New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 6 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
Chapter X - DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES
Subchapter A - GENERAL
Article 3 - STATE POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM
Part 750 - STATE POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (SPDES) PERMITS
Subpart 750-2 - OPERATING IN ACCORDANCE WITH A SPDES PERMIT AND POSS REGISTRATION
Section 750-2.7 - Incident reporting and notification requirements

Universal Citation: 6 NY Comp Codes Rules and Regs § 750-2.7

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024

(a) Anticipated noncompliance.

The permittee shall give at least 45 days advance notice to the regional water engineer of any change in the permitted facility or activity that the permittee knows or has reason to know would occur as part of a construction project, which is part of the permittee's routine maintenance program, or which the permittee knows or has reason to know about 60 or more days before it occurs, and that is very likely or certain to result in a bypass or other noncompliance with permit requirements.

(1) Such notice shall contain:

(i) a description of the treatment units to be effected;

(ii) the anticipated character and volume of wastewater and/or storm water to be discharged;

(iii) the need for the changes;

(iv) the anticipated duration of the noncompliance;

(v) the receiving stream for the noncomplying wastewater and/or storm water;

(vi) the anticipated benefits of the change;

(vii) the alternatives considered; and

(viii) such additional information requested by the regional water engineer to assess the effects of and need for such a change.

(2) In the time between notification of a planned change and the date scheduled for the change the department may choose to do one or more of the following:

(i) require additional information that can reasonably be used to decide the necessity of such noncompliance;

(ii) require that the permittee delay the planned change up to 45 additional days until the department may adequately assess the necessity for the planned change;

(iii) require the permittee to modify the planned change;

(iv) prohibit the planned change; or

(v) apply no conditions to the planned change.

(b) Reporting and notification requirements for bypasses, upsets and discharges of untreated and partially treated sewage.

(1) Two hour reporting requirements for SPDES permittees that are non-POTWs. For discharges from a non-POTW permittee's wastewater treatment plant or sewer system that would affect bathing areas during the bathing season, shellfishing or public drinking water intakes, the non-POTW permittee shall, within two hours of discovery of the discharge, report orally to the regional water engineer and the local health department of any discharge of untreated or partially treated sewage, except a discharge in accordance with a department approved plan for managing wastewater (provided that such plan is in compliance with applicable law and regulation). Such report shall include:

(i) the date and time of discovery of the discharge and a brief description of the reason for the discharge, bypass, upset, or other incident;

(ii) the location of the discharge, bypass, upset or other incident including the receiving water effected by the discharge, bypass, upset, or other incident;

(iii) the estimated volume and treated state (untreated or partially treated) of the discharge at the time of the oral report;

(iv) a brief description of the measures taken and planned to contain the discharge, bypass, upset, or other incident; and

(v) the expected duration of the discharge, bypass, upset, or other incident and the total expected volume of the discharge.

(2) Requirements for POTWs and POSSs. Owners and operators of POTWs and POSSs must comply with the reporting and notification requirements described in subparagraphs (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) of this paragraph through use of the department approved form of electronic media. POTWs and POSSs are in compliance with the reporting and notification requirements in subparagraphs (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) of this paragraph if they register to use the department approved form of electronic media and submit timely and sufficient reports and notifications when required. A CSO is considered to be untreated sewage for purposes of the reporting and notification requirements specified in subparagraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) of this paragraph. The department may temporarily waive or suspend these requirements in instances of emergencies, extreme weather or when other conditions present a greater risk to human health.

(i) Two hour reporting requirements for POTWs and POSSs. Immediately, but in no case later than two hours after discovery of the discharge, owners and operators of POTWs and POSSs must report all discharges of untreated or partially treated sewage, including combined sewer overflows, to the department and the local health department, or if there is none, the New York State Department of Health. This reporting requirement applies to all untreated and partially treated sewage discharges to waters of the State except partially treated sewage discharged directly from a POTW that is in compliance with a department approved plan or permit. These initial discharge reports shall be submitted using appropriate electronic media as determined by the department and shall, at a minimum, include to the extent knowable with existing systems and models the following:

(a) the date and time of discovery of the discharge and a brief description of the reason for the discharge;

(b) the location of the discharge including the receiving water effected by the discharge;

(d) a brief description of the measures taken and planned to contain the discharge except for wet weather combined sewer overflow discharges; and

(e) the expected duration of the discharge and the total expected volume of the discharge.

(ii) Four hour notification requirements for POTWs and POSSs.

(a) Notification to municipalities. As soon as possible, but no later than four hours from discovery of the discharge, owners and operators of POTWs and POSSs must notify the chief elected official, or authorized designee, of the municipality in which the discharge occurred and the chief elected official, or authorized designee, of any adjoining municipality that may be affected of untreated or partially treated sewage discharges, including combined sewer overflows, to waters of the State except underground waters, through appropriate electronic media as determined by the department. This notification is not required for partially treated sewage discharged directly from a POTW that is in compliance with a department approved plan or permit. For purposes of this clause, municipality means a city, town or village and adjoining municipality means any municipality that is adjacent to the municipality in which the discharge occurred.

