Source: http://register.dls.virginia.gov/details.aspx?id=4305
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 00:10:30
Document Index: 179321498

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 62', '§ 402', 'arts 122', 'arts 449', '§ 54', '§ 6901', '§ 701', '§ 2601', '§ 1401', '§ 208', '§ 306', '§ 306', '§ 306', '§ 212', '§ 502', '§ 502', 'art 449', 'art 467', 'art 427', 'art 461', 'art 407', 'art 408', 'art 458', 'art 411', 'art 437', 'art 434', 'art 465', 'art 451', 'art 468', 'art 405', 'art 469', 'art 413', 'art 457', 'art 412', 'art 424', 'art 418', 'art 426', 'art 406', 'art 454', 'art 460', 'art 447', 'art 415', 'art 420', 'art 445', 'art 425', 'art 432', 'art 433', 'art 464', 'art 438', 'art 436', 'art 421', 'art 471', 'art 435', 'art 440', 'art 414', 'art 446', 'art 443', 'art 455', 'art 419', 'art 439', 'art 422', 'art 459', 'art 463', 'art 466', 'art 430', 'art 428', 'art 133', 'art 417', 'art 423', 'art 409', 'art 410', 'art 429', 'art 129', 'art 442', 'art 444', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 401', '§ 208', '§ 403', '§ 403', '§ 301', '§ 301', '§ 62', 'art 412', 'art 412', '§ 62', '§ 62', '§ 62']

Vol. 30 Iss. 11 (Final Regulation) 9VAC25-31, Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (Vpdes) Permit Regulation January 27, 2014
Vol. 30 Iss. 11 - January 27, 2014
REGISTRAR'S NOTICE: The State Water Control Board is claiming an exemption from Article 2 of the Administrative Process Act in accordance with (i) § 2.2-4006 A 3 of the Code of Virginia, which excludes regulations that consist only of changes in style or form or corrections of technical errors; (ii) § 2.2-4006 A 4 a of the Code of Virginia, which excludes regulations that are necessary to conform to changes in Virginia statutory law where no agency discretion is involved; and (iii) § 2.2-4006 A 4 c of the Code of Virginia, which excludes regulations that are necessary to meet the requirements of federal law or regulations provided such regulations do not differ materially from those required by federal law or regulation. The State Water Control Board will receive, consider, and respond to petitions by any interested person at any time with respect to reconsideration or revision.
Title of Regulation: 9VAC25-31. Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) Permit Regulation (amending 9VAC25-31-10, 9VAC25-31-25, 9VAC25-31-30, 9VAC25-31-50, 9VAC25-31-200, 9VAC25-31-300, 9VAC25-31-310).
Statutory Authority: § 62.1-44.15 of the Code of Virginia; § 402 of the Clean Water Act; 40 CFR Parts 122, 123, 124, 403, and 503.
Agency Contact: Frederick Cunningham, Department of Environmental Quality, 629 East Main Street, P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA 23218, telephone (804) 698-4285, FAX (804) 698-4032, TTY (804) 698-4021, or email frederick.cunningham@deq.virginia.gov.
Background: The Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) permit regulation governs the discharge of pollutants from various sources into state waters. The State Water Control Board has the authority to administer the federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program within the Commonwealth, and as such, the program is called the VPDES. Operations subject to these regulations are required to be covered under the (VPDES) Permit Regulation (9VAC25-31) or VPDES General Permit Regulation (9VAC25-191) if they discharge.
The amendments (i) incorporate into VPDES regulations recent changes to 40 CFR 122.26, to 40 CFR Parts 449 and 451, and to §§ 54.1-2301 and 62.1-44.5 of the Code of Virginia and (ii) update the regulation to allow the use of the latest versions of federal effluent guidelines.
Definitions and General Program Requirements
"Best management practices (BMPs)" or "BMPs" means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to implement the prohibitions listed in 9VAC25-31-770 and to prevent or reduce the pollution of surface waters. BMPs also include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control plant site run-off, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw material storage.
(1) Pollutants are discharged into surface waters of the state through a manmade ditch, flushing system, or other similar manmade device; or
"Designated project area" means the portions of surface within which the permittee or permit applicant plans to confine the cultivated species, using a method or plan or operation (including, but not limited to, physical confinement) which, on the basis of reliable scientific evidence, is expected to ensure that specific individual organisms comprising an aquaculture crop will enjoy increased growth attributable to the discharge of pollutants, and be harvested within a defined geographic area.
"Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR)" or "DMR" means the form supplied by the department or an equivalent form developed by the permittee and approved by the board, for the reporting of self-monitoring results by permittees.
"Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)" or "EPA" means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
"Interference" means an indirect discharge which, alone or in conjunction with an indirect discharge or discharges from other sources, both: (i) inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations, or its sludge processes, use or disposal; and (ii) therefore (ii) is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the POTW's VPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation) or of the prevention of biosolids use or sewage sludge disposal in compliance with the following statutory provisions and regulations or permits issued thereunder (or more stringent state or local regulations): Section 405 of the Clean Water Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) (including Title II, more commonly referred to as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) (42 USC § 6901 et seq.), and including state regulations contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Subtitle D of the SWDA) the Clean Air Act (42 USC § 701 et seq.), the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 USC § 2601 et seq.), and the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (33 USC § 1401 et seq.).
"Land application area" means, in regard to an AFO, land under the control of an AFO owner or operator, that is owned, rented, or leased to which manure, litter or process wastewater from the production area may be applied.
"Manmade" means constructed by man and used for the purpose of transporting wastes.
"Municipal separate storm sewer" means a conveyance or system of conveyances, including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, manmade channels, or storm drains, (i) owned or operated by a state, city, town, borough, county, parish, district, association, or other public body (created by or pursuant to state law) having jurisdiction over disposal of sewage, industrial wastes, storm water, or other wastes, including special districts under state law, such as a sewer district, flood control district or drainage district, or similar entity, or an Indian tribe or an authorized Indian tribal organization or a designated and approved management agency under § 208 of the CWA, that discharges to surface waters of the state; (ii) designed or used for collecting or conveying storm water; (iii) that is not a combined sewer; and (iv) that is not part of a publicly owned treatment works (POTW).
This definition includes an indirect discharger which commences discharging into surface waters after August 13, 1979. It also includes any existing mobile point source (other than an offshore or coastal oil and gas exploratory drilling rig or a coastal oil and gas developmental drilling rig) such as a seafood processing rig, seafood processing vessel, or aggregate plant, that begins discharging at a site for which it does not have a permit; and any offshore or coastal mobile oil and gas exploratory drilling rig or coastal mobile oil and gas developmental drilling rig that commences the discharge of pollutants after August 13, 1979.
(a) 1. After promulgation of standards of performance under § 306 of the CWA which are applicable to such source; or
(b) 2. After proposal of standards of performance in accordance with § 306 of the CWA which are applicable to such source, but only if the standards are promulgated in accordance with § 306 of the CWA within 120 days of their proposal.
1. a. The building, structure, facility or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located;
"Privately owned treatment works (PVOTW)" or "PVOTW" means any device or system which is (i) used to treat wastes from any facility whose operator is not the operator of the treatment works and (ii) not a POTW.
"Publicly owned treatment works (POTW)" or "POTW" means a treatment works as defined by § 212 of the CWA, which is owned by a state or municipality (as defined by § 502(4) of the CWA). This definition includes any devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature. It also includes sewers, pipes, and other conveyances only if they convey wastewater to a POTW treatment plant. The term also means the municipality as defined in § 502(4) of the CWA, which has jurisdiction over the indirect discharges to and the discharges from such a treatment works.
"Sewage sludge" means any solid, semisolid, or liquid residue removed during the treatment of municipal waste water wastewater or domestic sewage. Sewage sludge includes, but is not limited to, solids removed during primary, secondary, or advanced waste water wastewater treatment, scum, domestic septage, portable toilet pumpings, type III marine sanitation device pumpings, and sewage sludge products. Sewage sludge does not include grit or screenings, or ash generated during the incineration of sewage sludge.
b. Any other industrial user that: discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater); contributes a process wastestream which makes up 5.0% or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant; or is designated as such by the Control Authority control authority, on the basis that the industrial user has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement.
