Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024
The following conditions apply to all NPDES permits.
Additional conditions applicable to NPDES permits are in Section
3. All conditions applicable to NPDES
permits shall be incorporated into the permits either expressly or by
reference. If incorporated by reference, a specific citation to these rules
must be given in the permit.
(a) Duty
to comply. The permittee must comply with all conditions of this permit. Any
permit noncompliance constitutes a violation of the Clean Water Act and is
grounds for enforcement action; for permit termination, revocation and
reissuance, or modification; or denial of a permit renewal application.
(1) The permittee shall comply with effluent
standards or prohibitions established under section 307(a) of the Clean Water
Act, and 38 MRSA, §420 or Chapter 530.5 for toxic pollutants within the
time provided in the regulations that establish these standards or
prohibitions, even if the permit has not yet been modified to incorporate the
requirement.
(2) Any person who
violates any provision of the laws administered by the Department, including
without limitation, a violation of the terms of any order, rule license,
permit, approval or decision of the Board or Commissioner is subject to the
penalties set forth in 38 MRSA, §349.
(b) Duty to reapply. If the permittee wishes
to continue an activity regulated by this permit after the expiration date of
this permit, the permittee must apply for and obtain a new permit.
(c) Need to halt or reduce activity not a
defense. 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 this permit.
(d) Duty to mitigate. The permittee shall
take all reasonable steps to minimize or prevent any discharge or sludge use or
disposal in violation of this permit which has a reasonable likelihood of
adversely affecting human health or the environment.
(e) Proper operation and maintenance. The
permittee shall at all times properly operate and maintain all facilities and
systems of treatment and control (and related appurtenances) which are
installed or used by the permittee to achieve compliance with the conditions of
this permit. Proper operation and maintenance also includes adequate laboratory
controls and appropriate quality assurance procedures. This provision requires
the operation of back-up or auxiliary facilities or similar systems which are
installed by a permittee only when the operation is necessary to achieve
compliance with the conditions of the permit.
(f) Permit actions. This permit may be
modified, revoked and reissued, or terminated for cause. The filing of a
request by the permittee for a permit modification, revocation and reissuance,
or termination, or a notification of planned changes or anticipated
noncompliance does not stay any permit condition.
(g) Property rights. This permit does not
convey any property rights of any sort, or any exclusive privilege.
(h) Duty to provide information. The
permittee shall furnish to the Department, within a reasonable time, any
information which the Department may request to determine whether cause exists
for modifying, revoking and reissuing, or terminating this permit or to
determine compliance with this permit. The permittee shall also furnish to the
Department upon request, copies of records required to be kept by this
permit.
(i) Inspection and entry.
The permittee shall allow the Department, or an authorized representative
(including an authorized contractor acting as a representative of the
Administrator), upon presentation of credentials and other documents as may be
required by law, to:
(1) Enter upon the
permittee's premises where a regulated facility or activity is located or
conducted, or where records must be kept under the conditions of this
permit;
(2) Have access to and
copy, at reasonable times, any records that must be kept under the conditions
of this permit;
(3) Inspect at
reasonable times any facilities, equipment (including monitoring and control
equipment), practices, or operations regulated or required under this permit;
and
(4) Sample or monitor at
reasonable times, for the purposes of assuring permit compliance or as
otherwise authorized by the Clean Water Act, any substances or parameters at
any location.
(j)
Monitoring and records.
(1) Samples and
measurements taken for the purpose of monitoring shall be representative of the
monitored activity.
(2) Except for
records of monitoring information required by this permit related to the
permittee's sewage sludge use and disposal activities, which shall be retained
for a period of at least five years, the permittee shall retain records of all
monitoring information, including all calibration and maintenance records and
all original strip chart recordings for continuous monitoring instrumentation,
copies of all reports required by this permit, and records of all data used to
complete the application for this permit, for a period of at least 3 years from
the date of the sample, measurement, report or application. This period may be
extended by request of the Department at any time.
(3) Records of monitoring information shall
include:
(i) The date, exact place, and time
of sampling or measurements;
(ii)
The individual(s) who performed the sampling or measurements;
(iii) The date(s) analyses were
performed;
(iv) The individual(s)
who performed the analyses;
(v) The
analytical techniques or methods used; and
(vi) The results of such analyses.
(4) Monitoring results must be
conducted according to test procedures approved under 40 CFR part 136 or,
unless other test procedures have been specified in the permit.
(5) State law provides that any person who
tampers with or renders inaccurate any monitoring devices or method required by
any provision of law, or any order, rule license, permit approval or decision
is subject to the penalties set forth in 38 MRSA, §349.
(k) Signatory requirement.
(1) All applications, reports, or information
submitted to the Department shall be signed and certified. (See Chapter 521,
Section 5)
(2) State law provides
that any person who knowingly makes any false statement, representation or
certification in any application, record, report, plan or other document filed
or required to be maintained by any order, rule, permit, approval or decision
of the Board or Commissioner is subject to the penalties set forth in 38 MRSA,
§349.
(l) Reporting
requirements.
