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MEMORANDUM

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: 30 June 2014

SUBJECT: Notes from State Technical Workgroup Meeting (26 June 2014) [DCN 0142]

Overview 

This was the fifteenth meeting for the EPA-state technical workgroup, which is 

discussing key issues related to the proposed NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule (eRule). These 

discussions are informing the forthcoming supplemental Federal Register notice and they will 

continue beyond the publication of the supplemental notice to help EPA address state 

comments. EPA participants will include the OECA eRule Team as well as representatives from 

EPA’s Office of Water and Office of Environmental Information. Technical workgroup members 

are listed below in Tables 1 and 2. The agenda for this meeting is also provided below. EPA is 

summarizing the notes from these discussions for the docket in order to provide transparency 

on EPA’s outreach during the rulemaking process. The OECA eRule team will also be available 

for any other stakeholder group that would like to discuss the eRule.

Meeting Notes

EPA (Mr. Carey Johnston) started the meeting by reminding state participants that in 

addition to raising questions during the technical workgroup meetings, states can email their 

questions on the proposed rule (including the data elements) to EPA. Questions on all aspects 

of the proposed rule can be sent to Mr. Johnston. Mr. Johnston then asked if there were any 

comments on the notes from the four previous meetings (5/22, 5/29, 6/5, 6/12) that he sent to 

the workgroup in a June 18th email. There were no comments. Mr. Johnston noted that 

workgroup member can still send comments on these meeting notes to him by e-mail. He also 

noted that EPA sent state workgroup members a June 19th email with a spreadsheet showing 

the different Appendix A data elements and how they match up against the current 

configuration of ICIS-NPDES. See the worksheet titled: “Data Elements (ICIS-NPDES)”. He asked 

if there were any questions on how to interpret this spreadsheet. 

Mr. Johnston then asked teleconference participants to focus on the thermal variance 

data elements [CWA 316(a)] and cooling water intake data elements [CWA 316(b)]. The source 
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of these data elements are NPDES permit applications and Notices of Intent (NOI) (see 30 July 

2013; 78 FR 46098-461000).

Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act requires EPA to issue regulations on the design and 

operation of intake structures, in order to minimize adverse environmental impacts. EPA 

promulgated regulations in 2001, 2003, 2006 and 2014. The requirements are included in the 

NPDES permit regulations, 40 CFR Parts 122 and 125 (Subparts I, J, and N). CWA Section 316(a) 

authorizes the permitting authority (either the authorized state or EPA) to impose alternative, 

less stringent effluent limits for the control of the thermal component of a discharge in lieu of 

the effluent limits that would otherwise be required under CWA §301 or §306. A variance 

allows facilities to discharge cooling water at an alternative, less stringent thermal effluent limit 

that is still protective of aquatic life. To obtain a CWA §316(a) thermal variance, the operator of 

a facility must demonstrate to the permitting authority that an alternative thermal discharge 

limit will be protective of the balanced, indigenous population of shellfish, fish, and wildlife.

This alternative effluent limit, or variance, is only in effect for the duration of the permit.

Mr. Johnston started the technical discussion by reading the name of each cooling water 

intake data element along with the corresponding data description and regulatory or policy 

citation. After reading about five to ten elements at a time, Mr. Johnston asked for input from 

the technical workgroup. Below are some questions and comments from the technical 

workgroup.

 Washington state noted that many of the cooling water intake data elements appear to be 

based on EPA’s previous rulemaking that relied on NPDES permit writers best professional 

judgment (BPJ). He noted that OECA should revised these data elements to match the 

recently signed CWA 316(b) rulemaking. 

 Mr. Johnston asked Mr. Tom Born to provide an update on the recently signed CWA 316(b) 

rulemaking. Mr. Born noted that the rule was signed by the EPA Administrator on 19 May 

2014 and is currently being prepared for publication. Mr. Born expects that the signed rule 

will be published in the middle of August with an effective data 60 days after publication.1

 New York noted that they collect additional data during the NPDES permit term and not 

through the NPDES permit issuance process. Mr. Johnston noted that OECA worked with 

OW to identify the cooling water intake data elements that are submitted by NPDES permit 

applicants to their permitting authority. 

 Washington state noted that EPA’s NPDES permit application forms need to be updated to 

reflect the CWA 316(b) regulations.

 Indiana (Mr. Tom Easterly) asked how these cooling water intake data elements will affect 

the 90% threshold calculation for the proposed State Readiness Criteria. Mr. Johnston noted 

 

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See http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/lawsguidance/cwa/316b/
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that these data will be generated by states and as they will likely all be coming from 

individual NPDES permit applications. Consequently, these state generated data do not 

factor into the 90% threshold calculation, which instead applies to the percentage of NPDES 

regulated entities that are utilizing electronic reporting.