"Storm water discharge associated with industrial activity" means the discharge from any conveyance which is used for collecting and conveying storm water and which is directly related to manufacturing, processing, or raw materials storage areas at an industrial plant. The term does not include discharges from facilities or activities excluded from the VPDES program. For the categories of industries identified in this definition, the term includes, but is not limited to, storm water discharges from industrial plant yards; immediate access roads and rail lines used or traveled by carriers of raw materials, manufactured products, waste material, or by-products byproducts used or created by the facility; material handling sites; refuse sites; sites used for the application or disposal of process waste waters; sites used for the storage and maintenance of material handling equipment; sites used for residual treatment, storage, or disposal; shipping and receiving areas; manufacturing buildings; storage areas (including tank farms) for raw materials, and intermediate and final products; and areas where industrial activity has taken place in the past and significant materials remain and are exposed to storm water. For the purposes of this definition, material handling activities include the storage, loading and unloading, transportation, or conveyance of any raw material, intermediate product, final product, by-product byproduct, or waste product. The term excludes areas located on plant lands separate from the plant's industrial activities, such as office buildings and accompanying parking lots as long as the drainage from the excluded areas is not mixed with storm water drained from the above described areas. Industrial facilities (including industrial facilities that are federally, state, or municipally owned or operated that meet the description of the facilities listed in subdivisions 1 through 10 of this definition) include those facilities designated under the provisions of 9VAC25-31-120 A 1 c. The following categories of facilities are considered to be engaging in industrial activity for purposes of this subsection:
1. Facilities subject to storm water effluent limitations guidelines, new source performance standards, or toxic pollutant effluent standards under 40 CFR Subchapter N (except facilities with toxic pollutant effluent standards which that are exempted under category 10);
3. Facilities classified as Standard Industrial Classifications 10 through 14 (mineral industry) including active or inactive mining operations (except for areas of coal mining operations no longer meeting the definition of a reclamation area under 40 CFR 434.11(l) because the performance bond issued to the facility by the appropriate SMCRA authority has been released, or except for areas of non-coal mining operations which have been released from applicable state or federal reclamation requirements after December 17, 1990) and oil and gas exploration, production, processing, or treatment operations, or transmission facilities that discharge storm water contaminated by contact with or that has come into contact with, any overburden, raw material, intermediate products, finished products, by-products byproducts, or waste products located on the site of such operations; (inactive mining operations are mining sites that are not being actively mined, but which have an identifiable owner/operator; inactive mining sites do not include sites where mining claims are being maintained prior to disturbances associated with the extraction, beneficiation, or processing of mined materials, nor sites where minimal activities are undertaken for the sole purpose of maintaining a mining claim);
"Treatment works treating domestic sewage" means a POTW or any other sewage sludge or waste water wastewater treatment devices or systems, regardless of ownership (including federal facilities), used in the storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of municipal or domestic sewage, including land dedicated for the disposal of sewage sludge. This definition does not include septic tanks or similar devices. For purposes of this definition, domestic sewage includes waste and waste water wastewater from humans or household operations that are discharged to or otherwise enter a treatment works.
"Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) permit" or "VPDES permit" means a document issued by the board pursuant to this chapter authorizing, under prescribed conditions, the potential or actual discharge of pollutants from a point source to surface waters and the use of biosolids or disposal of sewage sludge. Under the approved state program, a VPDES permit is equivalent to an NPDES permit.
9VAC25-31-25. Applicability of incorporated references based on the dates that they became effective.
Except as noted, when a regulation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency set forth in Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is referenced and incorporated herein that regulation shall be as it exists and has been published in the July 1, 2012 2013, update.
9VAC25-31-30. Federal effluent guidelines.
A. The following federal regulations are hereby incorporated by reference:
Airport Deicing Operations - 40 CFR Part 449
Aluminum Forming - 40 CFR Part 467
Asbestos Manufacturing - 40 CFR Part 427
Battery Manufacturing - 40 CFR Part 461
Canned and Preserved Fruits and Vegetables - 40 CFR Part 407
Canned and Preserved Seafood - 40 CFR Part 408
Carbon Black Manufacturing - 40 CFR Part 458
Cement Manufacturing - 40 CFR Part 411
