Hawaii Administrative Rules
Title 11 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Subtitle 1 - GENERAL DEPARTMENTAL PROVISIONS
Chapter 55 - WATER POLLUTION CONTROL
Appendix E - NPDES GENERAL PERMIT AUTHORIZING DISCHARGES OF ONCE THROUGH COOLING WATER LESS THAN ONE (1) MILLION GALLONS PER DAY

Current through February, 2024

1. Coverage under this General Permit

(a) This general permit covers only once through cooling water discharges of a total flow of less than one million gallons per day (mgd) to state waters. "Once through cooling water" means water passed through the main cooling condensers one or two times for the purpose of removing waste heat.

(b) This general permit covers all areas of the State except for discharges into natural freshwater lakes, saline lakes, and anchialine pools.

2. Limitations on Coverage under this General Permit

(a) This general permit does not cover the following:

(1) Discharges of once through cooling water into a sanitary sewer system and

(2) Discharges of once through cooling water which initially enter separate storm water drainage systems, unless a permit, license, or equivalent written approval is granted by the owner(s) of the drainage system(s) allowing the subject discharge to enter their drainage system(s); except if the permittee is the owner of the drainage system.

(b) The director may require any permittee authorized by this general permit to apply for and obtain an individual permit, in accordance with sections 11-55-34.05 and 11-55-34.10.

3. Term of General Permit

(a) This general permit becomes effective ten days after filing with the office of the lieutenant governor.

(b) A notice of general permit coverage under this general permit expires:

(1) Four years after the effective date of this general permit;

(2) When the notice of general permit coverage specifies; or

(3) When amendments to section 11-55-34.02(b)(4) are adopted, whichever is earliest, unless the notice of general permit coverage is administratively extended under section 11-55-34.09(d).

4. Notice of Intent Requirements

(a) The owner or its duly authorized representative shall submit a complete notice of intent no later than thirty days before the proposed starting date of the discharge or thirty days before the expiration date of the applicable notice of general permit coverage.

(b) The owner or its duly authorized representative shall include the following information in the notice of intent:

(1) Information required in section 34 of appendix A of chapter 11-55;

(2) List of up to four Standard Industrial Classification codes or North American Industrial Classification System codes that best represent the products or activities of the facility;

(3) The average frequency of flow and duration of any intermittent or seasonal discharge. The frequency of flow means the number of days or months per year when there is an intermittent discharge. Duration means the number of days or hours per discharge. The owner or its duly authorized representative shall provide the best estimate for new discharges;

(4) Source(s) of the once-through cooling water;

(5) Quantitative data of the pollutant(s) or parameter(s) as specified in 40 CFR § 122.21(h) (4) (i);

(6) The name of the cooling water additives, if any used;

(7) The best estimate of the date on which the facility will begin to discharge; and

(8) A brief description of any treatment system used or to be used. For discharges to Class AA or Class 1 waters, the treatment system plan shall be submitted with the notice of intent. For discharges to Class A or Class 2 waters, the treatment system plan shall be submitted with the notice of intent or thirty days before the start of discharge activities. The permittee shall retain the treatment system plan, and all subsequent revisions, on-site or at a nearby office.

(c) The director may require additional information to be submitted.

(d) The owner or its duly authorized representative shall submit a complete notice of intent to the director at the following address or as otherwise specified:

Director of Health

Clean Water Branch

Environmental Management Division

State Department of Health

P.O. Box 3378

Honolulu, Hawaii 96801-3378

5. Standard Conditions

The permittee shall comply with the standard conditions as specified in appendix A of chapter 11-55. In case of conflict between the conditions stated here and those specified in the standard general permit conditions, the more stringent conditions shall apply.

6. Effluent Limitations and Monitoring Requirements

(a) The effluent shall be limited and monitored by the permittee as specified in this section and in Table 34.3. (Daily maximum effluent limitations for saline water apply only when discharges to saline water occur and daily maximum effluent limitations for fresh water apply only when discharges to fresh water occur.)

(1) Sampling Points

Samples taken in compliance with the monitoring requirements shall be taken at the following point(s):

(A) The permittee shall collect influent samples downstream from any additions to the source water and prior to the cooling system.

(B) The permittee shall collect effluent samples downstream from the cooling system and prior to actual discharge or mixing with the receiving state waters.

(2) Collection of Samples

The permittee shall take samples and measurements for the purposes of monitoring which are representative of the volume and nature of the total discharge.

(3) Type of Sample

"Grab sample" means an individual sample collected within the first fifteen minutes of a discharge.

