NPDES five

Regardless of whether a permit is new, modified or simply being reissued without any modifications, you will need most of the same information. More and more permits are available online, but the whole permit file is unlikely to be on the web.

Information to gather

• Draft permit and old permit (if applicable)
  It is most important to find out what is changing in the new permit. Be sure to ask for the permit application and the fact sheet (sometimes called the rationale sheet).

• Discharge monitoring reports (DMRs) – monitoring by permittee submitted monthly to agency
  You should review as many of these reports as you can get your hands on. Compare the reported levels of the pollutant with the limit in the permit. There is a column in DMRs to report exceedances of the limit, but sometimes reports with violations will be submitted and the agency will not notice them.

• Summary of information on receiving waters
  To understand the quality of the receiving waters, you should review anything that is in the permit file on the receiving waters that may have been used to develop the permit limits. If there is nothing apparent, ask the agency what they used to assess the quality of the receiving water. On your own, you can track down and review the state’s water quality standards, the biennial water quality report to Congress (305(b) report - which must include the impaired waters list (303(d) list)), the list of restoration plans (Total Maximum Daily Loads, TMDLs), any fishing or recreation guides that may be published, drinking water protection plans, wild and scenic designations, etc.

• Antidegradation analysis
  Does the draft permit propose a discharge increase in any way? That would be at least the case for all new permits and any renewing permits for which a) the volume is proposed to increase, b) the limits are weaker, c) the timing of the discharge is longer, d) there is an additional outfall, e) the mixing zone is larger, or f) fewer management practices are required. Request the antidegradation findings (which may be summarized in the permit) and the documentation of the analysis. The status and adequacy of antidegradation policies and implementation procedures vary considerably across the country (see Antidegradation section of Lesson 1).

• Discharger’s past performance
  Look for “notices of noncompliance” or “notices of violation” in the permit file. If the permit is new, ask the agency about other permits held by the same entity.

• Potential for water quality violation
  Look for a required analysis of the likelihood that the discharge will contribute to a violation of water quality standards (“reasonable potential analysis” (40CFR122.44(d)(1)(i))). A summary of the findings may be in the permit fact sheet.

• Correspondence file
  Correspondence between the agency and the discharger and even among agency staff can be very enlightening and helpful in your review.

• Response to comments from last permit renewal (if applicable)
  Concerns will often be raised during the comment period but not addressed during the finalization of the permit. By reading the comments and responses, you can find out additional information about problems caused by the discharger and ways that the agency proposed to address those problems. Assess whether the steps described in previous responses to comments have been taken.

Obtaining the necessary documents

Once you find out about an application for a permit or a draft permit that you want to review, you will need to request information from the permitting authority. In most states, it is the state water quality agency. Where EPA issues permits (New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Idaho, New Mexico, U.S. territories and tribal lands), you would contact your regional EPA office.

You may be able to request the information over the phone. Some states will actually send you copies of the documents! But in many cases, you will need to make an appointment to go in to the appropriate agency office and review the permit file. Most states have established a process for requesting public information. In any case, you may also use the federal “Freedom of Information Act” to obtain important documents. Be sure to ask how much copies will cost and, if you are a nonprofit organization, mention it. Citizens in Tennessee were subject to charges of 50 cents per page until they forced a change. Costs per page are now at a more common 10 cents per page.