New Connecticut General Permit for
the Discharge of Stormwater
Associated with Industrial Activity
Effective October 1, 2011
October 5, 2010
Connecticut Marine Trades Association
Gregory A. Sharp, Esq.
Murtha Cullina LLP
860.240.6046 | gsharp@murthalaw.com
Chris Stone, P.E.
CT Department of Environmental Protection
860.424.3850 | chris.stone@ct.gov
Andrew W. Lord, Esq.
Murtha Cullina LLP
860.240.6180 | alord@murthalaw.com
Ted Sailer, CHMM, LEP
Sailer Environmental
860.245-7744 | esailer@sailerenv.com
Applicability
• Applies to Activities with Industrial SIC
Codes.
• Approximately 1,700 companies and
government agencies are registered.
• Marinas, Yacht Clubs and Boat Dealers are
now all subject to the permit (also Boat
Bldg/Repair – SIC 373).

SIC Codes 4493, certain 7997, and 5551.
Discharge of Stormwater from
Industrial Facilities
Goal and Rationale of General Permit
• The goal of this and prior Industrial Stormwater General Permits
is to provide a streamlined method for the regulated community
to be in compliance with the requirements of the federal and
state Clean Water Acts without the cost, time and effort involved
in obtaining individual discharge permits.
• The environmental concern is that rainfall landing on roofs,
storage areas, and yards at industrial facilities pick up
contaminants which are transported through conveyances to
surface waters or ground water, impairing water quality.
Status of New Permit
• Stakeholders, including CMTA, CBIA, environmental groups and
others, negotiated the structure and requirements of the General
Permit with DEP staff during 2008-2010.
• Hearing held on “Final Draft” June 24, 2009.
• Additional hearings in March and April, 2010.
• Commissioner signed final permit on August 23, 2010.
• Permit becomes final with effective date on October 1, 2011.
Coverage During the Interim
• The previous General Permit issued in 2002 expired on
September 30, 2007.
• It was reissued without change on October 1, 2007 to expire on
September 30, 2008, and reissued again on October 2, 2008 to
expire on March 31, 2009.
• On April 14, 2009, the Commissioner again reissued the previous
General Permit to expire on September 30, 2010, but required
permittees to re-register their facilities with a prorated $300
registration fee.
• General permit reissued one (hopefully) last time on October 1,
2010 to expire September 30, 2011. No need to reregister.
• If you have not registered under the April 14th permit you should
do so ASAP to remain in compliance.
Major Changes from Past
Permits
•
Certification of Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (“SWPPPs”) at time
of registration.
•
Availability of SWPPPs for public comment.
•
Adoption of 10 Sectors to tailor permit to needs and challenges of individual
industries.
•
Increased Stormwater Monitoring (Twice per Year).
•
Quarterly visual monitoring.
•
Specific sector-based monitoring requirements and Best Management
Practices (“BMPs”) for Marinas, Yacht Clubs and Boat Dealers (“Sector H”)
and Boat Bldg/Repair (“Sector I”).
•
Monitoring “benchmarks” and “effluent limits” with exceedances requiring
follow-up action (no effluent limits for marinas).
•
Monthly routine inspections with documentation.
Process for Registration in
2011
•
Update SWPPP and have it certified by a P.E. or CHMM.
•
Option to post it to a website.
•
If SWPPP is posted to a website, your coverage will be effective 60 days after submitting
the new registration form.
•
If SWPPP not posted, coverage will be effective 90 days after registration to enable public
to review SWPPP.
•
DEP will post notices of registrations on their website to alert the public and will request
hard copies of SWPPPs from those not posting on a website.
•
The registration submittals must be made prior to June 1, 2011 to allow sufficient lead
times for coverage to become effective on October 1, 2011.
•
Fee for registration is $500 for companies with less than 50 employees statewide
(excluding seasonals employed less than 120 days/year) or gross sales of less than $5
million.
•
$1,000 fee for companies with more than 50 employees statewide, excluding seasonals,
and gross sales of greater than $5 million.
New Permit Requirements:
Stormwater Monitoring
• Quarterly monitoring for visual inspection.
• Semi-annual General Monitoring with
benchmarks.
• Annual Toxicity Monitoring for first two years.
• Impaired Waters/TMDL Monitoring.
• Sector Specific Monitoring.
• Effluent Limitations Monitoring.
New Requirements:
Visual Monitoring
• Visual monitoring quarterly for the entire term of the
permit of a stormwater sample collected at the outfall
in a clean, clear glass or plastic container for:
 Suspended solids
 Color
 Foam
 Odor
 Oil sheen
 Clarity
 Other obvious indicators
 Floating solids
 Settleable solids
• If problems observed, modify SWPPP and control
measures and document.
New Requirements:
Monitoring Applicable to All
• Semi-annual monitoring is required at all facilities for:
 Nitrate as Nitrogen
 COD
 Total Copper
 Total O&G
 Total Lead
 pH
 Total Zinc
 TSS
 Also, pH of uncontaminated
 Total Phosphorous
rainfall at time of sample
 Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen
• Annual monitoring for the first two (2) years of the permit is
required during a regular semi-annual monitoring event for
aquatic toxicity.
New Requirements:
General Monitoring Benchmarks
• Benchmarks are numeric criteria.
• Benchmarks for Copper, Lead & Zinc are based on
concentrations calculated to be protective of water
quality.
• Benchmarks for the other parameters are based on
the 80th percentile of data collected from 2003-2007
and submitted by all Industrial Stormwater sources.
• No benchmark for Copper for marine industries.
• No effluent limits for marine industries
General Monitoring
Benchmarks
Parameter
Concentration

