Storm Water Permits The Problem of Phasing In –Potentially have every industrial facility in the U.S. needing a permit at the same time at the same time.

Storm Water Permits• The Problem of Phasing In

– Potentially have every industrial facility in the U.S. needing a permit at the same time at the same time agencies are trying to write the regs and figure out what the issues will be

• Approach used was to create general permits along with regulations– Published permits in Fed. Register– Industries could apply for coverage under general

permit

Primacy and Phase In

• States also created general permits - often largely copied the Feds and added several of their own

• Could go for 3 types of permits– A General Permit for an entire sector of industries

– An Industry Specific Permit where an industry collectively tried to organize for a permit

– Individual Facility Permit

Where We Are At Now• Initial Shock is through system

– Moving away from general permits

– Some stabilizing on Industry specific permits

– Many are moving toward individual permits just like individual NPDES

• One Problems in transition is anti- back slide provision– If a general permit put some restriction that didn’t

fit - it becomes hard to alter going to individual

Basic Features of Storm Water

• Storm Water Permits are built around two ideas– Every facility needs a Storm Water Pollution

Prevention Plan (SWPPP)– Facilities should use Best Management

Practices to avoid contact of storm water with contaminants

Permit Dangers• May not want to volunteer to do too much

– watch out for numerical effluent limits– monitoring requirements– Problem is backslide provisions - if you have

homes built up drainage and they spill into storm water the limits could nail you

• Watch specifics with sensitive information– your permit must be on site for inspectors– considered a public document - may allow tree

huggers and NIMBYs to demand access

Creating a SWPPP

• Step #1 - Formulate Your Team– Need to have someone who is ultimately

responsible• Tempting to get a consultant - helpful but you can

be surprise inspected and need to have someone on site who can answer questions and ferry inspectors around

– Larger facility may use a division manager– Smaller may have chief engineer

Step #2 Existing Plans

• Look at contents of existing permits - may tell you what the issues are - also helps to prevent contradicting yourself– Oil Drums probably already have a spill

prevention and countermeasures plan– Toxic Substances already have plans– May be community emergency response plans– OSHA Emergency Action Plans

Check What Discharges Covered

• Process Waters have NPDES permit– some commingled waters have to be treated as

process waters and are NPDES• don’t duplicate coverage

• Check for restrictions and discharges to municipal sewer cover certain discharges or impose specific conditions

Step #3 - Site Assessment

• Obtain a Base Map of Property - don’t go out for a custom survey– A good enlarged topo– Ariel Photos from IDOT or USDA– Tax Maps– U.S. Soil Conservation Service Mapping– U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National

Wetlands Inventory Mapping

Add to the Base Map• Drainage Patterns and Flow Directions

– Surface Water Bodies including wetlands• Any water bodies receiving points for storm water

• Any place receiving storm water from a storm sewer

– Any Storm Water discharges from property– Any Non Storm Water Discharges

• Locate NPDES discharges and give permit number

• Check in dry season when run-off and water bodies more obvious

• State how things were established

• Company Official must certify no unpermitted discharges

Add Location of Process Activ.

• Stock Piles• Crushers• Feed bins• Conveyors• Fueling Stations and Fuel Tanks• Loading Areas• Equipment Maint Areas• Storage areas

More Additions

• Add all existing storm water management features and structures

Source Materials Inventory

• A Source Material is Something you handle in your trade or business that could be construed to contaminate material– The fact that many mining operations handle

mostly natural materials is irrelevant (many laws are built on the premise that anything touched by a human process is a sinister environmental contaminant)

Likely Source Materials

• Raw Materials for Trade– All handled inventories or in process inventories

of stone and aggregate materials for a quarry

• All Intermediate Materials and Finished Products– May include asphaults or cements

• All waste or byproduct materials including decantation ponds

More Likely Sources

• Industrial Machinery and Machinery Yards– Conveyors– Crushers– Screens– Equipment Yards and Facilities– Your Parking Lot

More Sources

• Fuels Solvents and Detergents– Fueling Stations– Fueling Storage– Plant Yards and Repair Stations– The Janitorial Closet

• Locations of Previous Spills or Leaks– Any reportable amount of hazardous or non-

hazardous from past 3 years (maybe more)

Unsources

• Some States have Created Guidelines on “Inactive” Materials that cannot be contaminants– Washed Stone (has no fines)– Broken Concrete (recycle is good)– Rip Rap

• Rip Rapping of Channels is considered a best management practice so calling it a contaminant is embarrassing to regulators

Water Quality Data

• Inventory and include any water quality data pertaining to storm water– May be little initially but likely to grow with

time

Write a Narrative Description

• Mining is a minor source compared to what many regulators are used to

• Many know little about mining except for some negative comments from stories and movies where mining companies are the villains

• Politely explain how each process works - replace fear of the unknown with understanding

Step #4 Best Management Pract.

