UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 

WASHINGTON. D.C. 20460 

MAR 01 1988 OFFICE OF 

WATER 

MEMORANDUM 

SUBJECT: General Permit Program Guidance 

FROM : Martha G. Prothro, Director 

Permits Division 

TO: Water Management Division Directors 

NPDES State Directors 

I am pleased to issue the attached General Permit Program 

Guidance, which provides a streamlined approach to the general 

permit process. This guidance serves two purposes. First, it 

provides a centralized source of information about the general 

permit process. This will enable all permitting authorities to 

benefit from the Agency’s experience in this area. It will also 

promote some consistency in the development and application of 

general permits among the States and Regions. Second, it 

simplifies the existing procedures for the development and 

oversight of general permits. Formal review by EPA Headquarters 

will be limited to offshore oil and gas general permits and other 

general permits of national significance. In addition, the 

guidance describes how other general permits may be used as 

models to develop new general permits. Finally, the guidance 

identifies a simple method of compliance monitoring through the 

use of the Permit Compliance System (PCS) data base. 

With the issuance of this guidance and the increased 

procedural flexibility it offers, I urge States without general 

permit programs to carefully consider the benefits of obtaining 

authorization to issue general permits. As many of you know, 

general permits can be an effective tool for reducing permit 

backlogs that are a problem for some States. In addition, 

general permit authority will become increasingly important as we 

issue general permits to storm water dischargers in order to 

implement section 405 of the Water Quality Act of 1987. 

If you have questions on the guidance, please give me a call 

or have your staff contact Kevin Smith of this office. He can be 

reached at (202) 475-7017 or FTS 475-7017. 

Attachment 
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GENERAL PERMIT PROGRAM GUIDANCE 

PREFACE 

This guidance document is intended to: 

demonstrate the benefits of general permits as an 

administrative mechanism to assist permitting authorities to 

meet the goals of the Clean Water Act and to regulate 

numerous discharges in similar, but not necessarily 

identical, circumstances: 

assist permitting authorities that currently have general 

permit authority in the development and issuance of general 

permits: 

assist those States currently approved to administer the 

basic NPDES permit program to obtain general permit 

authority; and 

identify general permits that have been developed by both 

EPA Regions and approved States. 

Organization 

This guidance discusses the background and history of the 

general permit program (Chapter 1), reviews the evolution of the 

general permit program in terms of its legal framework (Chapter 

2), explains the process for developing and issuing a general 

permit (Chapter 3), examines EPA’s and the States’ experience in 

the development and issuance of general permits (Chapter 4), and 

details the process for assumption by a State of general permit 

authority (Chapter 5). 

Appendices 

This guidance also provides several appendices that should 

prove useful as reference materials. Appendix A details federal 

Register publication requirements for EPA-issued draft and final 

NPDES general permits. Appendix B furnishes EPA Headquarters’ 

procedures for the review of draft and final general permits. 

Appendix C discusses the continuation of EPA-issued general 

permits. Appendix D lists all the existing general permits that 

EPA Headquarters has on file for use as model general permits. 

Appendices E and F provide copies of a supplemental Attorney 

General’s Statement and a modified Memorandum of Agreement as 

examples of how a State NPDES program may be modified to obtain 

general permit authority. Appendix G contains the federal NPDES 

general permit cites. Appendix H lists the Standard Industrial 

Codes used for general permits. 

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