Subchapter A. DEFINITIONS AND GENERAL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
Sec.
92a.1. Purpose and scope.
92a.2. Definitions.
92a.3. Incorporation of Federal regulations by reference.
92a.4. Exclusions.
92a.5. Prohibitions.
92a.6. Effect of a permit.
92a.7. Duration of permits and continuation of expiring permits.
92a.8. Confidentiality of information.
92a.9. NPDES permit satisfies other permit requirements.
92a.10. Pollution prevention.
92a.11. Other chapters applicable.
92a.12. Treatment requirements.§ 92a.1. Purpose and scope.
(a) Purpose. The regulatory provisions contained in this chapter implement the NPDES Program by the Department under the Federal Act.
(b) Scope. A person may not discharge pollutants from a point source into surface waters except as authorized under an NPDES permit.
§ 92a.2. Definitions.
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
AEU—Animal Equivalent Unit—One thousand pounds live weight of livestock or poultry animals, regardless of the actual number of individual animals comprising the unit, as defined in 3 Pa.C.S. § 503 (relating to definitions).
Administrator—The Administrator of the EPA or an authorized representative.
Agricultural operation—The management and use of farming resources for the production of crops, livestock or poultry as defined in 3 Pa.C.S. § 503.
Agricultural process wastewater—Wastewater from agricultural operations, including from spillage or overflow from livestock or poultry watering systems; washing, cleaning or flushing pens, milkhouses, barns, manure pits; direct contact swimming, washing or spray cooling of livestock or poultry; egg washing; or dust control.
Applicable effluent limitations or standards—State, interstate and Federal effluent limitations or standards to which a discharge is subject under the State and Federal Acts, including, but not limited to, water quality-based and technology-based effluent limitations, standards of performance, toxic effluent standards and prohibitions, BMPs and pretreatment standards.
Applicable water quality standards—Water quality standards to which a discharge is subject under the State and Federal Acts, and regulations promulgated thereunder.
Application—The Department’s form for applying for approval to discharge pollutants to surface waters of this Commonwealth under a new NPDES permit, or reissuance of an existing NPDES permit, or the modification or transfer of an existing NPDES permit.
Aquaculture project—A defined managed water area which uses discharges of pollutants into that designated area for the maintenance or production of harvestable freshwater, estuarine, or marine plants and animals.
Authority—A body politic and corporate created under 53 Pa.C.S. Chapter 56 (relating to municipal authorities act).
BAT—Best Available Technology Economically Achievable—(i) The maximum degree of effluent reduction attainable through the application of the best treatment technology economically achievable within an industrial category or subcategory, or other category of discharger.
(ii) The term includes categorical ELGs promulgated by the EPA under section 304(b) of the Federal Act (33 U.S.C.A. § 1314(b)).
BOD5—Biochemical oxygen demand, 5-day—The 5-day measure of the pollutant parameter biochemical oxygen demand.
BMP—Best Management Practices—(i) Schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures and other management practices to prevent or reduce pollutant loading to surface waters of this Commonwealth.
(ii) The term includes treatment requirements, operating procedures and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw material storage. The term includes activities, facilities, measures, planning or procedures used to minimize accelerated erosion and sedimentation and manage stormwater to protect, maintain, reclaim, and restore the quality of waters and the existing and designated uses of waters within this Commonwealth before, during and after earth disturbance activities.
BTA—Best Technology Available—The combination of technologies and operational practices that achieves the most effective degree of impingement mortality and entrainment reduction applicable to the facility.
CAAP—Concentrated Aquatic Animal Production Facility—A hatchery, fish farm or other facility which meets the criteria in 40 CFR 122.24 (relating to concentrated aquatic animal production facilities (applicable to State NPDES programs, see § 123.25)).
CAFO—Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation—A CAO with greater than 300 AEUs, any agricultural operation with greater than 1,000 AEUs, or any agricultural operation defined as a large CAFO under 40 CFR 122.23(b)(4) (relating to concentrated animal feeding operations (applicable to State NPDES programs, see § 123.25)).
CAO—Concentrated Animal Operation—An agricultural operation that meets the criteria established by the State Conservation Commission under the authority of 3 Pa.C.S. Chapter 5 (relating to nutrient management and odor management) in Chapter 83, Subchapter D (relating to nutrient management).
CBOD5—Carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand, 5-day—The 5 day measure of the pollutant parameter carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand.