COD
75 mg/l

Total O&G
5 mg/l

pH
5-9 SU

TSS
90 mg/l

TPh
0.40 mg/l

Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen 2.30 mg/l

Nitrate as Nitrogen
1.10 mg/l

Total Copper
0.059 mg/l (Note: Sectors H & I Exempt)

Total Lead
0.076 mg/l

Total Zinc
0.160 mg/l
Other General Monitoring
Requirements
• Monitoring Only


pH of uncontaminated rainfall at time of
sample -- No Benchmark
Aquatic Toxicity annually for first two
years -- No Benchmark
What are Benchmarks?
• Numeric concentration thresholds, but not
permit limits per se.
• Exceedances do not constitute a violation of
permit.
• Exceedances do trigger further steps.
Compliance with Benchmark
Requirements
• If the average concentration of four sampling rounds for
a given parameter does not exceed a benchmark,
monitoring for that parameter may cease for the duration
of the permit.
• Unlike previous general permit, exceedance of a
benchmark requires continued sampling only for that
parameter, not all parameters.
Compliance with Benchmark
Requirements (continued)
• If the four-sample average of a parameter exceeds its
benchmark, you must


Review the control measures in the SWPPP to
determine if modifications are necessary, make
changes, and continue monitoring, or
Make a determination that no further reductions are
“technologically available and economically
practicable and achievable in light of best industry
practice”, submit documentation of this determination
to Commissioner for her approval, and continue
monitoring once a year.
Exemption from Benchmark
Compliance for “Background”
• There is an exemption from these
requirements if you can document that the
exceedance is solely caused by the presence
of the pollutant in the natural background or
“run-on” to the site from off-site properties, and
you meet four technical requirements set forth
in the permit.

“Legacy” pollutants on-site are not included in
definition of “background.”
Marina Sector Performance vs.
Benchmark Concentrations
• Historical Data for Marinas reported by DEP from 284 Samples:

COD
75 mg/l:

O&G
5 mg/l:

TSS
90 mg/l:
>20<50% exceeded.

TPh 0.40 mg/l:
>20<50% exceeded.

TKN 2.30 mg/l:

NO3 1.10 mg/l:
>20<50% exceeded.

