The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued on January 24 a final permit notice affecting stormwater discharges from some construction sites around the country.
Notably, the permit notice was responsive to NGWA concerns that were submitted on July 21, 2021, about screening sites prior to determining whether to dispose of stormwater by infiltration that may impact groundwater quality.
The sites affected by the EPA’s notice were for all areas of the country where the EPA is the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting authority, including:
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- Oil and gas activities within Oklahoma
- Most Indian country lands
- The District of Columbia
- U.S. territories and protectorates except for the U.S. Virgin Islands
- Certain federal facilities.
Clarifying factors where infiltration would be infeasible or inadvisable, the construction general permit requires system operators to direct stormwater to vegetated areas and maximize stormwater infiltration and filtering to reduce pollutant discharges to surface waters unless infiltration would be inadvisable due to the underlying geology and groundwater concerns or infeasible due to site constraints.
The EPA suggested some of the considerations that operators should consider in determining whether infiltration at a particular site is infeasible or inadvisable. These factors related to the underlying soils or geology, hydrology, depth to the groundwater table, proximity to source water protection areas, and specific contaminant concerns.
Read the notice of the permit in the Federal Register.