Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. This Chapter
prescribes procedures and guidelines for implementation and operation of the
Louisiana Water Discharge Permit System (LWDPS).
B. Without first obtaining a LWDPS permit
from the department (with the exceptions noted in LAC 33:IX.301.D and F below),
no person shall:
1. discharge or allow to be
discharged any pollutants into the waters of the state from any facility or
activity;
2. construct any new
facility or undertake a new activity, the operation or conduct of which would
result in a discharge into the waters of the state;
3. construct, install, operate, or alter any
facility or activity or any extension or modification thereof or addition
thereto, the operation or conduct of which would cause increases in the
quantity or degradation in the quality of the discharge of pollutants into the
waters of the state or which would otherwise alter the physical, chemical, or
biological properties of any waters of the state in any manner not already
lawfully authorized;
4. construct
or use any new outlet for the discharge of any pollutants into the waters of
the state.
C. Specific
types of facilities or activities which require a permit include, but are not
limited to, the following:
1. discharge of
leachate or runoff to surface waters from facilities under the jurisdiction of
the Louisiana Solid Waste Management and Resource Recovery Law and the
Hazardous Waste Management Law;
2.
discharge of rainwater runoff from areas where liquid or solid materials are
stored or handled, such as to pose a potential threat of pollution to the
waters of the state;
3.
concentrated animal feeding operations as defined in LAC 33:IX.301.J
below;
4. concentrated aquatic
animal production facilities as defined in LAC 33:IX.301.K below;
5. discharges into aquaculture projects as
defined in LAC 33:IX.301.L below;
6. silvicultural point sources as defined in
LAC 33:IX.301.M below;
7. discharge
of waters/sediments resulting from the commercial dredging of shell or other
natural resources.
D. A
person discharging or proposing to discharge the following types of wastes or
wastewaters shall not be required to apply for a permit from the department
pursuant to this regulation:
1. human sewage
discharged from vessels from onboard toilet facilities (refer to LAC
33:IX.709.F);
2. except as
otherwise provided in this Chapter, storm sewer systems including canals and
pumping stations operated and maintained by local, state, or federal agencies
solely for the purposes of conveyance of storm water runoff, unless a
particular storm water discharge has been identified by the department as a
significant contributor to pollution; and the operator of such discharge has
been notified of such determination. Such storm sewer systems are considered to
be waters of the state and any facility or activity discharging into storm
sewer systems shall be required to have permits according to the requirements
of these regulations;
3. a
discharge directed solely into a publicly or privately owned treatment works
provided the owner of such treatment works has a valid discharge permit and the
department has determined that the waste may be adequately treated by the
treatment works;
4. water, gas, and
other materials injected into a well to facilitate production of oil, gas, or
other minerals;
5. disposal of
water derived in association with the production of oil, gas, or other minerals
into a well authorized by the state Office of Conservation;
6. any introduction of pollutants from
nonpoint sources resulting from normal agricultural and silvicultural
activities, including runoff from orchards, cultivated crops, pastures,
rangelands, and forest lands. Discharges from concentrated animal feeding
operations, concentrated aquatic animal production facilities, silvicultural
point sources or to aquaculture projects as specified in LAC 33:IX.301.C above
shall be required to have a permit;
7. a discharge of dredged or fill material
resulting from activities which are permitted by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, such as channel dredging and construction. This does not include
commercial dredging of shell or other natural resources;
8. any discharge in compliance with the
instructions of an on-scene representative designated by the administrative
authority to grant on-scene authorization to discharge.