(1) Planned changes. The
permittee shall give notice to the Department as soon as possible of any
planned physical alterations or additions to the permitted facility. Notice is
required only when:
(i) The alteration or
addition to a permitted facility may meet one of the criteria for determining
whether a facility is a new source in
40 CFR
122.29(b); or
(ii) The alteration or addition could
significantly change the nature or increase the quantity of pollutants
discharged. This notification applies to pollutants which are subject neither
to effluent limitations in the permit, nor to notification requirements under
Section 3(a)(1).
(iii) The
alteration or addition results in a significant change in the permittee's
sludge use or disposal practices, and such alteration, addition, or change may
justify the application of permit conditions that are different from or absent
in the existing permit, including notification of additional use or disposal
sites not reported during the permit application process or not reported
pursuant to an approved land application plan;
(2) Anticipated noncompliance. The permittee
shall give advance notice to the Department of any planned changes in the
permitted facility or activity which may result in noncompliance with permit
requirements.
(3) Transfers. This
permit is not transferable to any person except upon application to and
approval of the Department pursuant to 38 MRSA, §344 and Chapters 2 and
522.
(4) Monitoring reports.
Monitoring results shall be reported at the intervals specified elsewhere in
this permit.
(i) Monitoring results must be
reported on a Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) or forms provided or specified
by the Director for reporting results of monitoring of sludge use or disposal
practices.
(ii) If the permittee
monitors any pollutant more frequently than required by the permit using test
procedures approved under 40 CFR part 136 or as specified in the permit, the
results of this monitoring shall be included in the calculation and reporting
of the data submitted in the DMR or sludge reporting form specified by the
Department.
(iii) Calculations for
all limitations which require averaging of measurements shall utilize an
arithmetic mean unless otherwise specified by the Department in the
permit.
(5) Compliance
schedules. 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 14 days following each schedule
date.
(6) Twenty-four hour
reporting.
(i) The permittee shall report any
noncompliance which may endanger health or the environment. Any information
shall be provided orally within 24 hours from the time the permittee becomes
aware of the circumstances. A written submission shall also be provided within
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
reoccurrence of the noncompliance.
(ii) The following shall be included as
information which must be reported within 24 hours under this paragraph.
(A) Any unanticipated bypass which exceeds
any effluent limitation in the permit. (See Section 2(g)).
(B) Any upset which exceeds any effluent
limitation in the permit.
(C)
Violation of a maximum daily discharge limitation for any of the pollutants
listed by the Department in the permit to be reported within 24 hours. (See
Section 5(g).)
(iii) The
Department may waive the written report on a case-by-case basis for reports
under paragraph (l)(6)(ii) of this section if the oral report has been received
within 24 hours.
(7)
Other noncompliance. The permittee shall report all instances of noncompliance
not reported under paragraphs (l) (4), (5), and (6) of this section, at the
time monitoring reports are submitted. The reports shall contain the
information listed in paragraph (l)(6) of this section.
(8) Other information. 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 Department, it shall promptly submit such facts or
information.
(m)
Bypass--
(1) Definitions.
(i) Bypass means the intentional diversion of
waste streams from any portion of a treatment facility.
(ii) Severe property damage means substantial
physical damage to property, damage to the treatment facilities which causes
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.
(2) Bypass
not exceeding limitations. The permittee may allow any bypass to occur which
does not cause effluent limitations to be exceeded, but only if it also is for
essential maintenance to assure efficient operation. These bypasses are not
subject to the provisions of paragraphs (m)(3) and (m)(4) of this
section.
(3) Notice--
(i) Anticipated bypass. If the permittee
knows in advance of the need for a bypass, it shall submit prior notice, if
possible at least ten days before the date of the bypass.
(ii) Unanticipated bypass. The permittee
shall submit notice of an unanticipated bypass as required in paragraph (l)(6)
of this section (24-hour notice).
(4) Prohibition of bypass.
(i) Bypass is prohibited, and the Department
may take enforcement action against a permittee for bypass, unless:
(A) Bypass was unavoidable to prevent loss of
life, personal injury, or severe property damage;
(B) 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 downtime.
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 which occurred during normal periods of equipment downtime or preventive
maintenance; and
(C) The permittee
submitted notices as required under paragraph (m)(3) of this section.
(ii) The Department may approve an
anticipated bypass, after considering its adverse effects, if the Department
determines that it will meet the three conditions listed above in paragraph
(m)(4)(i) of this section.
(n) Upset--
(1) Definition. 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.
(2)
Effect of an upset. An upset constitutes an affirmative defense to an action
brought for noncompliance with such technology based permit effluent
limitations if the requirements of paragraph (n)(3) of this section are met. No
determination made during administrative review of claims that noncompliance
was caused by upset, and before an action for noncompliance, is final
administrative action subject to judicial review.
(3) Conditions necessary for a demonstration
of upset. 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 that the permittee can identify the cause(s) of the
upset;
(ii) The permitted facility
was at the time being properly operated; and
(iii) The permittee submitted notice of the
upset as required in paragraph (1)(6)(ii)(B) of this section (24 hour
notice).
(iv) The permittee
complied with any remedial measures required under paragraph (d) of this
section.
(4) Burden of
proof. In any enforcement proceeding the permittee seeking to establish the
occurrence of an upset has the burden of proof.
