Massachusetts DEP Proposed Stormwater Regulations

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is proposing a new approach to stormwater management which will require private owners of large impervious surfaces (including institutions, commercial, industrial and residential properties) to manage stormwater. The draft requirements include:

• Statewide private property owners of impervious surfaces ≥5 acres will be required to implement good housekeeping practices,
• Statewide private new developments with impervious surfaces ≥5 acres will be required to meet the state’s Stormwater Standards 3-6, including recharge and water quality treatment,
• Redevelopments with impervious surfaces ≥5 acres must maintain the same level of stormwater control and recharge, to the extent site constraints allow.

In areas that drain to an impaired waters with an existing or pending TMDL, a 65 % reduction in phosphorus load is required to achieve compliance with the State’s water quality standards.

Private property owners of impervious surfaces ≥2 acres will also be have requirements under the new program. New projects and redevelopments will have to meet statewide requirements and implement stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) capable of reducing phosphorus. Existing properties will be given 10 years to retrofit their properties to meet the phosphorus reduction requirement. TMDL areas include the Charles River watershed (with a 65% phosphorus reduction requirement) and a number of lake watersheds across the state.

Caltha LLP provides expert consulting services to public and private sector clients nationwide to address Stormwater Permitting & Regulatory Support, Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP), Stormwater Monitoring and Stormwater Training.

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Water Quality Standards - Aquatic Toxicology - NPDES Permit Limits

A New Topic Page has been created:

Water Quality Standards - Aquatic Toxicology - NPDES Permit Limits

Discussion of a variety of topics related to State and Federal Water Quality Standards, Ambient Water Quality Criteria, Sediment Criteria, NPDES & Site-specific Discharge Standards, Water Quality Management, Aquatic Toxicology, Aquatic Community Impacts, and Water Quality Assessment

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Numeric Nutrient Water Quality Criteria Requirement for FL

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently announced that the agency is taking actions to develop the required Nutrient Water Quality Criteria within the State of Florida. These actions include EPA issuing a formal determination under the Clean Water Act that “numeric” nutrient water quality criteria are necessary in Florida, and Florida needs to accelerate its efforts to adopt numeric nutrient criteria into state regulations.

EPA believes that water quality degradation from nutrient pollution is a significant issue in Florida. Florida’s 2008 Integrated Water Quality Assessment estimated that at least 1,000 miles of rivers and streams, 350,000 acres of lakes, and 900 square miles of estuaries are impaired by nutrients. The new numeric nutrient water quality standards will help the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its water quality management tools, identify waters impaired because of nutrient pollution, establish total maximum daily loads and Basin Management Action Plans, and derive National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit limits.

EPA expects to propose numeric nutrient standards for lakes and flowing waters within 12 months, and for estuaries and coastal waters within 24 months.

Caltha LLP provides expert technical support to clients nationwide to address State water quality standards. Caltha provides specialized expertise in biomonitoring, aquatic toxicology and impacts to aquatic communities.

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Biomonitoring Requirements - Amendment to OK Rules

The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) is proposing to modify its rules concerning biomonitoring (whole effluent toxicity, or WET) requirements for wastewater dischargers. Under the proposed rules, a sublethal test failure (failure to demonstrate growth or reproduction) will be handled the same as a lethal test failure (death to the test organisms). This change is required based on changes in US EPA requirements and has already been promulgated into Oklahoma’s Water Quality Standards.

The proposed rule modifications also refine when a facility may request a biomonitoring organism change from Daphnia pulex or Ceriodaphnia dubia to Daphnia magna. Finally, the proposed rule modifications would also require monthly monitoring for phosphorus and/or nitrogen if a facility is discharging to a nutrient limited watershed as designated by Oklahoma’s Water Quality Standards.

Caltha LLP provides expert technical support to clients nationwide to address State water quality standards. Caltha provides specialized expertise in biomonitoring, aquatic toxicology and impacts to aquatic communities.

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Hazardous Metals in Stormwater – Texas (TCEQ) Requirements

As general permits for stormwater discharges are revised, States will attempt to address requirements for impaired waters into the permit requirements. How these requirements are expressed in the permit varies widely from State-to-State. Some States have developed requirements which promote pollution prevention measures.

As one example, the State of Texas has detected levels of selected heavy metals in surface waters which are of concern, and has promulgated numeric discharge standards for “hazardous metals” into the industrial stormwater permit. However, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) approach is to allow facilities to do a self-assessment for sources of hazardous metals and implement pollution prevention measures to avoid the higher costs of hazardous metal sampling and testing. To be exempted, facilities must certify that:

• Facility does not use a raw material, produce an intermediate product, or produce a final product that contains one of the listed hazardous metals, or


• Any raw materials, intermediate products, or final products which contain a hazardous metal are never exposed to stormwater or runoff, or


• Facility collects and analyses stormwater samples from the facility and the results indicate that hazardous metal(s) are not present in detectable levels.
  

Waivers may be obtained on a metal-by-metal basis, or on an outfall-by-outfall basis. A waiver from hazardous metals monitoring does not exempt the facility from other benchmark monitoring requirements which may apply. [Read more about benchmark monitoring]

Caltha LLP provides support to facilities nationwide on meeting State stormwater permit requirements and developing effective stormwater pollution prevention programs, including SWPPP training and stormwater compliance training programs.

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Iowa (IDNR) Antidegradation Policy - Potential Impacts on Stormwater Permits

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is proposing changes to its “Antidegradation Policy”. The changes can impact any wastewater discharger in Iowa, but especially new permittees or existing permittees that may wish to increase their discharge in the future. The changes being proposed include:

• Incorporate by reference the document entitled “Iowa Antidegradation Implementation Procedure,” which proposes an approach to assessing and minimizing degradation of Iowa’s surface waters,
  
• Update antidegradation policy language with four tier approach,


• Remove High Quality (Class HQ) and High Quality Resource (Class HQR) designated uses and add several waters to the newly proposed Outstanding Iowa Water (OIW) category.
  
