1 How to Obtain Coverage Under the 2021 MSGP
To be covered under this permit, you must meet all of the eligibility conditions and follow the requirements for obtaining permit coverage in Part 1.
1.1 Eligibility Conditions
1.1.1 Location of Your Facility. Your facility must be located in an area where EPA is the permitting authority and where coverage under this permit is available (see Appendix C); 1
1.1.2 Your Discharges Are Associated with Industrial Activity. Your facility must have an authorized stormwater discharge or an authorized non-stormwater discharge per Part 1.2 associated with industrial activity from your "primary industrial activity" (as defined in Appendix A and as listed in Appendix D), or you have been notified by EPA that you are eligible for coverage under Sector AD.
1.1.3 Limitations on Coverage. Discharges from your facility are not:
1.1.3.1 Discharges mixed with non-stormwater discharges. Discharges mixed with non- stormwater discharges other than those mixed with authorized non-stormwater discharges listed in Part 1.2.2, and/or those mixed with a discharge authorized by a different NPDES permit and/or a discharge that does not require NPDES authorization.
1.1.3.2 Stormwater discharges associated with construction activity. Stormwater discharges associated with construction activity disturbing one acre or more, or that are part of a larger common plan of development or sale if the larger common plan will ultimately disturb one acre or more, unless in conjunction with mining activities or certain oil and gas extraction activities as specified in Sectors G, H, I, and J of this permit.
1.1.3.3 Discharges already covered by another NPDES permit. Unless you have received written notification from EPA specifically allowing these discharges to be covered under this permit, you are not eligible for coverage under this permit for any of the following:
a. Stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity that are currently covered under an individual NPDES permit or an alternative NPDES general permit;
b. Stormwater discharges covered within five years prior to the effective date of this permit by an individual NPDES permit or alternative NPDES general permit where that permit established site-specific numeric water quality-based effluent limitations developed for the industrial stormwater component of the discharge; or
c. Discharges from facilities where any NPDES permit has been or is in the process of being denied, terminated, or revoked by EPA (this does not apply to the routine expiration and reissuance of NPDES permits every five years).
1.1.3.4 Stormwater Discharges Subject to Effluent Limitations Guidelines. Stormwater discharges subject to stormwater effluent limitation guidelines under 40 CFR, Subchapter N, other than those listed in Table 1-1 of this permit.
1.1.4 Eligibility Related to Endangered Species Act (ESA) Listed Species and Critical Habitat Protection. You are able to demonstrate that your stormwater discharges, authorized non-stormwater discharges, and stormwater discharge-related activities are not likely to adversely affect any species that are federally listed as endangered or threatened ("ESA-listed") and are not likely to adversely affect habitat that is designated as "critical habitat" under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), or said discharges and activities were the subject of an ESA Section 7 consultation or an ESA Section 10 permit. You must follow the procedures outlined in the Endangered Species Protection section of the NOI in EPA's NPDES eReporting Tool (NeT-MSGP) and meet one of the criteria listed in Appendix E. You must comply with any measures that formed the basis of your criteria eligibility determination to be in compliance with the MSGP. These measures become permit requirements per Part 2.3. Documentation of these measures must be kept as part of your Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) (see Part 6.2.6.1).
1.1.5 Eligibility related to National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)-Protected Properties. You must follow the procedures outlined in the Historic Properties section of the NOI in NeT- MSGP to demonstrate that your stormwater discharges, authorized non-stormwater discharges, and stormwater discharge-related activities meet one of the eligibility criteria in Appendix F.
1.1.6 Eligibility for "New Dischargers" and "New Sources" (as defined in Appendix A)2 ONLY.
1.1.6.1 Eligibility for "New Dischargers" and "New Sources" Based on Water Quality Standards.
Your stormwater discharge must be controlled as necessary such that the receiving water of the United States will meet applicable water quality standards. You are ineligible for coverage under this permit if EPA determines prior to your authorization to discharge that your stormwater discharges will not be controlled as necessary such that the receiving water of the United States will not meet an applicablewater quality standard. In such case, EPA may notify you that an individual permit application is necessary per Part 1.3.8, or, alternatively, EPA may authorize your coverage under this permit after you implement additional control measures so that your stormwater discharges will be controlled as necessary such that the receiving water of the United States will meet applicable water quality standards.
1.1.6.2 Eligibility for "New Dischargers" and "New Sources" for Water-Quality Impaired Waters.
If you discharge to an "impaired water" (as defined in Appendix A), you must do one of the following:
a. Prevent all exposure to stormwater of the pollutant(s) for which the waterbody is impaired, and retain documentation of procedures taken to prevent exposure onsite with your SWPPP;
b. When submitting your NOI in NeT-MSGP, provide the technical information or other documentation to support your claim that the pollutant(s) for which the waterbody is impaired is not present at your facility, and retain such documentation with your SWPPP; or
c. When submitting your NOI in NeT-MSGP, provide either data or other technical documentation, to support a conclusion that the stormwater discharge will be controlled as necessary such that the receiving water of the United States will meet applicable water quality standards and retain such information with your SWPPP. The information you submit must demonstrate:
i. For discharges to waters without an EPA-approved or established total maximum daily load (TMDL), that the discharge of the pollutant for which the water is impaired will be controlled as necessary such that the receiving water of the United States will meet applicable water quality standards at the point of discharge to the waterbody; or
ii. For discharges to waters with an applicable EPA-approved or established TMDL, that there are, in accordance with 40 CFR 122.4(i), sufficient remaining wasteload allocations in the TMDL to allow your discharge and that existing dischargers to the waterbody are subject to compliance schedules designed to bring the waterbody into attainment with water quality standards (e.g., a reserve allocation for future growth).
