Current through September 18, 2024
Authority: IC 13-14-8; IC 13-14-9; IC 13-15-1-2; IC
13-15-2-1; IC 13-18-3
Affected: IC 13-11-2; IC 13-18-7-1; IC 13-30-10-1
Sec. 8.
The following conditions apply to all NPDES permits and shall
be incorporated into the permits either expressly or by reference:
(1) The permittee must comply with all terms
and conditions of the permit. Any permit noncompliance constitutes a violation
of the Clean Water Act and the environmental management laws and is grounds
for:
(A) enforcement action;
(B) permit termination, revocation and
reissuance, or modification; or
(C)
denial of a permit renewal application.
A permittee may claim an affirmative defense to a permit
violation if the circumstances of the noncompliance meet the criteria of an
upset as defined in subdivision (13).
(2) If the permittee wishes to continue an
activity regulated by a permit after the expiration date of this permit, the
permittee must apply for and obtain a new permit.
(3) The permittee shall take all reasonable
steps to minimize or correct any adverse impact on the environment resulting
from noncompliance with the permit.
(4) The following permit actions:
(A) Permits may be modified, revoked and
reissued, or terminated for cause.
(B) Any information that the permittee knows
or has reason to believe would constitute cause for modification or revocation
and reissuance of the permit, such as plans for physical alterations or
additions to the permitted facility that:
(i)
could significantly change the nature of, or increase the quantity of,
pollutants discharged; or
(ii) the
commissioner may request to evaluate whether such cause exists; shall be
submitted for the commissioner's evaluation at the earliest time such
information becomes available.
(C) The filing by the permittee of:
(i) a request for a permit modification,
revocation and reissuance, or termination; or
(ii) information specified in clause (B);
does not stay or suspend any permit term or condition.
(D) The permit may not be transferred to any
person except in accordance with section 6(c) of this rule.
(5) If any applicable effluent
standard or prohibition (including any schedule of compliance specified in such
effluent standard or prohibition) is established under Section 307(a) of the
Clean Water Act (
33 U.S.C.
1317(a)) for a toxic
pollutant injurious to human health and that standard or prohibition is more
stringent than any limitation upon such pollutant in the permit, the
commissioner shall institute proceedings to modify or revoke and reissue the
permit to conform to the toxic effluent standard or prohibition. Effluent
standards or prohibitions established under Section 307(a) of the Clean Water
Act (
33 U.S.C.
1317(a)) for toxic
pollutants injurious to human health are effective and must be complied with,
if applicable to the permittee, within the time provided in the implementing
regulations, even absent permit modification.
(6) The permit does not convey any property
rights of any sort or any exclusive privilege.
(7) The permittee shall furnish to the
commissioner, within a reasonable time, any information that the commissioner
may request to determine whether cause exists for modifying, revoking and
reissuing, or terminating the permit or to determine compliance with the
permit. The permittee shall also furnish to the commissioner, upon request,
copies of records required to be kept by the permit and
40
CFR 122.41(h).
(8) The permittee shall allow the
commissioner, or an authorized representative (including an authorized
contractor acting as a representative of the commissioner), upon the
presentation of credentials and such other documents as may be required by law
to:
(A) enter upon the permittee's premises
where a regulated facility or activity is located or where any records must be
kept under the terms and conditions of the permit;
(B) have access to and copy at reasonable
times any records that must be kept under the terms and conditions of the
permit;
(C) inspect, at reasonable
times:
(i) any monitoring equipment or
method;
(ii) any collection,
treatment, pollution management, or discharge facilities; or
(iii) practices required or otherwise
regulated under the permit; and
(D) sample or monitor, at reasonable times,
any discharge of pollutants or internal wastestream (where necessary to
ascertain the nature of a discharge of pollutants) for the purpose of
evaluating compliance with the permit or as otherwise authorized.
(9) The permittee shall at all
times maintain in good working order and efficiently operate all facilities and
systems (and related appurtenances) for collection and treatment that are:
(A) installed or used by the permittee;
and
(B) necessary for achieving
compliance with the terms and conditions of the permit.
This subdivision does not act as an independent source of
authority to set effluent limitations. Such limitations will be based on the
design removal rates of installed treatment facilities only as required under
this article. Nor should this subdivision be construed to require the operation
of installed treatment facilities that are unessential for achieving compliance
with the terms and conditions of the permit.
(10) The permittee shall comply with
monitoring, recording, and reporting requirements established in accordance
with sections 13 through 15 of this rule. Penalties include the following:
(A) Section 309(c)(4) of the Clean Water Act
(33
U.S.C. 1319(c)(4)) provides
that any person who falsifies, tampers with, or knowingly renders inaccurate
any monitoring device or method required to be maintained under a permit shall,
upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars
($10,000) per violation, or by imprisonment for not more than one hundred
eighty (180) days per violation, or by both.
(B) IC 13-30-10-1 provides that a person who
knowingly or intentionally renders inaccurate or inoperative a recording device
or a monitoring device required to be maintained by a permit issued by the
department commits a class B misdemeanor.
(11) The following are reporting
requirements:
(A) Reports of compliance or
noncompliance with, or any progress reports on, interim and final requirements
contained in any compliance schedule of this permit shall be submitted no later
than fourteen (14) days following each schedule date.
(B) The permittee shall give advance notice
to the commissioner of any planned changes in the permitted facility, any
activity, or other circumstances that the permittee has reason to believe may
result in noncompliance with permit requirements.
(C) The permittee shall orally report
information on any of the following types of noncompliance within twenty-four
(24) hours from the time the permittee becomes aware of such noncompliance:
(i) Any unanticipated bypass that exceeds any
effluent limitation in the permit.