E. A permit shall not be issued for, nor will
any of the following discharges be allowed:
1. a discharge of any radiological, chemical,
or biological warfare agent or a high-level radioactive waste (that
nuclear-industry waste resulting from the reprocessing of spent fuel rods or
unreprocessed spent fuel rods);
2.
a discharge which, as determined by the secretary of the army acting through
the chief of engineers of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, would substantially
impair anchorage or navigation, or both;
3. a point source discharge in conflict with
an areawide waste treatment management plan, or amendments thereto, prepared by
a management agency pursuant to Section 208(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA),
unless the administrative authority determines a variance to be
appropriate;
4. after the state
receives delegation of the federal NPDES program, a discharge to which the
regional administrator of EPA objects in writing to the department;
5. a discharge to the ground waters of the
state except as authorized under the Underground Injection Control Program. The
administrative authority may at its discretion exempt additional classes of
activities which are authorized by other state regulation;
6. a discharge of oil or oil-based products
for dust control or other purposes without prior approval of the administrative
authority. Waste oil shall not be used for these purposes unless the origin,
physical properties, and chemical properties are documented to the satisfaction
of the administrative authority;
7.
a discharge which the administrative authority determines to be in conflict
with applicable requirements of the act, these regulations, and/or
constitutional and statutory mandates.
F. Any unpermitted facility or activity that
exists or is under construction on the effective date of these regulations and
falls under the jurisdiction of Subsection B of this Section shall submit a
completed application to the Office of Environmental Services within 180 days
of the effective date. Upon receipt of the application by the department within
the prescribed 180 days, the facility shall be deemed in compliance with
Subsection B of this Section except where the administrative authority has
initiated action against the facility following an investigation or complaint.
All facilities or activities that meet the requirements outlined in Paragraph
J.4 or K.4 of this Section shall be exempt from the requirements of this
Subsection.
G. When a facility or
activity is owned by one person but is operated by another person, it is the
operator's duty to obtain a permit.
H. On the effective date of these regulations
the status of state permits shall be as follows.
1. All LWDPS permits shall be issued for a
period not to exceed five years.
2.
All existing state permits issued prior to January 1, 1980 shall expire within
one year of the effective date of these regulations.
3. All existing state permits issued
subsequent to January 1, 1980 shall expire six years after their effective
date.
I. Upon delegation
of the NPDES program to the state, the status of NPDES permits shall be as
follows.
1. For facilities with NPDES permits
only, existing NPDES permits shall be adopted as LWDPS permits effective upon
receipt by the permittee of written notification by the state, with an
expiration date consistent with that originally designated.
2. For facilities with both NPDES and
existing state permits, the NPDES and existing state permit shall be
consolidated into one permit. In case of conflicting permit requirements the
more stringent requirement will control. This consolidated permit will be
adopted as a LWDPS permit effective upon receipt by the permittee of written
notification by the state and shall remain effective for a period in accordance
with LAC 33:IX.301.H above (the NPDES permit expiration date shall be
void).
J. Concentrated
Animal Feeding Operations
1. Permit
Requirement. Discharges from concentrated animal feeding operations are subject
to the LWDPS permit program.
2.
Definitions
a.
Animal Feeding
Operation- a lot or facility (other than an aquatic animal production
facility) where the following conditions are met:
i. animals (other than aquatic animals) have
been, are, or will be stabled or confined and fed or maintained for a total of
45 days or more in any 12-month period; and
ii. crops, vegetation, forage growth, or
post-harvest residues are not sustained in the normal growing season over any
portion of the lot or facility.
b. Two or more animal feeding operations
under common ownership are considered, for the purposes of these regulations,
to be a single animal feeding operation if they adjoin each other or if they
use a common area or system for the disposal of wastes.
c.
Concentrated Animal Feeding
Operation- an animal feeding operation which meets the criteria in LAC
33:IX.321.Appendix B or which the department designates under Paragraph 3 of
this Section.
3.
Case-by-Case Designation of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
a. The department may designate any animal
feeding operation as a concentrated animal feeding operation upon determining
that it is a significant contributor of pollution to the waters of the state.
In making this designation the department shall consider the following factors:
i. the size of the animal feeding operation
and the amount of wastes reaching waters of the state;
ii. the location of the animal feeding
operation relative to waters of the state;
iii. the means of conveyance of animal wastes
and process waste waters into waters of the state;
iv. the slope, vegetation, rainfall, and
other factors affecting the likelihood or frequency of discharge of animal
wastes and process waste waters into waters of the state; and
v. other relevant factors.
b. No animal feeding operation
with less than the numbers of animals set forth in LAC 33:IX.321.Appendix B
shall be designated as a concentrated animal feeding operation unless:
i. pollutants are discharged into waters of
the state through a man-made ditch, flushing system, or other similar man-made
device; or
ii. pollutants are
discharged directly into waters of the state which originate outside of and
pass over, across, or through the facility or otherwise come into direct
contact with the animals confined in the operation.
