The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adopted stormwater regulations requiring NPDES permits for stormwater discharges from certain sizes of municipalities and certain industrial activities. In general, you may need an NPDES Stormwater Permit if: 1) You are a municipality or responsible for construction or industrial activities listed by EPA, and 2) stormwater from rain or snow melt leaves your site through a "point source" and reaches surface waters either directly or through storm drainage. (A point source is a natural or human-made conveyance of water through such things as pipes, culverts, ditches, catch basins, or any other type of channel.) The following entities and activities are listed by EPA:
Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s): Municipalities with a population greater than 100,000 and smaller municipalities in "urbanized areas" (urbanized areas are defined by the U.S. Census Bureau).
Construction Activities (1200-C, 1200-CA): Construction activities, including clearing, grading, and excavation or stockpiling of fill material that disturb one acre or more of land, or less than one acre that is part of a larger common plan of development or sale that ultimately disturbs one acre or more.
Industrial Activities (1200-A, 1200-Z, 1200-COLS): Manufacturing and transportation industries; hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal facilities; mining activities; scrap yards; landfills; steam electric power facilities, and sewage treatment plants treating more than 1 million gallons per day or with required pretreatment programs. (These activities are eligible for an NPDES Stormwater general permit. Wood treating businesses, however, are required to obtain an NPDES stormwater individual permit.)
Keywords: water quality, stormwater, storm water, runoff
Applicant information (legal name, location, contact), facility or activity description, and land use compatibility statement. For municipalities, a stormwater management plan is required as part of the application process.