Centralized Waste Treatment - 40 CFR Part 437
Coal Mining - 40 CFR Part 434
Coil Coating - 40 CFR Part 465
Concentrated Aquatic Animal Production - 40 CFR Part 451
Copper Forming - 40 CFR Part 468
Dairy Products - 40 CFR Part 405
Electrical and Electronic Components - 40 CFR Part 469
Electroplating - 40 CFR Part 413
Explosives Manufacturing - 40 CFR Part 457
Feedlots - 40 CFR Part 412 (2009)
Ferroalloy Manufacturing - 40 CFR Part 424
Fertilizer Manufacturing - 40 CFR Part 418
Glass Manufacturing - 40 CFR Part 426
Grain Mills - 40 CFR Part 406
Gum and Wood Chemicals Manufacturing - 40 CFR Part 454
Hospitals - 40 CFR Part 460
Ink Formulating - 40 CFR Part 447
Inorganic Chemicals Manufacturing - 40 CFR Part 415
Iron and Steel Manufacturing - 40 CFR Part 420
Landfills - 40 CFR Part 445
Leather Tanning and Finishing - 40 CFR Part 425
Meat Products - 40 CFR Part 432
Metal Finishing - 40 CFR Part 433
Metal Molding and Casting - 40 CFR Part 464
Metal Products and Machinery - 40 CFR Part 438
Mineral Mining and Processing - 40 CFR Part 436
Nonferrous Metals - 40 CFR Part 421
Nonferrous Metal Forming - 40 CFR Part 471
Oil and Gas Extraction - 40 CFR Part 435
Ore Mining and Dressing - 40 CFR Part 440
Organic Chemicals, Plastics and Synthetic Fibers - 40 CFR Part 414
Paint Formulating - 40 CFR Part 446
Paving and Roofing Materials - 40 CFR Part 443
Pesticide Chemicals - 40 CFR Part 455
Petroleum Refining - 40 CFR Part 419
Pharmaceutical Manufacturing - 40 CFR Part 439
Phosphate Manufacturing - 40 CFR Part 422
Photographic Processing - 40 CFR Part 459
Plastics Molding and Forming - 40 CFR Part 463
Porcelain Enameling - 40 CFR Part 466
Pulp, Paper and Paperboard - 40 CFR Part 430
Rubber Processing - 40 CFR Part 428
Secondary Treatment - 40 CFR Part 133
Soaps and Detergents - 40 CFR Part 417
Steam Electric Power Generation - 40 CFR Part 423
Sugar Processing - 40 CFR Part 409
Textile Mills - 40 CFR Part 410
Timber Products - 40 CFR Part 429
Toxic Pollutant Effluent Standards - 40 CFR Part 129
Transportation Equipment Cleaning - 40 CFR Part 442
Waste Combustors - 40 CFR Part 444
B. The director shall be responsible for identifying any subsequent changes in the regulations incorporated in the previous subsection or the adoption or the modification of any new national standard. Upon identifying any such federal change or adoption, the director shall initiate a regulation adopting proceedings by preparing and filing with the Registrar of Regulations the notice required by § 2.2-4006 A 4 c of the Code of Virginia or a notice of a public hearing pursuant to § 2.2-4007 C of the Code of Virginia.
9VAC25-31-50. Prohibitions.
A. Except in compliance with a VPDES permit, or another permit, issued by the board or other entity authorized by the board, it shall be unlawful for any person to:
2. Otherwise alter the physical, chemical or biological properties of such state waters and make them detrimental to the public health, or to animal or aquatic life, or to the use of such waters for domestic or industrial consumption, or for recreation, or for other uses.; or
3. Discharge stormwater into state waters from municipal separate storm sewer systems or land disturbing activities.
B. Any person in violation of 9VAC25-31-50 subsection A of this section, who discharges or causes or allows a discharge of sewage, industrial waste, other wastes or any noxious or deleterious substance into or upon state waters; or who discharges or causes or allows a discharge that may reasonably be expected to enter state waters in violation of subsection A of this section shall notify the department of the discharge, immediately upon discovery of the discharge but in no case later than 24 hours after said discovery. A written report of the unauthorized discharge shall be submitted by the owner, to the department, within five days of discovery of the discharge. The written report shall contain:
8. Any steps planned or taken to reduce, eliminate and prevent a recurrence of the present discharge or any future discharges not authorized by the permit.
C. No permit may be issued:
1. When the conditions of the permit do not provide for compliance with the applicable requirements of the CWA or the law, or regulations promulgated under the CWA or the law;
2. When the applicant is required to obtain a state or other appropriate certification under § 401 of the CWA and that certification has not been obtained or waived;
3. When the regional administrator has objected to issuance of the permit;
4. When the imposition of conditions cannot ensure compliance with the applicable water quality requirements of all affected states;
5. When, in the judgment of the Secretary of the Army, anchorage and navigation in or on any of the waters of the United States would be substantially impaired by the discharge;
6. For the discharge of any radiological, chemical, or biological warfare agent or high-level radioactive waste;
7. For any discharge inconsistent with a plan or plan amendment approved under § 208(b) of the CWA;
8. For any discharge to the territorial sea, the waters of the contiguous zone, or the oceans in the following circumstances:
a. Before the promulgation of guidelines under § 403(c) of the CWA (for determining degradation of the waters of the territorial seas, the contiguous zone, and the oceans) unless the board determines permit issuance to be in the public interest; or
b. After promulgation of guidelines under § 403(c) of the CWA, when insufficient information exists to make a reasonable judgment whether the discharge complies with them.
