Virginia Administrative Code
Title 9 - ENVIRONMENT
Agency 25 - STATE WATER CONTROL BOARD
Chapter 875 - VIRGINIA EROSION AND STORMWATER MANAGEMENT REGULATION
Part VII - Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) Permits
Article 3 - Permit Applications
Section 9VAC25-875-980 - General permits
Universal Citation: 9 VA Admin Code 9VAC25-875-980
Current through Register Vol. 41, No. 3, September 23, 2024
A. The department may issue a general permit in accordance with the following:
1. The general permit shall be written to
cover one or more categories or subcategories of discharges, except those
covered by individual permits, within a geographic area. The area should
correspond to existing geographic or political boundaries, such as:
a. Designated planning areas under
§§ 208 and 303 of CWA;
b.
Sewer districts or sewer authorities;
c. City, county, or state political
boundaries;
d. State highway
systems;
e. Standard metropolitan
statistical areas as defined by the Office of Management and Budget;
f. Urbanized areas as designated by the
Bureau of the Census according to criteria in 30 FR 15202 (May 1, 1974);
or
g. Any other appropriate
division or combination of boundaries.
2. The general permit may be written to
regulate one or more categories within the area described in subdivision 1 of
this subsection, where the sources within a covered subcategory of discharges
are stormwater point sources.
3.
Where sources within a specific category of dischargers are subject to water
quality-based limits imposed pursuant to
9VAC25-875-1030, the sources in
that specific category or subcategory shall be subject to the same water
quality-based effluent limitations.
4. The general permit must clearly identify
the applicable conditions for each category or subcategory of dischargers
covered by the permit.
5. The
general permit may exclude specified sources or areas from coverage.
B. Administration.
1. General permits may be issued, modified,
revoked and reissued, or terminated in accordance with applicable requirements
of this chapter.
2. Authorization
to discharge.
a. Except as provided in
subdivisions 2 e and 2 f of this subsection, dischargers seeking coverage under
a general permit shall submit to the department a written notice of intent to
be covered by the general permit. A discharger who fails to submit a notice of
intent in accordance with the terms of the permit is not authorized to
discharge, under the terms of the general permit unless the general permit, in
accordance with subdivision 2 e of this subsection, contains a provision that a
notice of intent is not required or the department notifies a discharger (or
treatment works treating domestic sewage) that it is covered by a general
permit in accordance with subdivision 2 f of this subsection. A complete and
timely notice of intent (NOI) to be covered in accordance with general permit
requirements fulfills the requirements for permit applications for the purposes
of this chapter. As of the start date in Table 1 of
9VAC25-31-1020, all notices of
intent submitted in compliance with this subdivision shall be submitted
electronically by the discharger (or treatment works treating domestic sewage)
to the department in compliance with this subdivision 2 and 40 CFR Part 3
(including, in all cases, 40 CFR Part 3 Subpart D),
9VAC25-875-940, and Part XI
(9VAC25-31-950 et seq.) of the
Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) Permit Regulation. Part
XI of 9VAC25-31 is not intended to undo existing requirements for electronic
reporting. Prior to this date, and independent of Part XI of 9VAC25-31,
dischargers or treatment works treating domestic sewage may be required to
report electronically if specified by a particular permit.
b. The contents of the notice of intent shall
be specified in the general permit and shall require the submission of
information necessary for adequate program implementation, including at a
minimum, the legal name and address of the owner or operator, the facility name
and address, type of facility or discharges, and the receiving stream, and
other required data elements as identified in Appendix A to 40 CFR Part 127 as
adopted by reference in
9VAC25-31-1030. All notices of
intent shall be signed in accordance with
9VAC25-875-940.
c. General permits shall specify the
deadlines for submitting notices of intent to be covered and the date or dates
when a discharger is authorized to discharge under the permit.
d. General permits shall specify whether a
discharger that has submitted a complete and timely notice of intent to be
covered in accordance with the general permit and that is eligible for coverage
under the permit is authorized to discharge in accordance with the permit
either upon receipt of the notice of intent by the department after a waiting
period specified in the general permit on a date specified in the general
permit or upon receipt of notification of inclusion by the department. Coverage
may be terminated or revoked in accordance with subdivision 3 of this
subsection.