CSO—Combined Sewer Overflow—An intermittent overflow or other untreated discharge from a municipal combined sewer system (including domestic, industrial and commercial wastewater and stormwater) prior to reaching the headworks of the sewage treatment facility which results from a flow in excess of the dry weather carrying capacity of the system.
Combined sewer system—A sewer system that has been designed to serve as both a sanitary sewer and a storm sewer.
Conventional pollutant—Biochemical oxygen demand, carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, pH, fecal coliform, oil or grease.
DMR—Discharge Monitoring Report—The Department or EPA supplied forms for reporting of self-monitoring results by the permittee.
Daily discharge—The discharge of a pollutant measured during a calendar day or any 24-hour period that reasonably and accurately represents the calendar day for purposes of sampling:(i) For pollutants with limitations expressed in units of mass, the daily discharge is calculated as the total mass of the pollutant discharged over the day.
(ii) For pollutants with limitations expressed in other units of measurement, the daily discharge is calculated as the average measurement of the pollutant over the day.
Discharge—An addition of any pollutant to surface waters of this Commonwealth from a point source.
Disturbed area—As defined in Chapter 102 (relating to erosion and sediment control).
Draft permit—A document prepared by the Department indicating the Department’s tentative decision to issue or deny, modify, revoke or reissue a permit.
ELG—Effluent Limitations Guideline—A regulation published by the Administrator under section 304(b) of the Federal Act, or by the Department, to revise or adopt effluent limitations.
Earth disturbance activity—As defined in Chapter 102.
Effluent limitation or standard—A restriction established by the Department or the Administrator on quantities, rates and concentrations of chemical, physical, biological and other constituents which are discharged from point sources into surface waters, including BMPs and schedules of compliance.
Entrainment—The incorporation of all life stages of fish and shellfish with intake flow entering and passing through a cooling water intake structure and into a cooling water intake system.
Existing discharge—A discharge that is not a new discharge or a new source.
Facility or activity—Any NPDES point source or any other facility or activity including land or appurtenances thereto that is subject to regulation under the NPDES Program.
Federal Act—The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.A. § § 1251—1387) also known as the Clean Water Act or CWA.
GPD—Gallons per day.
Impingement—The entrapment of all life stages of fish and shellfish on the outer part of the intake structure or against a screening device during periods of intake water withdrawal.
Indirect discharger—A discharger of nondomestic wastewater introducing pollutants into a POTW or other treatment works.
Industrial waste—(i) A liquid, gaseous, radioactive, solid or other substance, not sewage, resulting from manufacturing or industry, or from an establishment, and mine drainage, refuse, silt, coal mine solids, rock, debris, dirt and clay from coal mines, coal collieries, breakers or other coal processing operations.
(ii) The term includes all of these substances whether or not generally characterized as waste.
Instantaneous maximum effluent limitation—The highest allowable discharge of a concentration or mass of a substance at any one time as measured by a grab sample.
Intermittent stream—A body of water flowing in a channel or bed composed primarily of substrates associated with flowing water, which, during periods of the year, is below the local water table and obtains its flow from both surface runoff and groundwater discharges.
Interstate agency—An agency of two or more states established by or under an agreement or compact, or any other agency of two or more states, having substantial powers or duties pertaining to the control of pollution as determined and approved by the Administrator.
Large municipal separate storm sewer system—A municipal separate storm sewer system as defined in 40 CFR 122.26(b)(4) (relating to storm water discharges (applicable to State NPDES programs, see § 123.25)).
Livestock—(i) Animals raised, stabled, fed or maintained on an agricultural operation with the purpose of generating income or providing work, recreation or transportation. Examples include: dairy cows, beef cattle, goats, sheep, swine and horses.
(ii) The term does not include aquatic species.
MGD—Million gallons per day.
MS4—Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System—A separate storm sewer (including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, manmade channels or storm drains) which is all of the following:(i) Owned or operated by a State, city, town, borough, county, district, association or other public body (created by or under State law) having jurisdiction over disposal of sewage, industrial wastes, stormwater or other wastes, including special districts under state law such as a sewer district, flood control district or drainage district, or similar entity, or a designated and approved management agency under section 208 of the Federal Act (33 U.S.C.A. § 1288) that discharges to surface waters of this Commonwealth.
(ii) Designed or used for collecting or conveying stormwater.
(iii) Not a combined sewer.
(iv) Not part of a POTW.
Major amendment—Any amendment to an NPDES permit that is not a minor amendment.
Major facility—A POTW with a design flow of 1.0 MGD or more and any other facility classified as such by the Department in conjunction with the Administrator.