9. To a new source or a new discharger, if the discharge from its construction or operation will cause or contribute to the violation of water quality standards. The owner or operator of a new source or new discharger proposing to discharge into a water segment which does not meet applicable water quality standards or is not expected to meet those standards even after the application of the effluent limitations required by the law and §§ 301(b)(1)(A) and 301(b)(1)(B) of the CWA, and for which the department has performed a pollutants load allocation for the pollutant to be discharged, must demonstrate, before the close of the public comment period, that:
a. There are sufficient remaining pollutant load allocations to allow for the discharge; and
b. The existing dischargers into that segment are subject to compliance schedules designed to bring the segment into compliance with applicable water quality standards. The board may waive the submission of information by the new source or new discharger required by this subdivision if the board determines that it already has adequate information to evaluate the request. An explanation of the development of limitations to meet the criteria of this paragraph is to be included in the fact sheet to the permit under 9VAC25-31-280.
9VAC25-31-200. Additional conditions applicable to specified categories of VPDES permits.
The following conditions, in addition to those set forth in 9VAC25-31-190, apply to all VPDES permits within the categories specified below:
A. Existing manufacturing, commercial, mining, and silvicultural dischargers. All existing manufacturing, commercial, mining, and silvicultural dischargers must notify the department as soon as they know or have reason to believe:
1. That any activity has occurred or will occur which would result in the discharge, on a routine or frequent basis, of any toxic pollutant which is not limited in the permit, if that discharge will exceed the highest of the following notification levels:
a. One hundred micrograms per liter (100 μg/l);
b. Two hundred micrograms per liter (200 μg/l) for acrolein and acrylonitrile; five hundred micrograms per liter (500 μg/l) for 2,4-dinitrophenol and for 2-methyl-4,6-dinitrophenol; and one milligram per liter (1 mg/l) for antimony;
c. Five times the maximum concentration value reported for that pollutant in the permit application; or
d. The level established by the board in accordance with 9VAC25-31-220 F.
2. That any activity has occurred or will occur which would result in any discharge, on a nonroutine or infrequent basis, of a toxic pollutant which is not limited in the permit, if that discharge will exceed the highest of the following notification levels:
a. Five hundred micrograms per liter (500 μg/l);
b. One milligram per liter (1 mg/l) for antimony;
c. Ten times the maximum concentration value reported for that pollutant in the permit application; or
B. Publicly and privately owned treatment works. All POTWs and PVOTWs must provide adequate notice to the department of the following:
1. Any new introduction of pollutants into the POTW or PVOTW from an indirect discharger which would be subject to § 301 or 306 of the CWA and the law if it were directly discharging those pollutants; and
2. Any substantial change in the volume or character of pollutants being introduced into that POTW or PVOTW by a source introducing pollutants into the POTW or PVOTW at the time of issuance of the permit.
3. For purposes of this subsection, adequate notice shall include information on (i) the quality and quantity of effluent introduced into the POTW or PVOTW, and (ii) any anticipated impact of the change on the quantity or quality of effluent to be discharged from the POTW or PVOTW.
4. When the monthly average flow influent to a POTW or PVOTW reaches 95% of the design capacity authorized by the VPDES permit for each month of any three-month period, the owner shall within 30 days notify the department in writing and within 90 days submit a plan of action for ensuring continued compliance with the terms of the permit.
a. The plan shall include the necessary steps and a prompt schedule of implementation for controlling any current problem, or any problem which could be reasonably anticipated, resulting from high influent flows.
b. Upon receipt of the owner's plan of action, the board shall notify the owner whether the plan is approved or disapproved. If the plan is disapproved, such notification shall state the reasons and specify the actions necessary to obtain approval of the plan.
c. Failure to timely submit an adequate plan shall be deemed a violation of the permit.
d. Nothing herein shall in any way impair the authority of the board to take enforcement action under § 62.1-44.15, 62.1-44.23, or 62.1-44.32 of the Code of Virginia.
C. Wastewater works operator requirements.
1. The permittee shall employ or contract at least one wastewater works operator who holds a current wastewater license appropriate for the permitted facility. The license shall be issued in accordance with Title 54.1 of the Code of Virginia and the regulations of the Board for Waterworks and Wastewater Works Operators and Onsite Sewage System Professionals Regulations (18VAC160-20). Notwithstanding the foregoing requirement, unless the discharge is determined by the board on a case-by-case basis to be a potential contributor of pollution, no licensed operator is required for wastewater treatment works:
a. That have a design hydraulic capacity equal to or less than 0.04 mgd;
b. That discharge industrial waste or other waste from coal mining operations; or
c. That do not utilize biological or physical/chemical treatment.