• Identify areas where storm water may contact contaminant materials

• Select Best Management Practices for those areas

Types of Best Management Pr.• Baseline Practices

– Involve operations and handling practices• usually cheaper

• Structural Practices– Involve building something to control– Problems with

• Building Structures in Wetlands

• Impoundment may be considered discharge to groundwater

• Erosion control may overlap soil conservation

• Construction permits may get into Zoning Issues

Baseline Management Pract.• Good Housekeeping

– Round up Crud before it contacts storm water– Keep Floors and Ground Surfaces Clean– Sweeping Shoveling and Vacuuming are major

accepted removal practices• Don’t hose it down - you just contaminated water

• Don’t wait till after it has rained - use a schedule

– Front end loaders and bobcats may clean up larger spills - hand shoveling can be labor intensive

– Vacuum equipment may produce recycle

Operations and Maintenance• Have regular trash pick-up and debris

removal• Use Rapid Recycling Collection• Inspections for leaks in chemicals and fuel

storage or even rock bins– Try to search and fix during regular maintenance– Lots of people try short-cuts here

• Store in Proper Durable Containers• Train Crews in Spill Clean-up Methods

Materials Storage Practices• Provide Adequate Isle and Maneuver Space for

Handling (so they don’t bash in all the drums trying to handle them)

• Maintain an Inventory of What You Have– Often can save money on inventory– Walk Through and See What you have– Check Last Years Invoices– Keep up Labels - people toss mystery stuff– Keep MS Data Sheets file for everything

Chemical, Lube, Fuel Drums

• Keep in contained or curbed areas so leaks can’t go anywhere

• Keep out of direct traffic routes to reduce accidents from people unable to drive

• Store off of ground to avoid corrosion around base

• Have a lot of people trained in clean up - but only a few responsible for inventory

General Source Materials• Store Indoors - works for chemicals but

probably not aggregate piles

• Cover the pile and put diversion berm around to route storm water away from the evil contaminant

• Look for Guidelines that may exempt your coarser rock from being an evil contaminant– You may not be able to cover everything but

maybe you only need to guard your finer material

Other Cover Applications

• Often feasible to have covered refueling depots - your employees may actually think you were setting up a convenience for them

• Look at use of tarps for things temporarily outside

Include Employee Participation

• Have Regular Training and Review

• Put up Bulletin Boards and Posters

• Include Treatment in Meeting Agendas

Dust Control• Settled Dust may get you out of Clean Air

Regs but it can get you nailed in Storm Water

• Avoid Denuded Areas - vegitation makes you look more environmental friendly anyway

• Use Wind Breaks Like Trees

• Have coarser material at surface so water can’t run off with fines

More Dust Control• Do look at wetting down but not enough to

produce run-off• Do consider surfactants

– don’t use oils because they are evil contaminants of soils

– use in drier areas where water cannot carry off– keep away from traffic so tires can’t spread

• Look at Dry Collection– especially if a recycle opportunity exists

Use Preventative Maintenance

• Regularly Inspect and Maintain Storm Water Handling Facilities– Keep onsite records of own - not necessarily sent in– Be careful with sensitive information - public

access not well defined

• Regular Maintenance of Things that could release contaminants– Hydraulics on Equipment

More Preventive Maintenance• Have a list of everything that needs inspection

• Have a schedule for those inspections

• Have records of Results of Inspections

• Have records of Timely Corrective Actions taken as result of those inspections

• Maintenance may save you down time on production– Accident could trigger prosecution from unexpected

statutes

EPA Itemizes for Inspection

• Pipes• Pumps• Storage Tanks and Bins• Pressure Vessels• Pressure Related Valves• Pressure Release Valves• Process and Materials Handling Equipment• Storm Water Management

Have Facilities Inspections

• Look for things that could cause discharge of priority chemicals

• Things that could cause contact with finished or unfinished goods (rock in a quarry)

• Bins and related dust patterns

• Lot of things can be added to inspections to avoid equipment failures

Lots of Inspections• Most inspections can be visual

• Need to have “qualified personnel” do inspections– Should be a responsible person who keeps a record of

finding and response actions– Need to be familiar with SWPPP– Some have suggested surveillance and security

people

• Occasionally need chemical and acoustic weld tests

Formulate Spill Prevention

• Need Spill Prevention and Response Plan

• Look at previous spill records to determine what areas are spill prone

• Look at whether recycling can reduce inventories available to spill

• See what a regular inspection program can do to reduce incidents

Spill Prevention Strategies

• Have standard filling procedures and set ups– jury-rigged filling from drums causes spills