Manure—(i) Animal excrement, including poultry litter, which is produced at an agricultural operation.
(ii) The term includes materials such as bedding and raw materials which are commingled with that excrement.
Medium municipal separate storm sewer system—A municipal separate storm sewer system as defined in 40 CFR 122.26(b)(7).
Mining activity—A surface or underground mining activity as defined in Chapter 77 or Chapter 86 (relating to noncoal mining; and surface and underground coal mining: general).
Minor amendment—An amendment to an NPDES permit to correct a typographical error, increase monitoring requirements, change interim compliance dates by no more than 120 days, allow for a change in ownership or operational control of a facility, delete an outfall, change a construction schedule for a discharger that is a new source, or to incorporate an approved pretreatment program into an existing permit.
Minor facility—A facility not identified as a major facility.
Monthly average discharge limitation—The highest allowable average of daily discharges over a calendar month, calculated as the sum of all daily discharges measured during the calendar month divided by the number of daily discharges measured during the month.
Municipality—A city, town, borough, county, township, school district, institution, authority or other public body created by or pursuant to State law and having jurisdiction over disposal of sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes.
NOI—Notice of Intent—A complete form submitted for NPDES general permit coverage which contains information required by the terms of the permit and by § 92a.54 (relating to general permits). An NOI is not an application.
NPDES—National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
NPDES form—An issued NPDES permit, the application, NOI or any DMR reporting form.
NPDES general permit or general permit—An NPDES permit that is issued for a clearly described category of point source discharges, when those discharges are substantially similar in nature and do not have the potential to cause significant adverse environmental impact.
NPDES permit—An authorization, license or equivalent control document issued by the Administrator or the Department to implement the requirements of 40 CFR Parts 122—124 (relating to EPA administered permit programs: the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System; state program requirements; and procedures for decisionmaking) and the Federal Act.
New discharger—A building, structure, facility, activity or installation from which there is or may be a discharge of pollutants that did not commence the discharge at a particular site prior to August 13, 1979, which is not a new source, and which has never received a final effective NPDES permit for discharges at that site.
New source—A building, structure, facility, activity or installation from which there is or may be a discharge of pollutants, the construction of which commenced after promulgation of standards of performance under section 306 of the Federal Act (33 U.S.C.A. § 1316) which are applicable to the source.
No exposure—Where industrial materials and activities are protected by a storm-resistant shelter to prevent exposure to stormwater. Industrial materials and activities include, but are not limited to, material handling equipment or activities, industrial machinery, raw materials, intermediate products, by-products, final products, or waste products. Material handling activities include the storage, loading and unloading, transportation, or conveyance of any raw material, intermediate product, final product or waste product.
Nonconventional pollutant—A pollutant which is not a conventional or toxic pollutant.
Nonpoint source—A pollutant source that is not a point source.
POTWs—Publicly Owned Treatment Works—(i) A treatment works which is owned by a state or municipality.
(ii) The term includes any devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature.
(iii) The term also includes sewers, pipes or other conveyances if they convey wastewater to a POTW treatment plant.
(iv) The term also means the municipality as defined in section 502(4) of the Federal Act (33 U.S.C.A. § 1362(4)), which has jurisdiction over the indirect discharges to and the discharges from such a treatment works.
Perennial stream—A body of water flowing in a channel or bed composed primarily of substrates associated with flowing waters and capable, in the absence of pollution or other manmade stream disturbances, of supporting a benthic macroinvertebrate community which is composed of two or more recognizable taxonomic groups of organisms which are large enough to be seen by the unaided eye and can be retained by a United States Standard No. 30 sieve (28 meshs per inch, 0.595 mm openings) and live at least part of their life cycles within or upon available substrates in a body of water or water transport system.
Person—Any individual, public or private corporation, partnership, association, municipality or political subdivision of this Commonwealth, institution, authority, firm, trust, estate, receiver, guardian, personal representative, successor, joint venture, joint stock company, fiduciary; department, agency or instrumentality of State, Federal or local government, or an agent or employee thereof; or any other legal entity.
Point source—A discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including, but not limited to, any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, CAAP, CAFO, landfill leachate collection system, or vessel or other floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged.
Pollutant—A contaminant or other alteration of the physical, chemical, biological or radiological integrity of surface water that causes or has the potential to cause pollution as defined in section 1 of the State Act (35 P. S. § 691.1).
Pollution prevention—Source reduction and other practices that reduce or eliminate the creation of pollutants through increased efficiency in the use of raw materials, energy, water or other resources, without having significant cross-media impacts.