1.1.6.3 Eligibility for "New Dischargers" and "New Sources" for Waters with High Water Quality (Tier 2, 2.5, and 3).
a. For new dischargers and new sources to Tier 2 or Tier 2.5 waters, your discharge must not lower the water quality of the applicable water. See a list of Tier 2 and Tier 2.5 waters in Appendix L.
b. For new dischargers and new sources to waters designed by a state or tribe as Tier 3 waters3 (i.e., outstanding national resource waters) for antidegradation purposes under 40 CFR 131.12(a)(3), you are not eligible under this permit and you must apply for an individual permit. See a list of Tier 3 waters in Appendix L.
1.1.7 Eligibility for Discharges to a Federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Site. If you discharge to a federal CERCLA Site listed in Appendix P, you must notify the EPA Region 10 Office when submitting your NOI, and the EPA Region 10 Office must determine that you are eligible for permit coverage. In determining eligibility for coverage under this Part, the EPA Region 10 Office may evaluate whether you are implementing or plan to implement adequate controls and/or procedures to ensure that your discharge will not lead to recontamination of aquatic media at the CERCLA Site (i.e., your stormwater discharge will be controlled as necessary such that the receiving water of the United States will meet an applicable water quality standard). If it is determined that your facility discharges to a CERCLA Site listed in Appendix P after you have obtained coverage under this permit, you must contact the EPA Region 10 Office and ensure that you either have implemented or will implement adequate controls and/or procedures to ensure that your discharges will not lead to recontamination of aquatic media at the CERCLA Site such that your stormwater discharge will be controlled as necessary such that the receiving water of the United States will meet an applicable water quality standard.
For the purposes of this permit, a facility discharges to a federal CERCLA Site if the discharge flows directly into the site through its own conveyance, or through a conveyance owned by others, such as a municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4).
1.2 Types of Discharges Authorized Under the MSGP4
1.2.1 Authorized Stormwater Discharges. If you meet all the eligibility criteria in Part 1.1, then the following discharges from your facility are authorized under this permit:
1.2.1.1 Stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity for any "primary industrial activities" and "co-located industrial activities" (as defined in Appendix A) except for any stormwater discharges prohibited in Part 8;
1.2.1.2 Discharges EPA has designated as needing a stormwater permit as provided in Sector AD;
1.2.1.3 Discharges that are not otherwise required to obtain NPDES permit authorizationbut are mixed with discharges that are authorized under this permit;and
1.2.1.4 Stormwater discharges from facilities subject to any of the national stormwater-specific effluent limitations guidelines listed in Table 1-1.
1.2.2 Authorized Non-Stormwater Discharges. Below is the list of non-stormwater discharges authorized under this permit. Unless specifically listed in this Part, this permit does not authorize any other non-stormwater discharges requiring NPDES permit coverage and you must either eliminate those discharges or they must be covered under another NPDES permit; this includes the sector-specific non-stormwater discharges that are listed in Part 8 as prohibited (a non-exclusive list is provided only to raise awareness of contaminants or sources of contaminants generally characteristic of certain sectors).
1.2.2.1 Authorized Non-Stormwater Discharges for All Sectors. The following are the only non- stormwater discharges authorized under this permit for all sectors provided that all discharges comply with the effluent limits set forth in Parts 2 and 8.
a. Discharges from emergency/unplanned fire-fighting activities;
b. Fire hydrant flushings;
c. Potable water, including uncontaminated water line flushings;
d. Uncontaminated condensate from air conditioners, coolers/chillers, and other compressors and from the outside storage of refrigerated gases orliquids;
e. Irrigation/landscape drainage, provided all pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers have been applied in accordance with the approved labeling;
f. Pavement wash waters, provided that detergents or hazardous cleaning products are not used (e.g., bleach, hydrofluoric acid, muriatic acid, sodium hydroxide, nonylphenols), and the wash waters do not come into contact with oil and grease deposits, sources of pollutants associated with industrial activities (see Part 6.2.3), or any other toxic or hazardous materials, unless residues are first cleaned up using dry clean-up methods (e.g., applying absorbent materials and sweeping, using hydrophobic mops/rags) and you have implemented appropriate control measures to minimize discharges of mobilized solids and other pollutants (e.g., filtration, detention, settlement);
g. External building/structure washdown / power wash water that does notuse detergents or hazardous cleaning products (e.g., those containing bleach, hydrofluoric acid, muriatic acid, sodium hydroxide,nonylphenols) and you have implemented appropriate control measures to minimize discharges of mobilized solids and other pollutants (e.g., filtration, detention, settlement);
h. Uncontaminated ground water or spring water;
i. Foundation or footing drains where flows are not contaminated with process materials;
j. Incidental windblown mist from cooling towers that collects on rooftops or adjacent portions of your facility, but not intentional discharges from the cooling tower (e.g., "piped" cooling tower blowdown; drains); and
k. Any authorized non-stormwater discharge listed above in this Part 1.2.2 or any stormwater discharge listed in Part 1.2.1 mixed with a discharge authorized by a different NPDES permit and/or a discharge that does not require NPDES permit authorization.
1.2.2.2 Additional Authorized Non-Stormwater Discharge for Sector A Facilities. Discharges from the spray down of lumber and wood product storage yards where no chemical additives are used in the spray-down waters and no chemicals are applied to the wood during storage, provided the non-stormwater component of the discharge is in compliance with the non-numeric effluent limits requirements in Part 2.1.2.
1.2.2.3 Additional Authorized Non-Stormwater Discharges for Earth-Disturbing Activities Conducted Prior to Active Mining Activities for Sectors G, H and J Facilities.