The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality recently issued their Public Notice for comments on the 2020 reissuance of the statewide Industrial Stormwater General Permit for Industrial Activities – more commonly called “the General Permit” by industries. The General Permit was initially issued in July 1992 and has been updated every five years since its initial issuance. The permit allows for the discharge of storm water from regulated industrial activities. The General Permit that Mississippi industries are operating under currently will expire on October 31, 2020. This current permit went through a major overhaul in 2015 with the addition of new forms, standards, and reporting requirements. The current permit has significantly improved standardization across the board in recordkeeping and reporting, and it comes as no surprise that the current General Permit was not significantly altered. Some notable changes to the General Permit are as follows:
- The Baseline General Permit was renamed “Industrial Stormwater General Permit”
- Changes to the footprint of the facility has been included and added to the Expansion and Modification Notification section of the General Permit.
- Rubbish Sites Accepting Industrial Waste have additional SWPPP requirements in order to assure that rubbish sites accepting industrial waste as nonhazardous solid waste are covered under a stormwater permit. These rubbish sites have also been added to the Monthly Site Inspections section of the General Permit.
- Additional Requirements for Automotive Salvage has been added to this permit for added clarification.
- The coal piles section has been amended to clarify its limitations.
- The MDEQ is encouraging electronic submittals (if required). Electronic submittals can be submitted at the following link: https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/rmcgp/. After December 20, 2020, forms must be submitted electronically.
- A modification form has been added to the forms package of the General Permit to address any amendments denoted in ACT4, condition S-3 of the General Permit.
MDEQ evaluated the draft General Permit and concluded that it met the necessary requirements of the Clean Water Act and the Mississippi Air and Water Pollution Control Law. However, the determination to issue the General Permit is currently under a 30-day public comment period, so if regulated industries have proposed changes or issues with the current General Permit, these comments should be made to the MDEQ. I encourage any facilities who are regulated by the General Permit to review the draft permit and the associated fact sheet. These items as well as the public notice (with public comment contact information) can be found here: https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/permits/environmental-permits-division/generalpermits/industrial-stormwater/.
After the 30-day public comment period, be on the lookout for your recoverage forms! It is important to get these forms completed and Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP) updated in a timely manner. As always, if you have any questions or need help navigating what different parts of the draft General Permit mean, how to complete your recoverage forms, or how to update your SWPPP, we at PPM are here to help.
Contributed by:
Annie McIlwain
District Manager, Jackson, MS Office
(601) 956-8233