Privately owned treatment works—A device or system used to treat wastewater that is not a POTW.
Process wastewater—Water which, during manufacturing or processing, comes into direct contact with or results from the production or use of any raw material, intermediate product, finished product, byproduct or waste product.
SRSTP—Single Residence Sewage Treatment Plant—A system of piping, tanks or other facilities serving a single family residence located on a single family residential lot, that solely collects, treats, and disposes of direct or indirect sewage discharges from the residence into surface waters of this Commonwealth.
SSO—Sanitary Sewer Overflow—An overflow of wastewater, or other untreated discharge from a separate sanitary sewer system (which is not a combined sewer system), which results from a flow in excess of the carrying capacity of the system or from some other cause prior to reaching the headworks of the sewage treatment facility.
Schedule of compliance—A schedule of remedial measures including an enforceable sequence of actions or operations leading to compliance with effluent limitations, prohibitions, other limitations or standards.
Separate storm sewer—A conveyance or system of conveyances (including pipes, conduits, ditches and channels) primarily used for collecting and conveying stormwater runoff.
Setback—A specified distance from the top of the bank of surface waters, or potential conduits to surface waters, where manure and agricultural process wastewater may not be land applied. Examples of conduits to surface waters include, but are not limited to:(i) Open tile line intake structures.
(ii) Sinkholes.
(iii) Agricultural wellheads.
Sewage—A substance that contains any of the waste products or excrementitious or other discharge from the bodies of human beings or animals.
Significant biological treatment—The use of an aerobic or anaerobic biological treatment process in a treatment works to consistently achieve a 30-day average of at least 65% removal of BOD5.
Small flow treatment facility—A treatment works designed to adequately treat sewage flows of not greater than 2,000 gallons per day for final disposal using a stream discharge or other methods approved by the Department.
Small municipal separate storm sewer system—A municipal separate storm sewer system as defined in 40 CFR 122.26(b)(16).
State Act—The Clean Streams Law (35 P. S. § § 691.1—691.1001).
Stormwater—Runoff from precipitation, snow melt runoff and surface runoff and drainage.
Stormwater discharge associated with construction activity—The discharge or potential discharge of stormwater from construction activities into waters of this Commonwealth, including clearing and grubbing, grading and excavation activities involving 1 acre (0.4 hectares) or more of earth disturbance activity, or an earth disturbance activity on any portion, part or during any stage of, a larger common plan of development or sale that involves 1 acre (0.4 hectares) or more of earth disturbance activity over the life of the project.
Stormwater discharge associated with industrial activity—The discharge from any conveyance that is used for collecting and conveying stormwater and that is directly related to manufacturing, processing or raw materials storage areas at an industrial plant, and as defined in 40 CFR 122.26(b)(14) (i)—(ix) and (xi).
Surface waters—Perennial and intermittent streams, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, ponds, wetlands, springs, natural seeps and estuaries, excluding water at facilities approved for wastewater treatment such as wastewater treatment impoundments, cooling water ponds and constructed wetlands used as part of a wastewater treatment process.
TMDL—Total Maximum Daily Load—The term as defined in Chapter 96 (relating to water quality standards implementation).
TSS—Total Suspended Solids—The pollutant parameter total suspended solids.
Toxic pollutant—Those pollutants, or combinations of pollutants, including disease-causing agents, which after discharge and upon exposure, ingestion, inhalation or assimilation into any organism, either directly from the environment or indirectly by ingestion through food chains, may, on the basis of information available to the Administrator or the Department, cause death, disease, behavioral abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutations, physiological malfunctions, including malfunctions in reproduction, or physical deformations in these organisms or their offspring.
Treatment works—Any devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature to implement the State and Federal Acts, or necessary to recycle or reuse water at the most economical cost over the estimated life of the works, including intercepting sewers, outfall sewers, sewage collection systems, pumping, power, and other equipment, and their appurtenances; extensions, improvements, remodeling, additions, and alterations thereof; elements essential to provide a reliable recycled supply such as standby treatment units and clear well facilities; and any works, including site acquisition of the land that will be an integral part of the treatment process (including land used for the storage of treated wastewater in land treatment systems prior to land application) or is used for ultimate disposal of residues resulting from the treatment.
Vegetated buffer—A permanent strip of dense perennial vegetation established parallel to the contours of and perpendicular to the dominant slope of the field for purposes that include slowing water runoff, enhancing water infiltration and minimizing the risk of any potential pollutants from leaving the field and reaching surface waters.
