and ensure implementation of Best Management Practices. • Determine significant materials – used, stored, treated, disposed. **The whole idea is to stop or reduce pollution in stormwaterdischarges associated with industrial activity.**

48. Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) 2. Assessment • Develop a site map. • Outline drainage areas. • Location of outfall, control structures, etc. • Location where significant materials are stored. • Surface water bodies. • Storm sewers. • Topographic map.

49. Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) • Assess facility layout in terms of : • Stormwater runoff – site drainage map, drainage areas, drainage structures, etc. • Raw and finished materials storage areas. • Chemical storage areas, tanks, etc. • Loading and unloading areas. • Material transfer methods.

50. Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) • Fueling areas. • Repair areas. • Used equipment storage – “bone yards.” • Identify potential pollutant sources. • Wastewater treatment facilities.