(b) Notification to the general public. As soon as possible, but no later than four hours from discovery of the discharge, owners and operators of POTWs and POSSs must notify the general public of untreated or partially treated sewage discharges, including combined sewer overflows, to waters of the State except underground waters, through appropriate electronic media as determined by the department. This notification is not required for partially treated sewage discharged directly from a POTW that is in compliance with a department approved plan or permit.

(iii) Notification requirements for certain combined sewer overflows. For combined sewer overflows for which real-time telemetered discharge monitoring and detection does not exist, owners and operators of POTWs and POSSs must expeditiously issue advisories to the general public through appropriate electronic media as determined by the department when, based on actual rainfall data or predictive models, enough rain has fallen that combined sewer overflows may discharge. Advisories may be done on a waterbody basis rather than by individual combined sewer overflow points.

(iv) Daily and termination reports. A daily report shall be made by owners and operators of POTWs and POSSs for each day that the discharge continues after the date the initial discharge report is made, except that on the day the discharge terminates, a report documenting termination of the previously reported discharge may be made in lieu of the daily report. Daily and termination reports must be made within 24 hours of the previous report using an appropriate form of electronic media as determined by the department. Daily and termination reports must include, at a minimum, the criteria required for the initial discharge report, except that subsequent to the initial discharge report the department may modify or waive reporting requirements for daily and termination reports on a case by case basis if acceptable alternate reporting methods are available. POTWs and POSSs are not required to file daily and termination reports for wet weather CSO events.

(1) Non-POTW SPDES permittees shall report, including the same information required to be reported under subdivision (b) of this section, orally to the regional water engineer within 24 hours from the time the non-POTW permittee becomes aware of a discharge of untreated or partially treated sewage that would otherwise be treated, except a discharge in accordance with a department approved plan for managing wastewater and/or storm water (provided that such plan is in compliance with applicable law and regulation).

(2) All SPDES permittees shall report, including the same information required to be reported under subdivision (b) of this section, orally to the regional water engineer within 24 hours from the time the permittee becomes aware of any of the following incidents:

(i) a discharge of untreated wastewater and/or storm water that would otherwise be treated, except a discharge in accordance with a department approved plan for managing wastewater (provided that such plan is in compliance with applicable law and regulation). Twenty-four hour reporting is not required if the discharge is sewage and the non-POTW SPDES permittee or POTW has fully complied with applicable two hour reporting requirements described in this section;

(ii) a spill that may result in a discharge that may:

(a) violate permit limitations of pollutants limited in the SPDES permit;

(b) exceed an action level or more than one action level in the SPDES permit;

(c) cause discharges of pollutants not explicitly listed in the SPDES permit, in amounts in excess of normal effluent variability of the level of discharge that may reasonably be expected for that pollutant from information provided in the SPDES permit application record; or

(d) which would result in dilution in lieu of treatment of a discharge authorized by a SPDES permit;

(iii) a spill to waters of the State of greater than the reportable quantity for releases to water as set forth in Part 597 of this Title; or

(iv) a bypass, upset or other incident that a reasonable practitioner in water pollution control would consider to be similar in severity and consequences to the incidents set forth in this subdivision.

(d) Five-day written incident report requirements for SPDES permittees and POSSs.

SPDES permittees and owners and operators of POSSs must provide a written report to the department of a discharge, bypass, upset or other incident reported under subdivisions (b) and (c) of this section within five days of discovery by the permittee or the owner or operator of the POSS. The written report shall be submitted on a form prescribed by the department and, at a minimum, shall contain a description of the discharge, bypass, upset, or other incident and its cause; the period of the discharge, bypass, upset, or other incident, including exact dates and times, and if the discharge, bypass, upset, or other incident has not been corrected, the anticipated time it is expected to continue; and steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate, and prevent the discharge, bypass, upset, or other incident and its reoccurrence. The department may waive the written report on a case-by-case basis if reports have been received within the time periods required under subdivisions (b) and (c) of this section. Five day written incident reports are not required for wet weather combined sewer overflows that are in compliance with a department approved plan or permit.

(e) Additional reporting.

The permittee shall report all instances of noncompliance with permit conditions not otherwise required to be reported under these regulations or the SPDES permit, with each submitted copy of its discharge monitoring reports until such noncompliance ceases. Such noncompliance reports shall contain the same information required to be submitted under subdivision (d) of this section.

(f) Duty to mitigate.

The permittee shall take all reasonable steps to minimize or prevent any discharge in violation of the permit, which has a reasonable likelihood of adversely affecting human health or the environment.

(g) Duty to assess.

Where a bypass, upset, or other incident occurs as defined in subdivision (b) or (c) of this section that can reasonably be expected to create detectable discharges of a substance where that substance was not detectable prior to the bypass, upset, or other incident or the bypass, upset, or other incident can reasonably be expected to increase the discharge of a substance or substances by 20 percent or more, the permittee shall collect at least one representative sample for each day of discharge effected by the bypass, upset or other incident in a manner that can be used to assess compliance with the permit. Each sample should be monitored for the parameters which the permittee knows or has reason to believe will be detectable or increased by 20 percent or more in the discharge due to the bypass, upset, or other incident.

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