 Mr. Johnston also noted that NPDES regulated entities can collect these data from NPDES 

regulated entities via spreadsheets or electronic reporting tools that do not need to be 

CROMERR compliant (as the paper copy of the NPDES application form is the copy of 

record). Mr. Easterly asked if EPA can make an electronic reporting tools available to states. 

Mr. Johnston replied that EPA is planning on making the NPDES Electronic Reporting Tool 

(NeT) available to states and that this tool can be used to electronically report data from 

individual NPDES permit applications.

 Washington state noted that EPA’s previous rulemaking, 40 CFR 125.90(b), requires the 

NPDES regulated entity to submit very specific data to the NPDES permit writer so that they 

permit writer can use best professional judgment to establish the best technology available 

for minimizing adverse environmental impact associated with the use of cooling water 

intake structures. Washington state noted that the 316(b) rulemaking signed on May 19th

will reduce the need for NPDES regulated entity to submit very specific data to the NPDES 

permit writer as most NPDES permit writers will instead be using EPA’s new regulation. 

 Mr. Easterly asked for additional clarity on the Percentage of Mean Annual Flow 

Withdrawn – Fresh Water Facilities data element. Mr. Johnston provided the following 

example. If the mean annual flow of the source water body was 100 million gallons per day 

and the design intake flow for the entire facility was 1 million gallons per day, then the 

NPDES regulated entity would report 1%.

 ACWA (Mr. Sean Rolland) asked how EPA will communicate changes to states on Appendix 

A after publication of the supplemental notice. Mr. Johnston stated that these discussions 

will continue beyond the publication of the supplemental notice to help EPA address state 

comments. He noted that EPA plans on using these technical exchanges to discuss potential 

changes to data elements. 

 Oklahoma (Mr. David Pruitt) stated that they hope that a number of data elements are 

removed from Appendix A. He noted that they see a fair amount of burden associated with 

collecting these data. He noted that they would also like to see a longer time period for 

implementation of the rule. 

Mr. Johnston then read off the names of the thermal variance data elements (Part 

46100). Mr. Johnston asked for input from the technical workgroup. Below are some questions 

and comments from the technical workgroup.
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 Mr. Easterly noted that some of the thermal variances granted by Indiana are really old. He 

asked for EPA to clarify whether the Thermal Variance Date data element tracks the date 

the first variance was granted or the most recent. He noted that Indiana grants these 

variances upon permit re-issuance. Mr. Johnston noted that this data element tracks each 

thermal variance issuance and that OECA will update Appendix A to make this clear.

 Tennessee noted that there are a number of required studies and reports that the NPDES 

permittee must submit to them in order to continue a thermal variance. He asked if the 

permit issuance data could be used to indicate when these reports were submitted by the 

permittee to Tennessee. Mr. Johnston stated that this would be appropriate as this data 

element is meant to track whether states are receiving the necessary reports to support 

each thermal variance for each NPDES permit issuance or renewal.

Mr. Johnston took a poll of the participants on when they can hold their next meeting. 

The group agreed to hold their next meeting on Thursday, July 10th at 1PM (Eastern) to finish 

the discussion on pretreatment data elements.

Next Steps

The next technical workgroup meeting is July 10th. 
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State Technical Workgroup Meeting – NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule

26 June 2014

Agenda

1pm Introduction/Roll Call 

1:10 Discussion of thermal variance data elements [CWA 316(a)] and cooling 

water intake data elements [CWA 316(b)]

1:45 End of Call

Quick Reminder

 The technical workgroup is not a formal decision-making body. The workgroup is expected 

to develop, research, and evaluate options for consideration by EPA and state senior 

management.

 There are no formal quorum rules for the workgroup. Scheduled teleconferences will 

proceed with whichever workgroup members call in to participate.

 There will be no formal voting or consensus of the workgroup. Instead, the workgroup is 

expected to try to develop recommendations reflecting their various perspectives, not 

achieve consensus.

 Summaries of the workgroup’s discussions will be prepared for and reviewed by the 

workgroup, for presentation to EPA senior management and other states and the 

rulemaking record. The discussions summaries will outline the major elements of the 

discussions, areas of agreement and any dissenting views.
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Table 1: State Technical Workgroup Members

Main Contact State or 

Organization Main Contact Email

State/Org. 

Present? 

