Industrial Stormwater Permit Development and Program History

Industrial Stormwater General History

The 1972 amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (known as the Clean Water Act or CWA) provide the statutory basis for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NDPES) permit program and the basic structure for regulating the discharge of pollutants from point sources to waters of the United States. Section 402 of the CWA specifically required EPA to develop and implement the NPDES program. The CWA allowed EPA to authorize the NPDES Permit Program to state governments, enabling states to perform many of the permitting, administrative, and enforcement aspects of the NPDES Program. In states that have been authorized to implement CWA programs, EPA still retains oversight responsibilities.

According to the National Water Quality Inventory, stormwater runoff is a leading source of water pollution. Stormwater at industrial facilities may come into contact with harmful pollutants including toxic metals, oil, grease, de-icing salts, and other chemicals from rooftops, roads, parking lots, and from activities such as storage and material handling.

Stormwater discharges potentially containing the above pollutants are associated with 10 categories of industrial activities. These activities are regulated through NPDES permits. Facilities that need an NPDES permit must develop and implement a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan that is designed to eliminate or minimize stormwater contact with significant materials that may result in polluted stormwater discharges from the industrial facility. The SWPPP must also incorporate specific BMPs applicable to the facility.

2006-2010

The MPCA began work to reissue the expired General Stormwater Permit for Industrial Activity. Key steps along the way included:

November 2006: MPCA created the Stormwater Steering Committee’s Industrial Stormwater Work Group. It was made up of members of the Minnesota Stormwater Steering Committee and public and private organizations. The Work Group’s task was to help the Industrial Stormwater Program draft the new permit.

March 2009: the Industrial Stormwater program presented an information item about the draft permit to the MPCA Citizens’ Board.

•  March 2009 Information item about the draft Multi-Sector General Permit (wq-strm3-59f)

July 6, 2009: With board input, the draft was placed on public notice on July 6, 2009 for a 30-day comment period:

•  July 2009 Draft NPDES/SDS General Stormwater Permit for Industrial Activity (MNR050000)  (wq-strm3-59e)
•  Fact Sheet for Draft NPDES/SDS General Stormwater Permit for Industrial Activity (MNR050000) (wq-strm3-59a)
•  July 2009 Public Notice for Comments Document (wq-strm3-59i)

The public notice comment period was extended for an additional 30 days and ended on September 4, 2009.

•  August 2009 Public Notice for Comments Extension Document (wq-strm3-59j)

Program staff received and responded to all of the public comments and modified the permit to incorporate the comments and created the Final  Multi-Sector General Permit through February 2010:

•  64 Written Comments Received (wq-strm3-59d)
•  MPCA Staff Response to Comments (wq-strm3-59c)
•  Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Order (wq-strm3-59b)

March 2010: The Industrial Stormwater Program went back to the Citizens’ Board in February and March 2010 to present the updated draft permit. The permit was approved at the March 2010 Citizens’ Board meeting and the  Multi-Sector General Permit was issued on April 5, 2010.

•  February 2010 Citizens’ Board Presentation (wq-strm3-59g)
•  March 2010 Citizens’ Board Presentation (wq-strm3-59h)

2002 - 2003

2002

The Agency’s 1997 General Stormwater Permit for Industrial Activity Permit MN G611000 expired on October 31, 2002. Before the permit expired, the MPCA drafted the Industrial Stormwater Permit and public noticed the draft for comments:

•  Draft NPDES General Stormwater Permit for Industrial Activity
•  Fact Sheet for the NPDES General Stormwater Permit for Industrial Activity

During the public notice comment period, the MPCA received written comments on several issues including requirements for outstanding resource value waters and nondegradation analysis, requirements for completed total maximum daily loads, monitoring, and SWPPPs.

In the interim, to address the time between the expired permit and reissuance of the new General Stormwater Permit for Industrial Activity, previous permit holders were covered by Minn. R. 7001.0160. “Any person who holds an expired permit…and who has submitted a timely application for reissuance of the permit may continue to conduct the permitted activity in accordance with the terms and conditions of the expired permit until the agency takes final action on the application.”

New, non-municipal facilities and newly regulated municipally owned or operated industrial facilities had to submit a permit application in order to meet the federal requirements of applying for NPDES permit coverage for industrial activity. Until the general permit was reissued, facilities had to develop and implement a SWPPP that complied with the Draft NPDES General Stormwater Permit for Industrial Activity which included the SWPPP requirements contained in the expired permit. 

2003

EPA’s Stormwater Phase II regulations became effective on March 10, 2003 and continued to regulate the 10 categories of industrial activity:

1. Facilities subject to stormwater effluent limitation guidelines, new source performance standards, or toxic pollutant effluent standards under 40 CFR Subchapter N
2. Heavy industrial facilities (SIC codes 24, 26, 28, 29, 311, 32,33,3441, 373
3. Mineral industry (SIC codes 10, 12, 13, 14)
4. Hazardous waste treatment, storage or disposal facilities
5. Landfills, land application sites and open dumps that receive or have received industrial waste
6. Facilities involved in recycling of material, including metal scrap yards, battery reclaimers, salvage yards, and automobile junk yards, including but limited to those classified as SIC codes 5015 and 5093
7. Steam electric power generating facilities
8. Transportation facilities (SIC codes 40, 41, 42 [except 4221-25], 43, 44, 45 and 5171 which have vehicle maintenance shops, equipment cleaning operations, and airport deicing operations
9. Sewage treatment works
10. Light industrial facilities (SIC codes 20, 21, 22, 23, 2434, 25, 265, 267, 27, 283, 285, 30, 31, 323, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 4221, 4222 and 4225)

The regulations extended the No Exposure exclusion to all industrial stormwater categories and required municipally owned or operated industrial facilities to obtain permit coverage or certify No Exposure.

1997

 General Stormwater Permit for Industrial Activity Permit MN G611000 The permit was issued November 1, 1997 and expired October 31, 2002.