1. STORMWATER PERMITTING UNRAVELED NCMA Water Quality Workshop Feb 19, 2015, Raleigh, NC Bethany Georgoulias, Stormwater Permitting Program

2. Outline  Overview of Stormwater Permitting Programs  NPDES Stormwater Permitting  Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans  Benchmark Concentrations  Tier Responses to Benchmark Exceedances  Permitting Construction Activity

3. Stormwater Permitting Programs  Federal NPDES Stormwater Program  Phase I  Phase II  State Stormwater Programs  Phase II Post-Construction (Session Law 2006-246)  Coastal Stormwater (Session Law 2008-211)  High Quality Waters / Outstanding Resource Waters  Water Supply Watershed  Nutrient Sensitive Waters  Special Management Strategies (e.g., Goose Creek)  401 Water Quality Certifications

4. STORMWATER POLLUTION PREVENTION PLANS NPDES Stormwater Program Photo from Ohio EPA

5. Federal NPDES SW Program  Industrial activities in 10 categories  Municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) serving >100,000 population  Construction activities disturbing > 1 acre (Phase II lowered threshold from 5 acres)  Smaller MS4s (Phase II) Photo by DLR Photo by DWR Most NPDES SW permits require an SPPP

6. Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans  SPPP Requires:  Site Plan (location map; facility map; storage practices; significant spills; certify no non-stormwater discharges).  Stormwater Management Strategy (feasibility study; secondary containment records; BMP summary)  Spill Prevention and Response Procedures (not just SPCC)  Solvent Management Plan (some permits)  Preventative Maintenance/Good Housekeeping Program  Employee Training (at least annually)  Facility inspections (site & SW systems, semi-annually)  Responsible Party  Annual (at least) SPPP update. Every Year! (list of spills, BMP evaluation, re-certify whether outfalls have non- stormwater discharges, review year’s analytical data, etc.)

7. Purpose of an SPPP  Identify pollutant sources to stormwater  Identify best management practices (BMPs) that reduce or eliminate potential water quality impacts  Implement those BMPs (not just a paperwork exercise)  Vigilance of how activities might impact stormwater; look out for problems  Identify improvement opportunities  Understand where your stormwater goes PROACTIVE INSTEAD OF REACTIVE

8. Beauty of the SPPP

9. SPPP Flexibility  If drainage areas, outfalls, or monitoring change, change the SPPP – no need to modify the permit.  If a new BMP needs to be installed, revise the SPPP – no need to modify the permit (approval of BMP might be required under State Stormwater or a local program, if post-construction related).  If the waterbody becomes listed as impaired or a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) is established, change the site map – no need to modify the permit.  If the regional office requires actions (e.g., Tier responses), retain the correspondence in the SPPP – no need to modify the permit.

10. SPPP Enforcement  Enforcement responsibility on two parties: The PERMITTEE and PERMITTING AUTHORITY  Take SPPP off the shelf and use it (instead of collecting dust until a surprise inspection). Implementation is a permit requirement.  UPDATE IT at least annually. Meaningfully.  Train employees regularly; continuity even in turnover.  Keep records together so they’re easy to get to (monitoring, responses, training, etc.)  DEMLR works with permittees to improve short falls in SPPP implementation.

11. STORMWATER MONITORING AND BENCHMARKS NDPES Stormwater Program Photo by DWR

12. Stormwater Discharge Monitoring  Qualitative/Visual and Analytical Monitoring  Benchmark values guide analytical monitoring  Tiered Response to Benchmark Exceedances Tier 1 – identify potential cause and take action, document Tier 2 – monthly monitoring until 3 samples below benchmark, Tier 1 actions First exceedance 2 exceedances in a row “Tier 3” – Must notify DEMLR, who may revise monitoring, require certain BMPs, or other actions Any 4 exceedances

13. What Are Stormwater Benchmarks?  Benchmarks are NOT effluent LIMITS.  “Action level” concentrations that trigger investigation and management actions.  Generally based on aquatic impacts.  Tool for the permittee to respond to possible stormwater exposure problems.  Tool for DEMLR to identify recurrent problems or assist permittee in correcting.

14. Stormwater Benchmarks

15. FAQs About Benchmarks Q : How are SW benchmarks derived? A : Typically reflect level of protection for acute (short-term) exposure (e.g., metals, toxicants). This is usually ½ FAV. A : May be based on other criteria, regulations or data sources (e.g., TSS, BOD 5 ) when no acute equivalent.

16. FAQs About Benchmarks Q : Why are some values so much lower than the drinking water standard (like copper)? Isn’t that unreasonable for stormwater runoff? A : it’s not all about people.

17. FAQs About Benchmarks Q : What happens when I get into “Tier 3” because I can’t get a concentration below a benchmark? A : It depends. Photo from http://kaelepulupond.org/ What if this site is next door, running onto your facility? What if you haven’t done anything about this? Photo from http://www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/

18. Metals Benchmarks Update  Triennial Review revised NC metals standards  New standards include dissolved metals and revise hardness assumption (no longer 50 mg/l)  DWR implements method to translate dissolved to total concentrations for NPDES permitting  Stormwater Program adopted consistent approach for metal benchmarks  Permits issued since January 2014 include new benchmarks; other permits are being revised upon renewal

19. New Freshwater Metal Benchmarks Cr III new Previous

20. What Happens in Tier 3?  Facility monitoring data exceeded benchmark any four times and must notify Regional Office  DEMLR wants an understanding of what permittee has already done to investigate sources, alleviate sources, considered feasibility of implementing, etc.  RO will visit and help assess  RO will respond with further direction. Until then, permittee continues monthly monitoring.

21. Addressing Exceedances

22. Working with Permittee

23. CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY AT INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES NPDES Stormwater Program Photo by DWR

24. Construction Stormwater  When is it needed?  Construction will disturb an acre or more  Project needs E&SC Plan approval by local or state program  Do you need to submit a Notice of Intent (NOI)?  No, automatic coverage upon E&SC approval  Can I skip getting an NCG01 if I already have a different NPDES stormwater permit for my industrial activity?  No, both permits apply.  That’s IN ADDITION to the E&SC Plan requirements.  NCG01 covers discharges from construction only.

25. http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/lr/construction-stormwater

26. QUESTIONS? http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/lr/stormwater Stormwater Permitting Program Telephone: (919) 707-9220