e. Stormwater
discharges associated with small construction activity may, at the discretion
of the department, be authorized to discharge under a general permit without
submitting a notice of intent where the department finds that a notice of
intent requirement would be inappropriate. In making such a finding, the
department shall consider the (i) type of discharge, (ii) expected nature of
the discharge, (iii) potential for toxic and conventional pollutants in the
discharges, (iv) expected volume of the discharges, (v) other means of
identifying discharges covered by the permit, and (vi) estimated number of
discharges to be covered by the permit. The department shall provide in the
public notice of the general permit the reasons for not requiring a notice of
intent.
f. The department may
notify a discharger that it is covered by a general permit, even if the
discharger has not submitted a notice of intent to be covered. A discharger so
notified may request an individual permit under subdivision 3 c of this
subsection.
3. Requiring
an individual permit.
a. The department may
require any discharger authorized by a general permit to apply for and obtain
an individual permit. Any interested person may request the department to take
action under this subdivision. Cases where an individual permit may be required
include the following:
(1) The discharger is
not in compliance with the conditions of the general permit;
(2) A change has occurred in the availability
of demonstrated technology or practices for the control or abatement of
pollutants applicable to the point source;
(3) Effluent limitation guidelines are
promulgated for point sources covered by the general permit;
(4) A water quality management plan,
established by the department pursuant to 9VAC25-720, containing requirements
applicable to such point sources is approved;
(5) Circumstances have changed since the time
of the request to be covered so that the discharger is no longer appropriately
controlled under the general permit, or either a temporary or permanent
reduction or elimination of the authorized discharge is necessary;
(6) The discharge is a significant
contributor of pollutants. In making this determination, the department may
consider the following factors:
(a) The
location of the discharge with respect to surface waters;
(b) The size of the discharge;
(c) The quantity and nature of the pollutants
discharged to surface waters; and
(d) Other relevant factors;
b. Permits required on
a case-by-case basis.
(1) The department may
determine, on a case-by-case basis, that certain stormwater discharges, and
certain other facilities covered by general permits that do not generally
require an individual permit may be required to obtain an individual permit
because of their contributions to water pollution.
(2) Whenever the department decides that an
individual permit is required under this subsection, except as provided in
subdivision 3 b (3) of this subsection, the department shall notify the
discharger in writing of that decision and the reasons for it and shall send an
application form with the notice. The discharger must apply for a permit within
60 days of notice, unless permission for a later date is granted by the
department. The question whether the designation was proper will remain open
for consideration during the public comment period for the draft permit and in
any subsequent public hearing.
(3)
Prior to a case-by-case determination that an individual permit is required for
a stormwater discharge under this subsection, the department may require the
discharger to submit a permit application or other information regarding the
discharge under the State Water Control Law and § 308 of the CWA. In
requiring such information, the department shall notify the discharger in
writing and shall send an application form with the notice. The discharger must
apply for a permit under
9VAC25-875-950 A 1 within 60 days
of notice or under
9VAC25-875-950 A 8 within 180 days
of notice, unless permission for a later date is granted by the department. The
question whether the initial designation was proper will remain open for
consideration during the public comment period for the draft permit and in any
subsequent public hearing.
c. Any owner or operator authorized by a
general permit may request to be excluded from the coverage of the general
permit by applying for an individual permit. The owner or operator shall submit
an application under
9VAC25-875-920 with reasons
supporting the request. The request shall be processed under the applicable
parts of this chapter. The request shall be granted by issuing of an individual
permit if the reasons cited by the owner or operator are adequate to support
the request.
d. When an individual
permit is issued to an owner or operator otherwise subject to a general permit,
the applicability of the general permit to the individual permit permittee is
automatically terminated on the effective date of the individual
permit.
e. A source excluded from a
general permit solely because it already has an individual permit may request
that the individual permit be revoked and that it be covered by the general
permit. Upon revocation of the individual permit, the general permit shall
apply to the source.
Statutory Authority: § 62.1-44.15:28 of the Code of Virginia; Chapters 68 and 758 of the 2016 Acts of Assembly.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Virginia may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.