• Have a spill response plan– employees must be aware of what plan is– need to have a spill response team– have a plan for notifying authorities if

necessary including assignments of who will do

Helping Spill Response

• If spillable chemicals are bermed or in containment structures the spill impact will be localized and potentially not contactable by storm water

• Need to make sure that clean up equipment can get access to area– Don’t hose spill into the drain– EPA likes putting down sorbants to soak up

Sucking Up Spills

• Variety of materials available– Clays straws and fly ash are common and

effective sorbants– polymers and beads are pricey– Don’t use ammonium nitrate and wood chips

for diesel fuel

• There are gelling agents to solidify many larger spills for mechanical clean up

Have a Waste Management Plan

• Minimize handling and inventories• Check incoming vehicles for leaks• On Vehicles used for disposal

– Include spill baffles for liquid wastes– use sealed gates and tarps for solids– include tire washes to limit tracking around site

• Try to keep wastes separated to improve the chances of recycling

More Waste Management• Work on loading system efficiency to avoid

spills during loading– Try to minimize fugitive emissions that may

settle and become an issue

• Set up land fill like areas to minimize run-off– keep slopes under 6%– look for areas of low water table– try to avoid getting a groundwater issue out of it

Control Vehicle Washing

• Maintain well but wash only when absolutely needed

• Wash in designated areas only

• Use environmentally friendly phosphate free detergents

Structural Control Practices

• Storm water conveyance (ditches or channels)– line ditches to prevent sediment– actually size the ditch for the run off expected -

don’t just go out for a digging party• its easier to do it right the first time than retrofit

• Use conveyances to keep process waters away from and separate from storm water

Structural Controls• Use Diversion Dikes to block storm waters out

of process areas– larger areas may require something more simple

like ditches and berms

• Build up industrial areas above the grade of surrounding ground– Use paving to funnel process waters to receiving

points– Check for cracks to prevent discharges to

groundwater

More Structural Controls

• Pave over spill areas and surround with containment barriers

• Use Drip Pans for Minor Spills– Create structural depressions to channel spills

to discrete areas for easy clean up with sorbants

• Build covering structures for materials

Erosion Prevention Programs

• Try to maintain lines of vegetation even when disturbance is necessary– Vegetation spreads back easier from established

strips– Established strips help to break run-off and

erosion– Use increase planning needed to work around to

reduce confinements that can cause spills and other problems

More Erosion Prevention

• Leave buffers around sensitive or problem areas– leave buffer zones around wetlands– put buffer zones around parking lots so that run-off

can infiltrate before it goes some place

• Stabilize stream banks so that erosion is reduced

• Put down mulching matting and netting on erosion prone areas

Still More on Erosion

• Establish temporary seeding with fast growing species to stabilize soil

• Resort to chemical stabilization– vinyls , rubbers, asphaultic materials to hold what

can’t be vegetated• be aware this can promote rapid run-off• make sure your stabilizer is not a contaminant

• Use grids of dikes and swells to break the speed of run-off

Erosion Controls

• Use pipe slope drains to collect and run water down sensitive slopes that could be eroded by run-off from other areas

• Install Filter and Silt Fences

• Can use staked straw bales as barriers• Use gravel or stone filter berms (since the

material is a best management practice it usually can’t be a contaminant when used this way)

Erosion Control

• Higher gravel barrier that creates small water impoundment is a check dam– These can settle sediment out of water

• Build inlet protection for storm water drains– These will have to be regularly inspected

Use Sediment Basins• Often serve areas over 5 acres in size• Regular structure or mini-dam requires special

features– dewatering outlet above sediment line

• has a finite sediment storage capacity before clean out is required

• capacity may be sized using Universal Soil Loss Equation

– emergency overflow rip-raped discharge that spreads over an area

– has set free board requirements– May need fences to handle liability problems with dumb

kids drowning

Infiltration Promotion

• Many erosion control practices automatically promote infiltration of uncontacted waters

• Porous pavements• Vegetation strips and grass swales• Infiltration Trenches

– gravel filled trench to take water down• may have to check hydrologic balance issues

Finishing Out the Program

• When all else fails consider water treatment

• After the plan is developed use operating history and review of results to fine tune and repair busts in your plan