July 2000  VOL. 10, NO. 4

EPA Issues Final NPDES Rule

EPA issued a final rule revising the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) regulation. Overall this rule eliminates redundant regulatory language, provides clarifications and removes unnecessary procedures that do not provide any environmental benefits. The rule became effective June 14, 2000. Below are some of the specific changes resulting from this regulation.

• The issuance of a permit to a new source or new discharger is prohibited if the discharge would cause or contribute to a violation of water quality standards.
• Applicants for permits for existing manufacturing, commercial, and mining discharges must submit information on effluent characteristics.
• EPA removed the storm water group permit application provisions that are no longer necessary in light of the wide availability of general permits. General permits provide a more flexible approach to storm water coverage and can accomplish the goals of the group permit application process (i.e., more efficient monitoring, reduced application burdens) without requiring that applicants form into groups prior to applying for permit coverage.
• EPA revised the NDPES regulations to allow non-storm water general permits to cover more than one point source category or subcategory.
• The rule allows directors on a case-by-case basis to not require effluent limits and monitoring for certain guideline-listed pollutants if a discharger could certify that those pollutants would not be in the discharge. This waiver is only available after the first term of the permit.
• EPA is also providing a waiver from monitoring requirements if the facility can certify that the pollutant is not present in its discharge or is present only at background levels from intake water with no increase in the pollutant due to activities of the discharger.
• When quantitative data for a pollutant are required, the applicant must collect a sample of effluent and analyze it for the pollutant in accordance with analytical methods approved under the regulation. When no analytical method is approved, the applicant may use any suitable method but must provide a description of the method.

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