2. In making this case-by-case determination, the board shall consider the location of the discharge with respect to state waters, the size of the discharge, the quantity and nature of pollutants reaching state waters and the treatment methods used at the wastewater works.
3. The permittee shall notify the department in writing whenever he is not complying, or has grounds for anticipating he will not comply with the requirements of subdivision 1 of this subsection. The notification shall include a statement of reasons and a prompt schedule for achieving compliance.
D. Lake level contingency plans. Any VPDES permit issued for a surface water impoundment whose primary purpose is to provide cooling water to power generators shall include a lake level contingency plan to allow specific reductions in the flow required to be released when the water level above the dam drops below designated levels due to drought conditions, and such plan shall take into account and minimize any adverse effects of any release reduction requirements on downstream users. This subsection shall not apply to any such facility that addresses releases and flow requirements during drought conditions in a Virginia Water Protection Permit.
E. Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). The activities of the CAFO shall not contravene the Water Quality Standards, as amended and adopted by the board, or any provision of the State Water Control Law. There shall be no point source discharge of manure, litter or process wastewater to surface waters of the state except in the case of an overflow caused by a storm event greater than the 25-year, 24-hour storm. Agricultural storm water discharges as defined in subdivision C 3 of 9VAC25-31-130 are permitted. Domestic sewage or industrial waste shall not be managed under the Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System General Permit for CAFOs (9VAC25-191). Any permit issued to a CAFO shall include:
1. Requirements to develop, implement and comply with a nutrient management plan. At a minimum, a nutrient management plan shall include best management practices and procedures necessary to implement applicable effluent limitations and standards. Permitted CAFOs must have their nutrient management plans developed and implemented and be in compliance with the nutrient management plan as a requirement of the permit. The nutrient management plan must, to the extent applicable:
a. Ensure adequate storage of manure, litter, and process wastewater, including procedures to ensure proper operation and maintenance of the storage facilities;
b. Ensure proper management of mortalities (i.e., dead animals) to ensure that they are not disposed of in a liquid manure, storm water, or process wastewater storage or treatment system that is not specifically designed to treat animal mortalities;
c. Ensure that clean water is diverted, as appropriate, from the production area;
d. Prevent direct contact of confined animals with surface waters of the state;
e. Ensure that chemicals and other contaminants handled on site are not disposed of in any manure, litter, process wastewater, or stormwater storage or treatment system unless specifically designed to treat such chemicals and other contaminants;
f. Identify appropriate site specific conservation practices to be implemented, including as appropriate buffers or equivalent practices, to control runoff of pollutants to surface waters of the state;
g. Identify protocols for appropriate testing of manure, litter, process wastewater and soil;
h. Establish protocols to land apply manure, litter or process wastewater in accordance with site specific nutrient management practices that ensure appropriate agricultural utilization of the nutrients in the manure, litter or process wastewater; and
i. Identify specific records that will be maintained to document the implementation and management of the minimum elements described above.
2. Recordkeeping requirements. The permittee must create, maintain for five years, and make available to the director upon request the following records:
a. All applicable records identified pursuant to subdivision 1 i of this subsection;
b. In addition, all CAFOs subject to EPA Effluent Guidelines for Feedlots (40 CFR Part 412) must comply with recordkeeping requirements as specified in 40 CFR 412.37(b) and (c) and 40 CFR 412.47(b) and (c);
A copy of the CAFO's site-specific nutrient management plan must be maintained on site and made available to the director upon request.
3. Requirements relating to transfer of manure or process wastewater to other persons. Prior to transferring manure, litter or process wastewater to other persons, large CAFOs must provide the recipient of the manure, litter or process wastewater with the most current nutrient analysis. The analysis provided must be consistent with the requirements of EPA Effluent Guidelines for Feedlots (40 CFR Part 412). Large CAFOs must retain for five years records of the date, recipient name and address and approximate amount of manure, litter or process wastewater transferred to another person.