  

Antidegradation policies can potentially have a significant impact on stormwater permitting requirements. Adding new stormwater discharge points, or increasing impervious area could be viewed as “new or expanded” discharge. This could result in extensive antidegradation reviews before proposed projects are allowed permit coverage. However, currently the IDNR is proposing to conduct antidegradation reviews for discharges authorized by general permits will occur for the entire class of general permittees when the general permit is issued. Although additional requirements may have to be met, individual projects would not need to conduct their own antidegradation review under the IDNR proposal.

The purpose of the antidegradation policy is to set minimum requirements to conserve, maintain, and protect existing uses and water quality for water bodies that currently meet their water quality standards. The department is required by Clean Water Act to develop and adopt a statewide antidegradation policy and to identify procedures for implementing the policy. Comments on the draft policy are being accepted through January 29, 2009.

Caltha LLP provides technical support to dischargers needing to evaluate and address their State's antidegradation requirements.

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New North Carolina (NCDENR) Stormwater Rules for Discharges to Sensitive Water

New Division of Water Quality stormwater rules became effective October 1, 2008 in North Carolina for coastal areas which drain to shellfishing areas or other high value water resources. The new rules regulate new development and redevelopment projects. The major areas for change are 1) coverage (non-residential), 2) low density thresholds, 3) design storm requirements, 4) wetlands and impervious surface calculations, and 5) vegetative buffer size.

In areas within one-half mile of shelling fishing areas, percent impervious cover must be <12%>MS4 stormwater discharge permits as they are reissued.

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Incorporating Stormwater into TMDL – Recent EPA Guidance

Stormwater discharges can contribute to the impairments to lakes and rivers. Once a waterbody is listed as impaired (i.e., identified in State 304(d) list), States are required to develop a Total Maximum Daily Load analysis (“TDML study”) to determine the maximum load of the pollutant to the waterbody which will still result in the water body meeting it water quality standards. Nonpoint pollution sources, such as stormwater discharges, are one element of this analysis. The point sources, which are primarily NPDES permitted discharges of wastewater are the second element of this analysis.

Stormwater sources which are regulated under NPDES permits require special consideration. Although generally considered part of the nonpoint pollution source category, they are also subject to the requirements of an NPDES permit.

On November 17, 2008, US EPA made available a DRAFT guidance document “TMDLs to Stormwater Permits”. EPA developed this handbook to address challenges that are unique to TMDL development and implementation involving permitted stormwater discharges from municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s), industrial facilities, and construction activities. The 211-page handbook is intended for federal and state TMDL writers and NPDES stormwater permit writers responsible for addressing waterbodies impaired by discharges from stormwater sources.

The draft handbook provides:

• General regulatory information on stormwater NPDES permits and TMDLs
• Discussion of opportunities to coordinate TMDLs and stormwater permits
• Guidance on evaluating stormwater contributions to impairments
• Guidance on development of TMDLs with significant stormwater sources
• Guidance on implementing coordinated TDML and stormwater permit programs
  
  

The handbook also includes excerpts from regulatory programs from ten different States that relate to the coordination between TMDL and stormwater permitting programs.

The draft handbook was released for public review and comments. Interested parties can submit comments on the handbook until February 17, 2009.

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Mercury Controls - Requiring Air Emission Controls to Reduce Mercury in Water

The New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission has petitioned that EPA regarding Section 319(g) of the Clean Water Act, which requires controls on air emissions of mercury. EPA is being asked to bring together a management conference with eleven States that contribute much of the mercury emissions that end up in water bodies in the Northeast.
The EPA approved a Northeastern regional mercury TMDL last year that the States beleive can only can be achieved through stricter federal air emission controls on mercury. Under Section 319(g) of the Clean Water Act, States can petition the EPA to bring together "a management conference of all states which contribute significant pollution resulting from nonpoint sources,".

The petition prepared by the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission says that Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina and Illinois each contribute significant nonpoint source mercury pollution that prevent them from meeting their to reduce mercury in water and fish.

Most stormwater discharge permits include requirements for impaired waters - both with and without approved TMDLs. However, in the future air permits may also include similar provisions under the petition.

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Revised Arizona ADEQ Stormwater Permit Requirements for Dischargers Near Impaired Waters or Unique Waters

On February 29, 2008, the revised Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) general permit for the discharge of stormwater from construction sites became effective. This permit replaced an earlier general permit which had expired. The revised general permit now applies to all construction sites greater than one acre in size, with the exception of sites located on Indian lands within the State. For these sites, a different permit, issued by U.S. EPA, applies.

The requirements under the ADEQ permit will change substantially depending on the location of the project. The key criteria will be whether the site is within ¼-mile of:

• An impaired water
• A listed unique water (also known as an “Outstanding Arizona Water”, or OAW)

For project sites located within this radius, significantly more stringent permit compliance requirements may apply which include:

• Submittal of SWPPP with NOI, and extended waiting period for permit coverage
• Additional prohibitions on non-stormwater discharges
• Additional prohibitions on post-construction discharges
• Additional inspection requirements
• Stormwater monitoring

For project sites located with ¼-mile of either an impaired water or a listed unique water, a Stormwater Monitoring Plan must be developed and implemented. Monitoring of stormwater includes visual monitoring each week and collection and analysis of samples when stormwater is discharged. Monitoring results are then reported to ADEQ on Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) forms.

For more information on this permit, go to:

Summary of Revised ADEQ Permit