(Yes/No)

Sean Rolland ACWA srolland@acwa-us.org Yes

Karen Lechner AK karen.lechner@alaska.gov No

Christy Monk

AL

cvm@adem.state.al.us

Eric Cleckler ecleckler@adem.state.al.us Yes

Glenda Dean gld@adem.state.al.us

Teresa Marks

AR

marks@adeq.state.ar.us

Yes

Pat Goff goff@adeq.state.ar.us

Mo Shafii shafii@adeq.state.ar.us

Karen Bassett bassett@adeq.state.ar.us

David Ramsey ramsey@adeq.state.ar.us

Ellen Carpenter carpenter@adeq.state.ar.us

Wendy LeStarge

AZ

lestarge.wendy@azdeq.gov

Robin Belley belley.robin@azdeq.gov Yes

David Lelsz lelsz.david@azdeq.gov;

Andy Putnam

CO

andrew.putnam@state.co.us

goff@adeq.state.ar.us Yes

Elisa Willard elisa.willard@state.co.us

Bob Zimmerman DE robert.zimmerman@state.de.us

stephanie.bower@state.de.us No

Beth Graves ECOS bgraves@ecos.org No

Chris Klena

FL

chris.m.klena@dep.state.fl.us

Yes

Jessica Kleinfelter jessica.kleinfelter@dep.state.fl.us

Edward Smith edward.c.smith@dep.state.fl.us

Frances Carpenter frances.carpenter@dnr.state.ga.us

Frances Carpenter GA frances.carpenter@dnr.state.ga.us Yes

Tom Easterly

IN

teasterl@idem.in.gov

ckoontz@idem.in.gov

Yes Jeremy Chenevert jcheneve@idem.in.gov

Mark Stanifer mstanife@idem.in.gov

Courtney Cswercko IA courtney.cswercko@dnr.iowa.gov No

Ed Dillingham

KS

edillingham@kdheks.gov

Steve Caspers scaspers@kdheks.gov No

Shelly Shores-Miller sshoresm@kdheks.gov

Shawn Hokanson KY shawn.hokanson@ky.gov No

Grace Scott

MI

scottg@michigan.gov

No Carla Davidson davidsonc@michigan.gov
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Main Contact State or 

Organization Main Contact Email

State/Org. 

Present? 

(Yes/No)

Ruth Wallace

MO

ruth.wallace@dnr.mo.gov

Walter Fett walter.fett@dnr.mo.gov No

Christopher Miller epermitting@dnr.mo.gov

Tamara Dahl

MN

tamara.dahl@state.mn.us

Yes Paul Scheirer paul.scheirer@state.mn.us

John Murphy NEIWPCC jmurphy@neiwpcc.org No

Jason Lonardo

NJ

jason.lonardo@dep.state.nj.us

Yes Julio Collazo julio.collazo@dep.state.nj.us

Robert Wither

NY

rewither@gw.dec.state.ny.us

Yes Joseph DiMura jxdimura@gw.dec.state.ny.us

Shellie Chard-McClary

OK

shellie.chard-mcclary@deq.ok.gov

Roy Walker roy.walker@deq.ok.gov Yes

David Pruitt david.pruitt@deq.ok.gov

Jim Billings OR billings.jim@deq.state.or.us Yes

Sean Furjanic PA sefurjanic@pa.gov No

Kent Woodmansey

SD

kent.woodmansey@state.sd.us

Tim Flor tim.flor@state.sd.us Yes

Albert Spangler albert.spangler@state.sd.us

Lawrence Bunting

TN

lawrence.bunting@TN.gov 

Yes Yatasha Moore yatasha.moore@tn.gov 

Kim Wilson

TX

kim.wilson@tceq.texas.gov

Yes Rebecca Villalba rebecca.villalba@tceq.texas.gov

Lynley Doyen lynley.doyen@tceq.texas.gov

Kimberly Shepard kimberly.shepard@tceq.texas.gov

Jeff Studenka UT jstudenka@utah.gov No

Jerome Brooks

VA

jerome.brooks@deq.virginia.gov

Deborah Debiasi Deborah.DeBiasi@deq.virginia.gov No

Phani Eturu phani.eturu@deq.virginia.gov

Stephen Bernath

WA

sber461@ecy.wa.gov

Dave Knight dakn461@ecy.wa.gov Yes

Nancy Kmet nkme461@ecy.wa.gov
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Table 2: EPA Technical Workgroup Members

Name EPA Office Email Present? 

(Yes/No)

Lisa Lund OECA/OC/IO lund.lisa@epa.gov No

John Dombrowski OECA/OC/ETDD dombrowski.john@epa.gov No

Andy Hudock OECA/OC/ETDD hudock.andrew@epa.gov Yes

Rochele Kadish OECA/OC/ETDD kadish.rochele@epa.gov Yes

Carey Johnston OECA/OC/ETDD johnston.carey@epa.gov Yes

Jackie Clark OW/OWM/WPD clark.jackie@epa.gov Yes

Jennifer Chan OW/OWM/WPD chan.jennifer@epa.gov Yes

Tom Born OW/OST/EAD born.tom@epa.gov Yes

Roy Chaudet OEI/OIC/IESD chaudet.roy@epa.gov No

Chuck Freeman OEI/OIC/IESD freeman.charles@epa.gov Yes

Aditi Prabhu OGC/WLO prabhu.aditi@epa.gov No

David Apanian Region 4 apanian.david@epa.gov Yes

Glynis Hill OP/ORPM/PRAD hill.glynis@epa.gov No