2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 25 - PUBLIC HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT (§§ 25-1-101 — 25-59-106) › ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL (§§ 25-6.5-101 — 25-18.9-105) › Article 8 - WATER QUALITY CONTROL (§§ 25-8-101 — 25-8-1008) › Part 5 - PERMIT SYSTEM (§§ 25-8-501 — 25-8-509) › Section 25-8-501 - Permits required for discharge of pollutants - administration

(1)
No person shall discharge any pollutant into any state water from a point source without first having obtained a permit from the division for such discharge, and no person shall discharge into a ditch or man-made conveyance for the purpose of evading the requirement to obtain a permit under this article. No person covered by this article shall use or dispose of biosolids, except as authorized by regulations that shall not be more restrictive than the requirements adopted for solid wastes disposal sites and facilities pursuant to part 1 of article
20
of title
30
, C.R.S., except as necessary to be consistent with section 405 of the federal act. Existing authorization for the use or disposal of biosolids shall continue until permits are issued in accordance with this part 5. Each application for a permit duly filed under the federal act shall be deemed to be a permit application filed under this article, and each permit issued pursuant to the federal act shall be deemed to be a temporary permit issued under this article which shall expire upon expiration of the federal permit.
(2)
The division shall examine applications for and may issue, suspend, revoke, modify, deny, and otherwise administer permits for the discharge of pollutants into state waters and for the use and disposal of biosolids. Such administration shall be in accordance with the provisions of this article and regulations promulgated by the commission. Until modified pursuant to this article, final permits shall be governed by their existing limitations.
(3)
The commission shall promulgate such regulations as may be necessary and proper for the orderly and effective administration of permits for the discharge of pollutants, which regulations shall include, but not be limited to, procedures for the issuance of a variance pursuant to section
25-8-503(4)
, and shall also require that, in appropriate circumstances, the effluent limitations contained in a permit shall be adjusted to account for the pollutants contained in the discharger's intake water. Such regulations shall be consistent with the provisions of this article and with federal requirements and shall be in furtherance of the policy contained in section
25-8-102
. Such regulations shall establish a permit process that allows permit conditions to remain in effect as long as circumstances dictate those conditions. In order to comply with federal requirements, but not to lessen compliance with federal standards, such permit process may require periodic renewal of permits even where minimal or no changes in the permit conditions are necessary. Renewal shall be required where more than minimal changes in permit conditions are necessary. The regulations may pertain to and implement, among other matters, permit and permit application contents, procedures, requirements, and restrictions with respect to the following:
(a)
Identification and address of the owner and operator of the activity, facility, or process from which the discharge is to be permitted;
(b)
Location and quantity and quality characteristics of the permitted discharge;
(c)
Effluent limitations and conditions for treatment prior to discharge to a publicly owned treatment works;
(d)
Monitoring as well as record-keeping and reporting requirements consistent with standard procedures and methods established by the division;
(e)
Schedules of compliance;
(f)
Procedures to be followed by division personnel for entering and inspecting premises;
(g)
Submission of pertinent plans and specifications for the facility, process, or activity which is the source of a waste discharge;
(h)
Restrictions on transfers of the permit;
(i)
Procedures to be followed in the event of expansion or modification of the process, facility, or activity from which the discharge occurs or the quality, quantity, or frequency of the discharge;
(j)
Duration of the permit and renewal procedures using a risk-based approach that limits the amount of work required to renew permits that have minimal or no changes in the permit conditions to streamline the renewal process;
(k)
Authority of the division to require changes in plans and specifications for control facilities as a condition for the issuance of a permit;
(l)
Identification of control regulations over which the permit takes precedence and identification of control regulations over which a permit may never take precedence;
(m)
Notice requirements of any intent to construct, install, or alter any process, facility, or activity that is likely to result in a new or altered discharge;
(n)
Effectiveness under this article of permit applications submitted to and permits issued by the federal government under the federal act.
(4)
Nothing in any permit shall ever be construed to prevent or limit the application of any emergency power of the division.
(5)
Every permit issued for a domestic wastewater treatment works shall contain such terms and conditions as the division determines to be necessary or desirable to assure continuing compliance with applicable control regulations. Such terms and conditions may require that whenever deemed necessary by the division to assure such compliance the permittee shall:
(a)
Require pretreatment of effluent from industrial, governmental, or commercial facilities, processes, and activities before such effluent is received into the gathering and collection system of the permittee;
(b)
Prohibit any connection to any municipal permittee's interceptors and collection system that would result in receipt by such municipal permittee of any effluent other than sewage required by law to be received by such permittee;
(c)
Include specified terms and conditions of its permit in all contracts for receipt by the permittee of any effluent not required to be received by a municipal permittee;
(d)
Initiate engineering and financial planning for expansion of the domestic wastewater treatment works whenever throughput and treatment reaches eighty percent of design capacity;
(e)
Commence construction of such domestic wastewater treatment works expansion whenever throughput and treatment reaches ninety-five percent of design capacity or, in the case of a municipality, either commence such construction or cease issuance of building permits within such municipality until such construction is commenced; except that building permits may continue to be issued for any construction which would not have the effect of increasing the input of domestic wastewater to the sewage treatment works of the municipality involved. The term "commence construction", as used in this paragraph (e), includes execution of, and commencement of work under, contracts for engineering design, plans, and specifications for erection, building, alteration, remodeling, improvement, or extension of treatment works and commitment to the completion of construction of such treatment works prior to exceeding permit effluent limitations based upon facility design and capacity or execution of a contract for the construction thereof.
(6)
Inclusion of the requirements authorized by paragraph (d) of subsection (5) of this section shall be presumed unnecessary to assure compliance upon a showing that the area served by a domestic wastewater treatment works has a stable or declining population; but this provision shall not be construed as preventing periodic review by the division should it be felt that growth is occurring or will occur in the area.
L. 81: Entire article R&RE, p. 1326, § 1, effective July 1. L. 83: (5)(e) amended, p. 1074, § 1, effective June 10. L. 85: (2) amended, p. 909, § 10, effective June 4. L. 93: (1) and (2) amended, p. 1579, § 3, effective July 1. L. 2001: IP(3) and (3)(j) amended, p. 41, § 1, effective July 1.
For circumstances resulting in the repeal of this section, see § 25-8-507.