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The draft 2015 Industrial Stormwater Multi-Sector General Permit (Permit) is tentatively slated to go out on public notice for 30 days starting March 31, 2014. The draft Permit remains relatively unchanged from the current Permit; proposed changes have been included in previous e-newsletters and on the MPCA draft 2015 website since May 2013.
The suggested changes are:
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Streamlining the sampling calendar: We are phasing out facility-specific sampling calendars to better serve Permittees. Your facility, along with all other current Permittees, will begin sampling on a concurrent, quarterly calendar that is based upon the new, concurrent permit application date. For example, the tentative permit application deadline is expected to fall between July-October 2014 (in advance of when the current permit expires in April 2015). Permittees who apply between July and October 2014 would begin to conduct quarterly sampling starting July 1, 2015. This relieves Permittees from having to calculate each facility’s sampling calendar based upon the original permit application date.
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Requiring four samples before averaging: This proposed change would make Minnesota’s permit consistent with EPA's permit. It requires a minimum collection of four samples, during four separate quarters, before averages could be calculated and compared with the permit benchmark value(s). It is acceptable if it takes more than four quarters to get four samples because samples couldn’t be collected due to drought/frozen conditions or no offsite discharges (legitimate “no flow” explanations).
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Quarterly sampling until results fall under benchmark values: Again, to maintain consistency with EPA’s permit and other MPCA’s water quality sampling requirements, it is proposed that Permittees with the four quarters’ averaged results falling above the benchmark value will be required to continue sampling quarterly until four quarters of averaged results are below the benchmark value.
- Sampling parameters: Based on EPA’s suggested permit changes and Minnesota’s water quality standards, the draft permit requires a review and modification if necessary, for monitoring of pollutant parameters and benchmark values.
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“Technical” (non-administrative) changes require a new monitoring calendar: Any change to a facility’s application that is not truly administrative in nature, such as changing a SIC code/Narrative Activity, monitoring location, or discharge to water body, will trigger a Permittee’s monitoring calendar to “start over” for all monitoring locations and all pollutant parameters, beginning the next calendar quarter.
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Limitations on infiltration: The construction of a new infiltration device is prohibited in: Areas that receive discharges from vehicle fueling and maintenance activity, areas with less than three (3) feet of separation distance from the bottom of the infiltration device to the elevation of the seasonally saturated soils or the top of bedrock, areas of predominately Hydrologic Soil Group D (clay) soils unless allowed by a local unit of government with a current MS4 permit, and areas where soil infiltration rates are more than 8.3 inches per hour unless soils are amended to slow the infiltration rate below 8.3 inches per hour or as allowed by a local unit of government with a current MS4 permit.
The Industrial Stormwater Program will be sending an email (to those with a valid email address) or hard copy letter to those without an email address to all Permittees and No Exposure certifiers “site contacts” prior to the start of the public comment period. There will also be a separate GovDelivery (email) message on this topic, as well as a formal notice in the State Register.
Please ensure that your email address provided on the original application for the “site contact” is current. If the contact and/or email address is not current, please fill out and send in the Administrative Change Form. It may be sent electronically to the Industrial Stormwater Program.
We welcome your comments! While formal comments will be accepted during the public comment period, you can send questions and concerns now by email to Melissa Wenzel.
The 2013 Annual Report is due no later than March 31, 2014. Please be sure to fill out the entire form, and in particular, please provide detailed information regarding monthly inspections and annual training dates. Like last year, it can be submitted electronically by filling out either the MS Word version or PDF version. Email it to the Industrial Stormwater Program by following the instructions on the document. If you need a hard-copy version mailed to you, please call Barb Olafson at 651-757-2098 or 800-657-3864 to request one.
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