4. Annual reporting requirements for CAFOs. The permittee must submit an annual report to the director. The annual report must include:
a. The number and type of animals, whether in open confinement or housed under roof (beef cattle, broilers, layers, swine weighing 55 pounds or more, swine weighing less than 55 pounds, mature dairy cows, dairy heifers, veal calves, sheep and lambs, horses, ducks, turkeys, other);
b. Estimated amount of total manure, litter and process wastewater generated by the CAFO in the previous 12 months (tons/gallons);
c. Estimated amount of total manure, litter and process wastewater transferred to other persons by the CAFO in the previous 12 months (tons/gallons);
d. Total number of acres for land application covered by the nutrient management plan developed in accordance with subdivision 1 of this subsection;
e. Total number of acres under control of the CAFO that were used for land application of manure, litter and process wastewater in the previous 12 months;
f. Summary of all manure, litter and process wastewater discharges from the production area that occurred in the previous 12 months including date, time and approximate volume;
g. A statement indicating whether the current version of the CAFO's nutrient management plan was developed or approved by a certified nutrient management planner; and
h. The actual crop(s) planted and actual yield(s) for each field, the actual nitrogen and phosphorus content of the manure, litter, and process wastewater, the results of calculations conducted in accordance with subdivisions 5 a (2) and 5 b (4) of this subsection, and the amount of manure, litter, and process wastewater applied to each field during the previous 12 months; and, for any CAFO that implements a nutrient management plan that addresses rates of application in accordance with subdivision 5 b of this subsection, the results of any soil testing for nitrogen and phosphorus taken during the preceding 12 months, the data used in calculations conducted in accordance with subdivision 5 b (4) of this subsection, and the amount of any supplemental fertilizer applied during the previous 12 months.
5. Terms of the nutrient management plan. Any permit issued to a CAFO shall require compliance with the terms of the CAFO's site-specific nutrient management plan. The terms of the nutrient management plan are the information, protocols, best management practices, and other conditions in the nutrient management plan determined by the board to be necessary to meet the requirements of subdivision 1 of this subsection. The terms of the nutrient management plan, with respect to protocols for land application of manure, litter, or process wastewater required by subdivision 4 h of this subsection and, as applicable, 40 CFR 412.4(c), shall include the fields available for land application; field-specific rates of application properly developed, as specified in subdivisions 5 a and b of this subsection, to ensure appropriate agricultural utilization of the nutrients in the manure, litter, or process wastewater; and any timing limitations identified in the nutrient management plan concerning land application on the fields available for land application. The terms shall address rates of application using one of the following two approaches, unless the board specifies that only one of these approaches may be used:
a. Linear approach. An approach that expresses rates of application as pounds of nitrogen and phosphorus, according to the following specifications:
(1) The terms include maximum application rates from manure, litter, and process wastewater for each year of permit coverage, for each crop identified in the nutrient management plan, in chemical forms determined to be acceptable to the board, in pounds per acre, per year, for each field to be used for land application, and certain factors necessary to determine such rates. At a minimum, the factors that are terms shall include: the outcome of the field-specific assessment of the potential for nitrogen and phosphorus transport from each field; the crops to be planted in each field or any other uses of a field such as pasture or fallow fields; the realistic yield goal for each crop or use identified for each field; the nitrogen and phosphorus recommendations from sources specified by the board for each crop or use identified for each field; credits for all nitrogen in the field that will be plant available; consideration of multi-year phosphorus application; and accounting for all other additions of plant available nitrogen and phosphorus to the field. In addition, the terms include the form and source of manure, litter, and process wastewater to be land-applied; the timing and method of land application; and the methodology by which the nutrient management plan accounts for the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in the manure, litter, and process wastewater to be applied.
(2) Large CAFOs that use this approach shall calculate the maximum amount of manure, litter, and process wastewater to be land applied at least once each year using the results of the most recent representative manure, litter, and process wastewater tests for nitrogen and phosphorus taken within 12 months of the date of land application; or
b. Narrative rate approach. An approach that expresses rates of application as a narrative rate of application that results in the amount, in tons or gallons, of manure, litter, and process wastewater to be land applied, according to the following specifications:
(1) The terms include maximum amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus derived from all sources of nutrients, for each crop identified in the nutrient management plan, in chemical forms determined to be acceptable to the board, in pounds per acre, for each field, and certain factors necessary to determine such amounts. At a minimum, the factors that are terms shall include: the outcome of the field-specific assessment of the potential for nitrogen and phosphorus transport from each field; the crops to be planted in each field or any other uses such as pasture or fallow fields (including alternative crops identified in accordance with subdivision 5 b (2) of this subsection); the realistic yield goal for each crop or use identified for each field; and the nitrogen and phosphorus recommendations from sources specified by the board for each crop or use identified for each field. In addition, the terms include the methodology by which the nutrient management plan accounts for the following factors when calculating the amounts of manure, litter, and process wastewater to be land applied: results of soil tests conducted in accordance with protocols identified in the nutrient management plan, as required by subdivision 1 g of this subsection; credits for all nitrogen in the field that will be plant available; the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in the manure, litter, and process wastewater to be applied; consideration of multi-year phosphorus application; accounting for all other additions of plant available nitrogen and phosphorus to the field; the form and source of manure, litter, and process wastewater; the timing and method of land application; and volatilization of nitrogen and mineralization of organic nitrogen.