(4) Test Procedures

(A) The permittee shall use test procedures for the analysis of pollutants which conform with regulations published under Section 304(h) of the Act.

(B) Unless otherwise noted in this general permit, the permittee shall measure all pollutant parameters in accordance with methods prescribed in 40 CFR Part 136, promulgated under Section 304(h) of the Act. The permittee may submit applications for the use of alternative test methods in accordance with 40 CFR § 136.4.

(C) The permittee shall use test methods with detection limits that reflect the applicable numerical limitations as specified in chapter 11-54 and must be sufficiently sensitive as defined at 40 CFR 122.21(e)(3) and 122.44(i) (1) (iv). If the test result is not detectable, indicate that the test result is "less than #," where the # is the lowest detection limit of the test method used-

(5) Recording of Results

The permittee shall comply with section 14 (c) of appendix A of chapter 11-55 for each measurement or sample taken under the requirements of this general permit.

(b) Basic Water Quality Criteria and Inspections

(1) The permittee shall not cause or contribute to a violation of the basic water quality criteria as specified in section 11-54-4.

(2) The permittee shall inspect the receiving state waters, effluent, and control measures and best management practices at least once per discharge or once daily, if discharge is continuous and duration is longer than one day, to detect violations of and conditions which may cause violations of the basic water quality criteria as specified in section 11-54-4. (e.g., the permittee shall look at effluent and receiving state waters for turbidity, color, floating oil and grease, floating debris and scum, materials that will settle, substances that will produce taste in the water or detectable off-flavor in fish, and inspect for items that may be toxic or harmful to human or other life.)

Note: When effluent commingles with offsite water or pollutant sources prior to discharging to the receiving water, in lieu of inspecting the receiving water, inspect the effluent after it exits the site and prior to commingling.

(c) The date, duration (in hours), starting and ending times, and volume of each discharge shall be collected for intermittent discharges.

(d) There shall be no visible oil sheen in the effluent.

(e) There shall be no discharge of waste from the physical cleaning of the cooling system.

(f) There should be no discharge of compounds used in closed-loop systems.

7. Corrective Action

The permittee shall immediately stop, reduce, or modify the discharge as needed to stop or prevent a violation of the basic water quality criteria as specified in section 11-54-4.

8. Reporting Requirements

(a) Reporting of Monitoring Results

(1) The permittee shall report monitoring results on a discharge monitoring report form (EPA No, 3320-1) or other form as specified by the director. The permittee shall submit results of all monitoring required by this general permit in a format that demonstrates compliance with the limitations in Table 34.3 and other requirements of this general permit.

(2) The permittee shall submit monitoring results obtained during the previous calendar month postmarked or received by the department no later than the twenty-eighth day of the month following the completed reporting period.

(3) The permittee shall also submit the monitoring results with laboratory reports, including quality assurance/quality control data; influent and effluent flow calculations; and any additional treatment strategies to be implemented based on monitoring results.

(4) Should there be no discharges during the monitoring period, the discharge monitoring report form shall so state.

(5) Discharge Monitoring Reports shall be submitted in compliance with Federal eReporting Rule requirements. Permittees shall switch from traditional paper Discharge Monitoring Reporting to electronic reporting upon written notification by the director.

(b) Monitoring Report

The permittee shall include the monitoring results in the calculation and reporting of the values required in the discharge monitoring report form.

(c) Reporting of Noncompliance, Unanticipated Bypass, or Upset

(1) The permittee or its duly authorized representative shall orally report any of the following when the permittee or its duly authorized representative becomes aware of the circumstances:

(A) Violation of an effluent limitation specified in Table 34.3 or a basic water quality criteria specified in section 6(b) of this general permit;

(B) Discharge or noncompliance with effluent limitations which may endanger health or the environment; or

(C) Unanticipated bypass or upset.

(2) The permittee shall make oral reports by telephone to the Clean Water Branch at (808) 586-4309 during regular office hours which are Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) from 7:45 a.m. until 4:15 p.m. or the Hawaii State Hospital Operator at (808) 247-2191 outside of regular office hours.

(3) The permittee shall provide a written report within five days of the time the permittee or its duly authorized representative becomes aware of the circumstances. The written report shall include the following:

(A) Description of the noncompliance, unanticipated bypass, or upset and its cause;

(B) Period of noncompliance, unanticipated bypass, or upset including exact dates and times;

(C) Estimated time the noncompliance, unanticipated bypass, or upset is expected to continue if it has not been corrected; and

(D) Steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate, and prevent reoccurrence of the noncompliance, unanticipated bypass, or upset.

