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On August 21, 2013 the State Water Board held a hearing on the final draft of the industrial general permit. After 10 years of analysis and public input on numerous prior drafts, the State Water Board now proposes an Industrial General Permit (IGP) to replace the current permit issued in 1997. The long-awaited 2013 Draft NPDES Permit for the Discharge of Storm Water Associated with Industrial Activities (the “Draft IGP”), proposes significant changes in the regulation of storm water discharges from industrial facilities.
Permitting Requirements Have ChangedThe Draft IGP is proposed for adoption on January 1, 2014 and complete implementation on or before January 1, 2015. If adopted, the permit will vastly increase the number of industries affected and impose new and increased compliance requirements on currently regulated facilities. This General Permit is significantly different from the previous permit in the following areas:
How Alta Can HelpRecord Keeping, Reporting and CertificationOverall, the draft permit contains far more detail than before. Alta can assist dischargers with the extensive record keeping, reporting, certification and other paper requirements as well as SWPPP revision and implementation. In addition, we can assist permittees with preparation of monitoring and implementation plans that will maximize opportunities for sampling and analysis reduction and assist them with cost effective and efficient use of resources. Electronic Filing StandardsIndustrial dischargers will be required to submit permit registration documents (PRDs) and reports electronically. The result is that far more facility-specific information will be publically available than ever before. Alta can assist discharges with electronic reporting to ensuredata accuracy and compliance with deadlines. Compliance Group SupportFinally, the State Water Board has created a new “compliance group” option in this draft permit. Participating dischargers with similar types of industrial activities, pollutant sources and pollutant characteristics, may join together to form Compliance Groups. As a group, the facilities may receive assistance with permit compliance from a compliance group leader. Under this arrangement, they may benefit from economies of scale in such tasks as SWPPP preparation, training, sampling and exceedance response reporting. Alta can function as the group leader to support industry groups interested in the compliance group option. Contact us! Please contact David Renfrew at (562) 495-5777 or david.renfrew@altaenviron.com for more information. Alta is ready to help you comply with these significant new regulatory requirements. Comments are closed.
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