(2) The terms of the nutrient management plan include alternative crops identified in the CAFO's nutrient management plan that are not in the planned crop rotation. Where a CAFO includes alternative crops in its nutrient management plan, the crops shall be listed by field, in addition to the crops identified in the planned crop rotation for that field, and the nutrient management plan shall include realistic crop yield goals and the nitrogen and phosphorus recommendations from sources specified by the board for each crop. Maximum amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus from all sources of nutrients and the amounts of manure, litter, and process wastewater to be applied shall be determined in accordance with the methodology described in subdivision 5 b (1) of this subsection.
(3) For CAFOs using this approach, the following projections shall be included in the nutrient management plan submitted to the board, but are not terms of the nutrient management plan: the CAFO's planned crop rotations for each field for the period of permit coverage; the projected amount of manure, litter, or process wastewater to be applied; projected credits for all nitrogen in the field that will be plant available; consideration of multi-year phosphorus application; accounting for all other additions of plant available nitrogen and phosphorus to the field; and the predicted form, source, and method of application of manure, litter, and process wastewater for each crop. Timing of application for each field, insofar as it concerns the calculation of rates of application, is not a term of the nutrient management plan.
(4) CAFOs that use this approach shall calculate maximum amounts of manure, litter, and process wastewater to be land applied at least once each year using the methodology required in subdivision 5 b (1) of this subsection before land applying manure, litter, and process wastewater and shall rely on the following data:
(a) A field-specific determination of soil levels of nitrogen and phosphorus, including, for nitrogen, a concurrent determination of nitrogen that will be plant available consistent with the methodology required by subdivision 5 b (1) of this subsection, and for phosphorus, the results of the most recent soil test conducted in accordance with soil testing requirements approved by the board; and
(b) The results of most recent representative manure, litter, and process wastewater tests for nitrogen and phosphorus taken within 12 months of the date of land application, in order to determine the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in the manure, litter, and process wastewater to be applied.
9VAC25-31-300. Public comments and requests for public hearings.
During the public comment period provided under 9VAC25-31-290, any interested person may submit written comments on the draft permit and may request a public hearing, if no public hearing has already been scheduled. A request for a public hearing shall be in writing and shall state the nature of the issues proposed to be raised in the public hearing, pursuant to the board's Procedural Rule No. 1 (9VAC25-230-10 et seq.) or its successor meet the requirements of § 62.1-44.15:02 B of the Code of Virginia. All comments shall be considered in making the final decision and shall be answered as provided in 9VAC25-31-320.
9VAC25-31-310. Public hearings.
A. 1. The board shall hold a public hearing whenever it finds, on the basis of requests, a significant degree of public interest in a draft permit or permits.
2. The board may also hold a public hearing at its discretion, whenever, for instance, such a hearing might clarify one or more issues involved in the permit decision.
3. Procedures for public hearings and permits before the board are those set forth in § 62.1-44.15:02 of the Code of Virginia.
2. Public notice of the public hearing shall be given as specified in 9VAC25-31-290 of this chapter.
4. 3. Any public hearing convened pursuant to this section shall be held in the geographical area of the proposed discharge, or in another appropriate area. Related groups of permit applications may be considered at any such public hearing.
B. Any person may submit oral or written statements and data concerning the draft permit. Reasonable limits may be set upon the time allowed for oral statements, and the submission of statements in writing may be required. The public comment period for the draft permit shall automatically be extended to the close of any public hearing under this section. The hearing officer may also extend the comment period by so stating at the public hearing.
C. A tape recording or written transcript of the hearing shall be made available to the public.
D. Proceedings at, and the decision from, the public hearing will be governed by the board's Procedural Rule No. 1 (9VAC25-230-10 et seq.) or its successor § 62.1-44.15:02 of the Code of Virginia.
VA.R. Doc. No. R14-3566; Filed December 30, 2013, 12:12 p.m.