(4) The director may waive the written report on a case-by-case basis if the oral report has been received within twenty-four hours.

(d) Planned Changes

The permittee shall report any planned physical alterations or additions to the permitted facility, not covered by 40 CFR § 122.41(1) (1) (i), (ii), and (iii) to the director on a quarterly basis.

(e) Reporting of Chemical Uses

The permittee shall submit to the director by the twenty-eighth of January of each year an annual summary of the quantities of all chemicals (including the material safety data sheet), listed by both chemical and trade names, which are used in once through cooling water treatment and which are discharged.

(f) Schedule of Maintenance

The permittee shall submit a schedule for approval by the director at least fourteen days prior to any maintenance of facilities, which might result in exceedance of effluent limitations. The schedule shall include a description of the maintenance and its reason; the period of maintenance, including exact dates and times; and steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate, and prevent occurrence of noncompliance.

9. Submittal Requirements

(a) The owner or its duly authorized representative shall submit signed copies of monitoring and all other reports required by this general permit to the director at the following address or as otherwise specified:

Director of Health

Clean Water Branch

Environmental Management Division

State Department of Health

P.O. Box 3378

Honolulu, HI 96801-3378

(b) The owner or its duly authorized representative shall include the following certification statement and an original signature on each submittal in accordance with section 11-55-34.08(e) or (f):

"I certify under penalty of law that this document and all attachments were prepared under my direction or supervision in accordance with a system designed to assure that qualified personnel properly gather and evaluate the information submitted. Based on my inquiry of the person or persons who manage the system, or those persons directly responsible for gathering the information, the information submitted is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, true, accurate, and complete. I am aware that there are significant penalties for submitting false information, including the possibility of fine and imprisonment for knowing violations."

(c) The owner or its duly authorized representative shall include the notice of general permit coverage file number on each submittal. Failure to provide the assigned notice of general permit coverage file number for this facility on future correspondence or submittals may be a basis for delay of the processing of the document(s).

10. Additional Conditions

The director may impose additional conditions under section 11-55-34.09(b).

11. Record Retention

The permittee shall retain all records and information resulting from the monitoring activities required by this general permit including all records of analyses performed and calibration and maintenance of instrumentation shall be retained for a minimum of five years. This period of retention shall be extended during the course of any unresolved litigation or administrative enforcement action regarding the discharge of pollutants by the permittee or when requested by the director or Regional Administrator.

12. Falsifying Report

Knowingly making any false statement on any report required by this general permit may result in the imposition of criminal penalties as provided for in Section 309 of the Act and in section 342D-35, HRS.

13. Renewal

Requests for renewal of general permit coverage must be received no later than 30 calendar days before the expiration of the general permit coverage.

14. Forms

Electronic notice of intent forms may be found at the Department's e-Permitting portal. The e-Perraitting portal may be accessed via the Clean Water Branch's website at: http://health.hawaii.gov/cwb/

TABLE 34.3

EFFLUENT LIMITATION AND MONITORING REQUIREMENTS FOR DISCHARGE OF ONCE THROUGH COOLING WATER LESS THAN ONE (!) MILLION GALLONS PER DAY

MGD = million gallons per day

°C = degrees celsius

mg/l = milligrams per liter

NOTES:

(1) Pollutant concentration levels shall not exceed the effluent limits or be outside the ranges indicated in the table. Actual or measured levels which exceed those effluent limits or are outside those ranges shall be reported to the director as required in section 8(c) of this general permit.

(2) Report. The permittee shall monitor and report the analytical result.

(3) Total residual oxidants (TRO) is obtained using the amperometric titration method for total residual chlorine described in 40 CFR Part 136.

(4) Applicable to discharges that enter saline waters as per chapter 11-54.

(5) Applicable to discharges that enter fresh waters as per chapter 11-54.

(6) The total suspended solids limits are net increase restrictions of the effluent above that of the influent,

(7) Both the influent and effluent shall be monitored concurrently.

(8) Oil and Grease shall be measured by EPA Method 1664, Revision A.

(9) The pH value shall not be outside the range as specified in chapter 11-54 for the applicable classification of the receiving state waters.

(10) The pH shall be measured within fifteen minutes of obtaining the grab sample.

(11) If there is more than one sample analysis per quarter in a single monitoring location, report for each parameter the quarterly maximum, quarterly minimum, and quarterly average values on the discharge monitoring report. For pH, only report quarterly minimum and quarterly maximum.

The amended version of this chapter by Hawaii Administrative Rules Listing of Filings, 2021-01, October, eff. 10/22/2021 is not yet available.