Virginia Administrative Code › Title 9 - ENVIRONMENT › Agency 25 - STATE WATER CONTROL BOARD › Chapter 875 - VIRGINIA EROSION AND STORMWATER MANAGEMENT REGULATION › Part VII - Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) Permits › Article 3 - Permit Applications › Section 9VAC25-875-960 - Effluent sampling procedures

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. Permit
					 applicants for discharges from large and small municipal storm sewers or
					 municipal storm sewers designated under
					 9VAC25-875-950 A 1 e shall provide
					 the following information to the department, using application forms provided
					 by the department.
B. Information
					 on stormwater discharges that is to be provided as specified in
					 9VAC25-875-950. When quantitative
					 data for a pollutant are required, the permit applicant must collect a sample
					 of effluent and analyze it for the pollutant in accordance with analytical
					 methods approved under 40 CFR Part 136 . When no analytical method is approved
					 the permit applicant may use any suitable method but must provide a description
					 of the method. When a permit applicant has two or more outfalls with
					 substantially identical effluents, the department may allow the permit
					 applicant to test only one outfall and report that the quantitative data also
					 apply to the substantially identical outfalls. The requirements in subsections
					 F and G of this section that a permit applicant must provide quantitative data
					 for certain pollutants known or believed to be present do not apply to
					 pollutants present in a discharge solely as the result of their presence in
					 intake water; however, an applicant must report such pollutants as present.
					 Grab samples must be used for pH, temperature, cyanide, total phenols, residual
					 chlorine, oil and grease, fecal coliform, and fecal streptococcus. For all
					 other pollutants, 24-hour composite samples must be used. However, a minimum of
					 one grab sample may be taken for effluents from holding ponds or other
					 impoundments with a retention period greater than 24 hours. In addition, for
					 discharges other than stormwater discharges, the department may waive composite
					 sampling for any outfall for which the permit applicant demonstrates that the
					 use of an automatic sampler is infeasible and that the minimum of four grab
					 samples will be a representative sample of the effluent being
					 discharged.
C. For stormwater
					 discharges, all samples shall be collected from the discharge resulting from a
					 storm event that is greater than 0.1 inch and at least 72 hours from the
					 previously measurable (greater than 0.1 inch rainfall) storm event. Where
					 feasible, the variance in the duration of the event and the total rainfall of
					 the event should not exceed 50% from the average or median rainfall event in
					 that area. For all permit applicants, a flow-weighted composite shall be taken
					 for either the entire discharge or for the first three hours of the discharge.
					 The flow-weighted composite sample for a stormwater discharge may be taken with
					 a continuous sampler or as a combination of a minimum of three sample aliquots
					 taken in each hour of discharge for the entire discharge or for the first three
					 hours of the discharge, with each aliquot being separated by a minimum period
					 of 15 minutes. However, a minimum of one grab sample may be taken for
					 stormwater discharges from holding ponds or other impoundments with a retention
					 period greater than 24 hours. For a flow-weighted composite sample, only one
					 analysis of the composite of aliquots is required. For stormwater discharge
					 samples taken from discharges associated with industrial activities,
					 quantitative data must be reported for the grab sample taken during the first
					 30 minutes (or as soon thereafter as practicable) of the discharge for all
					 pollutants specified in
					 9VAC25-875-950 C 1. For all
					 stormwater permit applicants taking flow-weighted composites, quantitative data
					 must be reported for all pollutants specified in
					 9VAC25-875-950 except pH,
					 temperature, cyanide, total phenols, residual chlorine, oil and grease, fecal
					 coliform, and fecal streptococcus. The department may allow or establish
					 appropriate site-specific sampling procedures or requirements, including
					 sampling locations, the season in which the sampling takes place, the minimum
					 duration between the previous measurable storm event and the storm event
					 sampled, the minimum or maximum level of precipitation required for an
					 appropriate storm event, the form of precipitation sampled (snow melt or rain
					 fall), protocols for collecting samples under 40 CFR Part 136 , and additional
					 time for submitting data on a case-by-case basis. A permit applicant is
					 expected to know or have reason to believe that a pollutant is present in an
					 effluent based on an evaluation of the expected use, production, or storage of
					 the pollutant or on any previous analyses for the pollutant. For example, any
					 pesticide manufactured by a facility may be expected to be present in
					 contaminated stormwater runoff from the facility.
D. Every permit applicant must report
					 quantitative data for every outfall for the following pollutants:
Biochemical oxygen demand
						(BOD5)
Chemical oxygen demand
Total organic carbon
Total suspended solids
Ammonia (as N)
Temperature (both winter and summer)
pH
E.
					 The department may waive the reporting requirements for individual point
					 sources or for a particular industry category for one or more of the pollutants
					 listed in subsection C of this section if the permit applicant has demonstrated
					 that such a waiver is appropriate because information adequate to support
					 issuance of a permit can be obtained with less stringent
					 requirements.
F. Each permit
					 applicant with processes in one or more primary industry category (see 40 CFR
					 Part 122 Appendix A) contributing to a discharge must report quantitative data
					 for the following pollutants in each outfall containing process wastewater:
1. The organic toxic pollutants in the
					 fractions designated in Table I of 40 CFR Part 122 Appendix D for the permit
					 applicant's industrial category unless the permit applicant qualifies as a
					 small business. Table II of 40 CFR Part 122 Appendix D lists the organic toxic
					 pollutants in each fraction; The fractions result from the sample preparation
					 required by the analytical procedure that uses gas chromatography or mass
					 spectrometry. A determination that a permit applicant falls within a particular
					 industrial category for the purposes of selecting fractions for testing is not
					 conclusive as to the permit applicant's inclusion in that category for any
					 other purposes; and
2. The
					 pollutants listed in Table III of 40 CFR Part 122 Appendix D (the toxic metals,
					 cyanide, and total phenols).