**MEMORA NDUM** 

TO: Public Record for the NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule

EPA Docket Number EPA

- HQ
- OECA
- 2009
- 0274 (www.regulations.gov) FROM: Carey

A. Johnston, P.E. USEPA/OECA/OC ph: (202) 566 1014 johnston.carey @epa.gov DATE: 1 8 June 2015 SUBJECT: Description of Major Facility in the NPDES Program [DCN 0 19 5]
**I. Regulatory Definition and Universe**  EPA’s NPDES regulations at 40 CFR 122.2 broadly define a “ major facility ” as : “M ajor facility means any NPDES “facility or activity” classified as such by the Regional Administrator, or, in the case of “approved State programs,” the Regional Administrator in conjunction with the State Director .” EPA further defined “major facility” in guidance and policy developed in the mid

- 1980s. For industrial facilities, EPA developed a permit rating worksheet used b y permit writers to assist with classification of a facility as a major or nonmajor (a.k.a. “ minor ”)
. See Appendix 1. Worksheets were developed to guide this process . Industrial facilities that scored 80 points or higher using the worksheet were classified as major facilities. POTWS with 1 million gallons of flow per day

or greater and POTWs serving a population of 10,000 or greater were also clas sified as major facilities. Lastly , the Director can also designate facilities as major facilities independent of the worksheet. The number of NPDES major facilities is approximately 6, 7 00
. This is less than 5% of the point sources currentl y regulat ed und er the Clean Water Act. A s discussed in sections II, III, and IV below , EPA’s uses the definition of a major facility in a number of aspects in the NPDES permitting, compliance monitoring and reporting, data entry , and enforcement program s . **II. Focus o**  **n Majors: NPDES Permitting** The designation of “major” for a facility or activity

does not affect the regulatory requirements for the terms or conditions of an NPDES permit. However, EPA r egulations do establish some differences in the documentation and detail required in the administrative process for preparing the draft and final permit. **Fact Sheets**  **:** EPA’s regulations at 40 CFR 124.8(a) require that a “fact sheet” be prepared for every draft permit for a major NPDES facility or activity . For nonmajor facilities or activities,40 CFR 124.7 requires EPA to prepare a “statement of basis” (a less detailed summary of permit decisions) with the draft permit. State permitting authorities are not required to prepare a fact shee t or statement of basis for nonmajor facilities or activities; however, in practice, nearly all states prepare either a fact sheet or statement of basis for all draft permits. **Opportunity for**  **Regional Review**  **of Draft**  **or Proposed**  **Permits :**  EPA regulations at 40 CFR 123.24(d) require that the Memorandum of Agreement between EPA and a state authorized to administer the NPDES program “shall specify the extent to which EPA will waive its right to review, object to, or comment upon state issued permits.....” however, “no waiver of review may be granted for........ (6) Discharges from any major discharger or from any of the 21 industrial categories listed in appendix A to part 122.” Effectively , all draft or proposed permits for major facilities or activities prepared b y authorized states must be pr ovided to the EPA Region for review. However, the Region has no regulatory obligation to review the draft for proposed permits, and each Region determines which permits to review and the appropriate level of review based on Regional resources and prioriti es. Regions ty picall y waive the right to review most nonmajor permits. **Public Notice:**  EPA regulations at 40 CFR 124.10(c)(2)(i) require that the “method” of public notice include “for major permits, ......publication of a notice in a daily or weekl y newspap er within the area affected by the facility or activit y.” This method of notice is in addition to the other forms of notice ( e.g. , direct mailing) required for all draft NPDES permits. **Application for**  **a Permit:**  EPA regulations at 40 CFR 124.3(g) require that for each application to EPA for an NPDES new source, or a “major” NPDES new discharger, the Regional Administrator shall, no later than the effective date of the application, prepare and mail to the applicant, a project decision schedule [details pro vided]. This requirement applies only where EPA is the permitting authority
. **III. Focus on**  **Majors: Compliance Monitoring , Reporting, and Data Entry**  **Inspections :**  EPA regulations at 40 CFR 123.26(e)( 5) require that state NPDES compliance evaluation programs have procedures and ability for inspecting all major dischargers at least annually . EPA’s program performance expectation for inspections was originall y based on the percentage of majors the regul atory authorit y inspected annually. In 1995, in recognition of the environmental impacts by nonmajors, EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) issued guidance allow flexibility to shift some inspection resources from “lower risk majors to higher risk minors.” OECA’s current inspection guidance, Compliance Monitoring Strategy, issued in 20 14 sets the goal of inspecting majors on a 2 to 3 y ear cy cle and nonmajors on a 5 y ear cy cle. **Reporting :**  The federal regulations at 40 CFR 123.45 re quire periodic reporting of noncompliance at major facilities

– which includes the Quarterl y Noncompliance Report (QNCR). The regulations require public reporting and further classification of the severit y of reportable noncompliance (RNC) violations into Category Iand Category

II.**Data Entry**  **:** EPA expects the regulatory authority to enter all facility

location and outfall information, discharge monitoring report (DMR), inspection, and enforcement information for majors into EPA’s national NPDES data sy stem (ICI S
- NPDES) . For nonmajors, EPA currently expects a limited subset of data (e.g., facility identification, limited DMR data, and inspections) to be entered into its national data s ys tem by states. **IV. Focus on Majors: Enforcement Expectations**  Significant Noncompliance (SNC) is a non

- regulatory management tool developed by EPA to identify

a subset of the Categories I and II RNC violations reported on the QNCR that EPA believes merits special attention. EPA’s NPDES Enforcement Management System establishes the performance expectation of timel y formal enforcement response by the regulatory authority when SNC violations are not corrected promptly by the permittee. EPA has built management structures, tools and policies around the concept of “timel y enforcement
. ” The percentage rate of majors with SNC violations over time is used as an enforcement program performance measure b y EPA. Historically , the national SNC rate for majors has consistently averaged 20% to 24%.**Appendix 1** 

**Summary of Existing Non**  **- Municipal Rating Criteria:** 

 **Automatic “Major” Status for:** o Large (>= 500 MW) steam electric power plants w/ once through cooling o Nuclear power plants o Steam electric power plants with cooling water discharge > 25% of 7Q10 o MS4s serving a populat ion greater than 100,000

 **Rating Factors for:** o Presence of **toxic pollutants**

– Points established using SI C code factors from table o **Wastewater flow or**  **Wastewater and stream flow**

– points based on either volume and ty pe of effluent flow or volume and ty pe of flow relative to receiving water flow o **Mass of conventional pollutants** discharged (BOD/COD; TSS; Nitrogen)
 Note: nitrogen is not a “conventional pollutant” o If there is a **public drinking water supply**  within 50 miles downstream of the discharge, additional points are assigned based on a human health toxicity rating. Points established using SI C code factors from table (source unknown) o **Water quality factors**

– points assigned if:
 W QBELor WLA developed for the permit, **or**  Discharge of impairing pollutant to impaired water, **or**  Discharge found to have RP for WET o Proximity

to **near coastal waters**

– points assigned based on a PCS HQ priority code
 Additional points for discharges to **prior ity estuaries**  (NEP) and Chesapeake Ba y.  Additional points for discharges to **Great Lakes Areas of Concern**
.
 **Discretionary Majors:** o Rating sheet allows an EPA Region to designate any other facility

( i.e. , any facility scoring less than 80 points) as a **“discretionary major.”** However, the number of discretionary

majors is “limited” to 50 facilities, or 10% of scored majors plus 40, whichever is higher.
 The rating sheet provides an Appendix D with some suggested criteria for rating **Coal Facilities** (coal m ines) as discretionary majors.