Life's a Beach .
Under authority from the federal Clean Water Act, EPA developed general permits for the control of pollutants discharged in storm water runoff from certain industrial facilities. Those federal permits authorized facilities with industrial activities to discharge storm water from point sources located on their property so long as a party files notice of its intent to be covered by the general permit's terms and conditions and prepares and implements a storm water pollution prevention plan. The first step is a determination of whether the facility discharges storm water to a municipal separate storm sewer system or directly to waters in Texas. Those facilities that discharge storm water runoff to a city's sanitary sewer system are not required to obtain a storm water permit. If a facility finds that storm water that falls on its property is discharged to an MS4 or to state waters, then the second step is to determine whether the facility's activities are listed among those categories of industrial activities covered by the proposed rule.