WETT—Whole Effluent Toxicity Testing—(i) A test, survey, study, protocol or assessment which includes the use of aquatic, bacterial, invertebrate or vertebrate species to measure acute or chronic toxicity, and any biological or chemical measure of bioaccumulation, bioconcentration or impact on established aquatic and biological communities.
(ii) The term includes any established, scientifically defensible method that is sufficiently sensitive to measure toxic effects.
WQBEL—Water Quality-based Effluent Limitation—An effluent limitation based on the need to attain or maintain the water quality criteria and to assure protection of designated and existing uses.
Water quality standards—The combination of water uses to be protected and the water quality criteria necessary to protect those uses.
Weekly average discharge limitation—The highest allowable average of daily discharges over a calendar week, calculated as the sum of all daily discharges measured during the calendar week divided by the number of daily discharges during that week.
Wetlands—Areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, including swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas.
Whole effluent toxicity—The aggregate toxic effect of an effluent measured directly with a WETT.
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 91.1 (relating to definitions); 25 Pa. Code § 92a.3 (relating to incorporation of Federal regulations by reference); 25 Pa. Code § 92a.29 (relating to CAFO); and 25 Pa. Code § 93.1 (relating to definitions).
§ 92a.3. Incorporation of Federal regulations by reference.
(a) The Federal NPDES regulations in subsection (b) are incorporated by reference to the extent that these provisions are applicable and not contrary to the law of the Commonwealth. In the event of a conflict between a Federal regulatory provision and a regulation of the Commonwealth, the provision expressly set out in this chapter shall be applied unless the Federal provision is more stringent.
(b) The following Federal regulatory provisions in 40 CFR Parts 122, 124, 125, and 132 are incorporated by reference:
(1) 122.2 (relating to definitions) unless the definitions in § 92a.2 (relating to definitions) are different.
(2) 123.25(c) (relating to requirements for permitting).
(3) 124.57(a) (relating to public notice).
(4) 125.1—125.3 (relating to criteria and standards for imposing technology-based treatment requirements under sections 301(b) and 402 of the act).
(5) 125.30—125.32 (relating to criteria and standards for determining fundamentally different factors under sections 301(b)(1)(A), 301(b)(2)(A) and (E) of the act).
(6) 125.70—125.73 (relating to criteria for determining alternative effluent limitations under section 316(a) of the act).
(7) 132 (relating to water quality guidance for the Great Lakes system).
(c) The Federal NPDES regulations in § § 92a.4—92a.6, 92a.8, 92a.21, 92a.22, 92a.30—92a.35, 92a.41—92a.45, 92a.55, 92a.61, 92a.71—92a.74, 92a.85 and 92a.92 are incorporated by reference to the extent that these provisions are applicable and not contrary to the law of the Commonwealth. In the event of a conflict between a Federal regulatory provision and a regulation of the Commonwealth, the provision expressly set out in this chapter shall be applied unless the Federal provision is more stringent.
§ 92a.4. Exclusions.
The provisions of 40 CFR 122.3(a)—(g) (relating to exclusions) are incorporated by reference.
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 92a.3 (relating to incorporation of Federal regulations by reference).
§ 92a.5. Prohibitions.
(a) The provisions of 40 CFR 122.4 (relating to prohibitions (applicable to State NPDES programs, see 123.25)) are incorporated by reference.
(b) A permit may not be issued, modified or reissued for a sanitary sewer overflow.
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 92a.3 (relating to incorporation of Federal regulations by reference).
§ 92a.6. Effect of a permit.
The provisions of 40 CFR 122.5 (relating to effect of a permit) are incorporated by reference.
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 92a.3 (relating to incorporation of Federal regulations by reference).
§ 92a.7. Duration of permits and continuation of expiring permits.
(a) NPDES permits must have a fixed term not to exceed 5 years.
(b) The terms and conditions of an expiring permit are automatically continued when the following conditions are met:
(1) The permittee has submitted a timely application for reissuance of an existing permit in accordance with § 92a.75 (relating to reissuance of expiring permits).
(2) The Department is unable, through no fault of the permittee, to reissue or deny a permit before the expiration date of the previous permit.
(c) Permits continued under subsection (b) remain effective and enforceable against the discharger until the Department takes final action on the pending permit application.
§ 92a.8. Confidentiality of information.
(a) The provisions of 40 CFR 122.7(b) (relating to confidentiality of information) are incorporated by reference.
