NOTICES
DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Public Notice of Draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System General Permit for Discharges of Stormwater Associated with Industrial Activity (PAG-03)
[52 Pa.B. 500]
[Saturday, January 22, 2022]The Department of Environmental Protection (Department) is announcing the availability of a draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) General Permit for Discharges of Stormwater Associated with Industrial Activity (PAG-03). The draft General Permit and related documents are available on the Department's eLibrary at www.depgreenport.state.pa.us/elibrary/ (select ''Permit and Authorization Packages,'' then ''Clean Water,'' then ''Draft—PAG-03 NPDES General Permit for Discharges of Stormwater Associated with Industrial Activity'').
The PAG-03 General Permit is intended to provide NPDES permit coverage to existing or proposed industrial facilities that discharge stormwater associated with industrial activity to surface waters of this Commonwealth. The General Permit may not be used to cover facilities that discharge industrial wastewater.
The following substantive changes are proposed in the draft PAG-03 General Permit in comparison to the PAG-03 General Permit that is currently in effect and has been administratively extended until September 23, 2022:
• The Department proposes to clarify in the General Permit that facilities with structural stormwater best management practices (BMP) that do not discharge during the monitoring period are allowed to report ''no discharge'' on discharge monitoring reports. These facilities will be required to provide at least one sample result on the subsequent renewal Notice of Intent (NOI).
• In addition to a Corrective Action Plan, after four consecutive exceedances of the benchmark values, the Department proposes to require permittees to complete and submit the Stormwater BMP Checklist (3800-PM-BCW0083l).
• The Department proposes to add a monitor and report requirement for Total Nitrogen and Total Phosphorus to all appendices.
• The Department proposes to increase the benchmark value for Total Suspended Solids from 100 mg/L to 150 mg/L in all appendices. The Department requests public input on this proposed increase to the benchmark value.
• The Department proposes to add monitoring requirements for Oil & Grease to Appendices B & U and for Chemical Oxygen Demand to Appendix O.
• The Department proposes to modify Appendix H to remove several facility categories that were previously listed as prohibited from coverage under the PAG-03 and requiring individual permit coverage. The Department has determined that these facilities do not require permit coverage.
• A new No Exposure Certification (3800-PM-BCW 0083k) was developed to improve recordkeeping and ensure clear and consistent communication of the effective date, expiration date, ongoing eligibility and re-certification requirements.
• The existing General Permit utilized the Annual Report to serve as the NOI for annual coverage under the PAG-03. New coverage was approved without an expiration date of coverage identified. The Department proposes to no longer utilize the Annual Report as an NOI for coverage under the reissued General Permit. The Department will notify PAG-03 permittees of the mechanism that must be used to continue coverage under a modified or reissued General Permit, and new coverage will specify an expiration date of coverage that corresponds to the PAG-03 expiration date.
• The Department is proposing to collect information on existing Post-Construction Stormwater Management BMPs in the NOI.
The proposed NOI fee of $2,500, paid in annual increments of $500, has not changed in comparison to the PAG-03 General Permit that is currently in effect.
Written Comments
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments regarding the draft PAG-03 General Permit and associated documents through Tuesday, February 22, 2022. Commentators are encouraged to submit comments using the Department's online eComment system at www.ahs.dep.pa.gov/eComment. Written comments can be submitted by e-mail to ecomment@pa.gov or by mail to the Department of Environmental Protection, Policy Office, Rachel Carson State Office Building, P.O. Box 2063, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2063. Comments, including comments submitted by e-mail, must include the commentators's name and address. Comments submitted by facsimile will not be accepted.
Written comments submitted during the 30-day comment period will be retained by the Department and considered in finalizing the General Permit. The Department will provide an opportunity for any interested person or group of persons, any affected State, any affected interstate agency, the United States Environmental Protection Agency or any interested agency to request or petition for a public hearing with respect to the proposed General Permit. The request or petition for public hearing, which must be filed within the 30-day period allowed for filing of written comments, must indicate the interest of the party filing the request and the reasons why a hearing is warranted. A hearing will be held if there is significant public interest.
Questions regarding the draft PAG-03 General Permit can be directed to Sean Furjanic at sefurjanic@pa.gov or (717) 787-2137.
PATRICK McDONNELL,
Secretary
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 22-124. Filed for public inspection January 21, 2022, 9:00 a.m.]
No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Bulletin full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.