4. A permit application shall not
be required from a concentrated animal feeding operation until the department
has conducted an on-site inspection of the operation and determined that the
operation should and could be regulated under the permit program. However, all
concentrated animal feeding operations that meet the criteria in LAC
33:IX.321.Appendix B shall so notify the Office of Environmental Services
within 180 days of the effective date of these regulations.
K. Concentrated Aquatic Animal
Production Facilities
1. Permit Requirement.
Concentrated aquatic animal production facilities, as defined in this Section,
are subject to the LWDPS permit program.
2. Definition
Concentrated Aquatic Animal Production
Facility- a hatchery, fish farm, or other facility which meets the
criteria in LAC 33:IX.323.Appendix C of these regulations, or which the
department designates under LAC 33:IX.301.K.3 of this Section.
3. Case-by-Case Designation of Concentrated
Aquatic Animal Production Facilities
a. The
department may designate as a concentrated aquatic animal production facility
any warm or cold water aquatic animal production facility upon determining that
it is a significant contributor of pollution to waters of the state. In making
this designation the department shall consider the following factors:
i. the location and quality of the receiving
waters of the state;
ii. the
holding, feeding, and production capacities of the facility;
iii. the quantity and nature of the
pollutants reaching waters of the state; and
iv. other relevant factors.
4. A permit application
shall not be required from a concentrated aquatic animal production facility
until the department has conducted an on-site inspection of the facility and
has determined that the facility should and could be regulated under the permit
program. However, all concentrated aquatic animal production facilities that
meet the criteria in LAC 33:IX.321.Appendix C shall so notify the Office of
Environmental Services within 180 days of the effective date of these
regulations.
L.
Discharges into Aquaculture Projects
1.
Permit Requirement. Discharges into aquaculture projects, as defined in this
Section, are subject to the LWDPS permit program.
2. Definitions
Aquaculture Project- a defined managed
water area which uses discharges of pollutants into that designated area for
the maintenance or production of harvestable freshwater, estuarine, or marine
plants or animals.
Designated Project Area- the portions
of the waters of the state within which the permittee or permit applicant plans
to confine the cultivated species, using a method or plan of operation
(including, but not limited to, physical confinement) which, on the basis of
reliable scientific evidence, is expected to ensure that specific individual
organisms comprising an aquaculture crop will enjoy increased growth
attributable to the discharge of pollutants, and be harvested within a defined
geographic area.
M. Silvicultural
Point Sources
1. Permit Requirement.
Silvicultural point sources, as defined in this Section, are point sources
subject to the LWDPS permit program.
2. Definitions
Log Sorting and Log Storage Facilities-
facilities whose discharges result from the holding of unprocessed wood, for
example, logs or roundwood with bark, or after removal of bark, held in
self-contained bodies of water (mill ponds or log ponds) or stored on land
where water is applied intentionally on the logs (wet decking).
Silvicultural Point Source- any
discernible, confined and discrete conveyance related to log sorting or log
storage facilities which are operated in connection with silvicultural
activities and from which pollutants are discharged into waters of the state.
The term does not include nonpoint source silvicultural activities such as
nursery operations, site preparation, reforestation and subsequent cultural
treatment, thinning, prescribed burning, pest and fire control, harvesting
operations, surface drainage, or road construction and maintenance from which
there is natural runoff. However, some of these activities (such as stream
crossing for roads) may involve point source discharges of dredged or fill
material which may require a CWA Section 404 permit.
N. Confidentiality of Information. Provisions
for confidential information may be found in LAC 33:I.Chapter 5.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
30:2001 et seq., and in particular Section
2074(B)(3) and (B)(4)