Cu
>50<80% exceeded.

Pb 0.030 mg/l:
>20<50% exceeded. *With new BM, don’t know if still valid

Zn 0.300 mg/l:
>20<50% exceeded. *With new BM, don’t know if still valid
0.06mg/l:
>20<50% exceeded.
20% exceeded.
20% exceeded.
(Sector H & I Exempt)
New Requirements:
Monitoring Discharges to
“Impaired Waters”
• In addition to General Monitoring and Toxicity Monitoring,
industrial stormwater discharges to “impaired waters” are subject
to additional monitoring.
• Check DEP website for list of “impaired waters” contained in:
“2008 State of Connecticut Integrated Water Quality Report,
Table 3-3.”
• Discharges to impaired waters without an established Total
Maximum Daily Load (“TMDL”) are subject to monitoring annually
for all pollutants for which the water body is impaired.
• Discharges to waters with an established TMDL are subject to
monitoring only when the permittee is notified by the
Commissioner.
New Requirements:
Sector Specific Monitoring
• Sector H of the General Permit is applicable to Marinas, Yacht
Clubs and Boat Dealers. Sector I is Boat Building/Repair.
• Sector H establishes benchmarks for Iron (1.0 mg/l) and Total
Aluminum (0.75 mg/l).
• These two parameters must be included in the analysis of
semiannual samples in accordance with the General Benchmark
Monitoring Requirements.
• Sector H specifically exempts facilities monitoring under its
provisions from compliance with the Benchmark for Total
Copper, but facilities must monitor and report Total Copper semiannually for the life of the permit.
New Requirements:
Monitoring for Compliance with
Effluent Limitations
• USEPA has established Effluent Limitations for
specific Sectors.
• Exceedance of an Effluent Limitation is a permit
violation.
• Annual monitoring for Sector Specific Effluent
Limitations is required.
• Good News: There are no effluent limitations
included in the General Monitoring Requirements or
in the Sector H Monitoring Requirements.
New Requirements:
Sector H Limitations
• Non-stormwater discharges from sanitary wastes
and pressure wash water originating from vessels
are specifically not authorized under this permit.
• However, the permit language recognizes that
discharges from non-pressure washing, bilge water,
ballast water and cooling water originating from
recreational vessels up to eighty (80) feet in length
may be discharged as they are incidental to the
normal operation of a recreational vessel.
New Requirements:
Sector H BMPs
• Pressure Washing Discharges are specifically not
covered by the permit.
• Blasting and Paint Spraying must be conducted in
accordance with the Clean Marina Guidebook, as
amended.
• Material Storage Guidelines set forth for chemicals,
fuel, paints, batteries, etc.
• Engine Maintenance and Repair Guidelines set forth
to minimize risks of discharge of chemicals to
ground or surface waters.
New Requirements:
Sector H BMPs (continued)
•
Material Handling Guidelines to minimize contamination of precipitation
or surface runoff from handling operation by use of covers, spill and
overflow protection, etc.
•
New containment requirements for stationary tanks and mobile or
portable tank storage, including the use of double-walled tanks, 110%
secondary containment and certain conditions for mobile tanks.
•
Employee Training to focus on used oil, spent solvents, spent
abrasives, vessel wastewaters, spill control, fueling, painting and
blasting, engine maintenance & repair, zinc anode disposal, and used
battery management.
•
Inspection requirements to focus on these and other environmental high
risk areas.
Preparation for October 1, 2011
• Review your current SWPPP.
• Contact your P.E. or CHMM to discuss requirements of new
permit, updating your SWPPP, training your employees and the
new monitoring requirements.
• Address Pressure Washing issues by signing and complying with
Consent Order or terminating the discharge.
• Be alert for DEP outreach and guidance on submitting
registrations with updated SWPPPs prior to June 1, 2011.
• Allow time for the 60 or 90 SWPPP review to be completed
before October 1, 2011.