(ii) Violation of a maximum daily discharge
limitation for any of the pollutants listed by the commissioner in the permit
to be reported within twenty-four (24) hours.
(iii) Any noncompliance that may pose a
significant danger to human health or the environment. Reports under this item
shall be made as soon as the permittee becomes aware of the noncomplying
circumstances to (888) 233-7745.
(iv) Any upset that exceeds any effluent
limitation in the permit.
A written submission shall also be provided within five (5)
days of the time the permittee becomes aware of the circumstances. The written
submission shall contain a description of the noncompliance and its cause; the
period of noncompliance, including exact dates and times, and if the
noncompliance has not been corrected, the anticipated time it is expected to
continue; and steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate, and prevent
recurrence of the noncompliance. The commissioner may waive the written report
on a case-by-case basis if the oral report has been received within twenty-four
(24) hours.
(D)
The permittee shall also report all instances of noncompliance not reported
under clauses (A) through (C), at the time discharge monitoring reports (DMRs)
are submitted. The reports shall contain the information listed in clause
(C).
(E) Where the permittee
becomes aware that it failed to submit any relevant facts in a permit
application, or submitted incorrect information in a permit application or in
any report to the commissioner, it shall promptly submit such facts or
corrected information.
(F) The
permittee shall give notice to the commissioner as soon as possible of any
planned physical alterations or additions to the permitted facility. (As used
in this clause, "permitted facility" refers to a point source discharge, not a
wastewater treatment facility. See IC
13-18-7-1.)
Notice is required only when either of the following applies:
(i) The alteration or addition to a permitted
facility may meet one (1) of the criteria for determining whether a facility is
a new source.
(ii) The alteration
or addition could significantly change the nature of, or increase the quantity
of, pollutants discharged. This notification applies to pollutants that are
subject neither to effluent limitations in the permit nor to notification
requirements under section 9 of this rule.
(12) The following are requirements for
bypass:
(A) The following definitions:
(i) "Bypass" means the intentional diversion
of a waste stream from any portion of a treatment facility.
(ii) "Severe property damage" means
substantial physical damage to property, damage to the treatment facilities
which would cause them to become inoperable, or substantial and permanent loss
of natural resources which can reasonably be expected to occur in the absence
of a bypass. Severe property damage does not mean economic loss caused by
delays in production.
(B) The permittee may allow any bypass to
occur that does not exceed any effluent limitations contained in the NPDES
permit, but only if it also is for essential maintenance to assure efficient
operation. These bypasses are not subject to clauses (C) and (D).
(C) The permittee must provide the
commissioner with the following notice:
(i)
If the permittee knows or should have known in advance of the need for a bypass
(anticipated bypass), it shall submit prior written notice. If possible, such
notice shall be provided at least ten (10) days before the date of the bypass
for approval by the commissioner.
(ii) The permittee shall submit notice of an
unanticipated bypass as required by subdivision
(11)(C).
(D)
The following provisions are applicable to bypasses:
(i) Bypass is prohibited, and the
commissioner may take enforcement action against a permittee for bypass unless
the following occur:
(AA) Bypass was
unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property
damage.
(BB) There were no feasible
alternatives to the bypass, such as the use of auxiliary treatment facilities,
retention of untreated wastes, or maintenance during normal periods of
equipment down time. This condition is not satisfied if adequate back-up
equipment should have been installed in the exercise of reasonable engineering
judgment to prevent a bypass that occurred during normal periods of equipment
down time or preventive maintenance.
(CC) The permittee submitted notices as
required under clause (C).
(ii) The commissioner may approve an
anticipated bypass, after considering its adverse effects if the commissioner
determines that the anticipated bypass will meet the three (3) conditions
listed in item (i). The commissioner may impose any conditions determined to be
necessary to minimize any adverse effects.
(13) The following are requirements for
upset:
(A) "Upset" means an exceptional
incident in which there is unintentional and temporary noncompliance with
technology-based permit effluent limitations because of factors beyond the
reasonable control of the permittee. An upset does not include noncompliance to
the extent caused by operational error, improperly designed treatment
facilities, inadequate treatment facilities, lack of preventive maintenance, or
careless or improper operation.
(B)
An upset shall constitute an affirmative defense to an action brought for
noncompliance with such technology-based permit effluent limitations if the
requirements of clause (C) are met.
(C) A permittee who wishes to establish the
affirmative defense of upset shall demonstrate, through properly signed,
contemporaneous operating logs or other relevant evidence, that:
(i) an upset occurred and the permittee has
identified the specific cause of the upset;
(ii) the permitted facility was at the time
being operated in compliance with proper operation and maintenance
procedures;
(iii) the permittee
complied with any remedial measures required under subdivision (3);
and
(iv) the permittee submitted
notice of the upset as required in subdivision
(11)(C).
(14) It shall not be a defense for a
permittee in an enforcement action that it would have been necessary to halt or
reduce the permitted activity in order to maintain compliance with the
conditions of the permit.
(15) All
applications, reports, or other information submitted to the commissioner shall
be signed and certified as described under section 22 of this rule. Penalties
include the following:
(A) Section 309(c)(4)
of the Clean Water Act (U.S.C. 1319(c)(4)) provides that any person who
knowingly makes any false statement, representation, or certification in any
record or other document submitted or required to be maintained under this
permit, including monitoring reports or reports of compliance or noncompliance
shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than ten thousand
dollars ($10,000) per violation, or by imprisonment for not more than one
hundred eighty (180) days per violation, or by both.
(B) IC
13-30-10-1
provides that a person who knowingly or intentionally renders inaccurate or
inoperative a recording device or a monitoring device required to be maintained
by a permit issued by the department commits a class B misdemeanor.
