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All facilities requiring permit coverage must assess their industrial activities and materials, and consider the potential pollutants that can come from them. Does rain, snow, and runoff ever come in contact "significant materials" or industrial activities at your facility? Contact with these materials or processes can contaminate stormwater runoff.

Significant materials:

  • Fuels, solvents, coolants, lubricants and cleaners
  • Raw, intermediate, and final products
  • Metallic materials
  • Chemicals
  • Wastes and scrap materials
  • Hazardous materials/wastes
  • Processing or production operations
  • Machining fluids
  • Dust or residuals
  • Fueling stations
  • Above-ground tanks for liquid storage

Industrial activities:

  • Outdoor storage, particularly for raw materials, by-products, and finished products
  • Outside manufacturing
  • Vehicle and equipment washing, maintenance and storage areas
  • Loading and unloading operations
  • Fueling of vehicles and equipment
  • Other substance transfer areas
  • Outdoor manufacturing or processing
  • Significant dust or particulate generation
  • Onsite waste disposal
  • Grinding, cutting, degreasing, buffing, and brazing
  • Industrial waste management areas (landfills, waste piles, treatment plants, disposal areas)

Mercury minimization plan

When a facility has mercury sources or devices that are exposed to stormwater, the permitee must develop a mercury minimization plan that describes how mercury sources will be shielded from precipitation and stormwater runoff. The mercury sources and devices must be removed from stormwater exposure and managed in accordance with Minn. R. 7045, Hazardous Waste, and any additional applicable state and federal rules.