(b) The Department may protect any information, other than effluent data, contained in NPDES forms, or other records, reports or plans pertaining to the NPDES permit program as confidential upon a showing by any person that the information is not a public record for the purposes of section 607 of the State Act (35 P. S. § 691.607). Documents that may be protected as confidential and are not public records are those that if made public would divulge an analysis of chemical and physical properties of coal (excepting information regarding the mineral or elemental content that is potentially toxic in the environment), and those that are confidential commercial information or methods or processes entitled to protection as trade secrets under State or Federal law. If, however, the information being considered for confidential treatment is contained in an NPDES form, the Department will forward the information to the Administrator for concurrence in any determination of confidentiality. If the Administrator does not concur that some or all of the information being considered for confidential treatment merits the protection and notifies the Department in writing, the Department will make available to the public that information determined by the Administrator in consultation with the EPA Office of General Counsel not entitled to protection in accordance with 40 CFR Part 2 (relating to public information).
(c) Information approved for confidential status, whether or not contained in an NPDES form, will be disclosed, upon request, to the Administrator, or an authorized representative, who shall maintain the disclosed information as confidential.
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 92a.3 (relating to incorporation of Federal regulations by reference); and 25 Pa. Code § 92a.81 (relating to public access to information).
§ 92a.9. NPDES permit satisfies other permit requirements.
An NPDES permit issued for a discharge pursuant to this chapter is the Department permit for purposes of sections 202 and 307 of the State Act (35 P. S. § § 691.202 and 691.307).
§ 92a.10. Pollution prevention.
(a) The Department will encourage pollution prevention by providing assistance to the permittee and users of the permittee’s facilities in the consideration of pollution prevention measures such as process changes, materials substitution, reduction in volume of water use, in-process recycling and reuse of water and general measures of ‘‘good housekeeping’’ within the plant or facility.
(b) The Department will encourage consideration of the following measures, in descending order of preference, for environmental management of wastes:
(1) Process change.
(2) Materials substitution.
(3) Reuse.
(4) Recycling.
(5) Treatment.
§ 92a.11. Other chapters applicable.
To the extent that Chapters 16, 77, 87—91, 93, 95, 96, 102 and 105 pertain to a discharge for which an NPDES permit is required, those chapters govern whenever their application produces a more stringent effluent limitation than would be produced by application of Federal requirements. Effluent limitations resulting from the application of those chapters must be expressed in an NPDES permit issued under this chapter.
§ 92a.12. Treatment requirements.
(a) Specific treatment requirements and effluent limitations for each discharge must be established based on the more stringent of the following:
(1) Requirements specified in Chapters 16, 77, 87—90, 93, 95, 96 and 102.
(2) The applicable treatment requirements and effluent limitations to which a discharge is subject under this chapter and the Federal Act.
(3) The treatment requirements and effluent limitations of this title.
(b) When interstate or international agencies under an interstate compact or international agreement establish applicable effluent limitations or standards for dischargers of this Commonwealth to surface waters that are more stringent than those required by this title, the more stringent standards and limitations apply.
(c) If the Department has confirmed the presence or critical habitat of endangered or threatened species under Federal or State law or regulation, the Department will limit discharges to these waters to ensure protection of these species and critical habitat.
(d) New or changed water quality standards or treatment requirements may result from revisions to Chapters 16, 77, 87—90, 92a, 93, 95, 96 or 102, or other plans or determinations approved by the Department. Upon notice from the Department, a permittee of an affected facility shall promptly take the steps necessary to plan, obtain a permit or other approval, and construct facilities or undertake other actions that are necessary to comply with the new water quality standards or treatment requirements.
(e) Within 180 days of the receipt of the notice, the permittee shall submit to the Department either a report establishing that its existing facilities are capable of meeting the new water quality standards or treatment requirements, or a schedule setting forth the nature and date of completion of steps that are necessary to plan, obtain a permit or other approval, and construct facilities or undertake other actions that are necessary to comply with the new water quality standards or treatment requirements. The permittee shall comply with the schedule approved by the Department.
(f) Whenever a point of projected withdrawal for a new potable water supply not previously considered is identified by the Department, the Department will notify a discharger if more stringent effluent limitations are needed to protect the point of withdrawal. The discharger shall meet the more stringent effluent limitations in accordance with a schedule approved by the Department. The Department will issue orders directing dischargers to achieve compliance or will impose permit modifications with compliance schedules, when necessary.
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 92a.49 (relating to CAFO); and 25 Pa. Code § 92a.51 (relating to schedules of compliance).
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