Virginia Administrative Code › Title 9 - ENVIRONMENT › Agency 25 - STATE WATER CONTROL BOARD › Chapter 31 - VIRGINIA POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (VPDES) PERMIT REGULATION › Part III - Permit Conditions › Section 9VAC25-31-190 - Conditions applicable to all permits

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
The following conditions apply to all VPDES permits.
					 Additional conditions applicable to VPDES permits are in
					 9VAC25-31-200.
					 All conditions applicable to VPDES permits shall be incorporated into the
					 permits either expressly or by reference. If incorporated by reference, a
					 specific citation to this regulation must be given in the permit.
A. The permittee must comply with all
				  conditions of the permit. Any permit noncompliance constitutes a violation of
				  the law and the CWA, except that noncompliance with certain provisions of the
				  permit may constitute a violation of the law but not the CWA. Permit
				  noncompliance is grounds for enforcement action; for permit termination,
				  revocation and reissuance, or modification; or denial of a permit renewal
				  application.
The permittee shall comply with effluent standards or
					 prohibitions established under § 307(a) of the CWA for toxic pollutants
					 and with standards for sewage sludge use or disposal established under §
					 405(d) of the CWA within the time provided in the chapters that establish these
					 standards or prohibitions or standards for sewage sludge use or disposal, even
					 if the permit has not yet been modified to incorporate the requirement.
B. If the permittee wishes to
				  continue an activity regulated by the permit after the expiration date of the
				  permit, the permittee must apply for and obtain a new permit.
C. It shall not be a defense for a permittee
				  in an enforcement action that it would have been necessary to halt or reduce
				  the permitted activity in order to maintain compliance with the conditions of
				  the permit.
D. The permittee shall
				  take all reasonable steps to minimize or prevent any discharge or sludge use or
				  disposal in violation of the permit which has a reasonable likelihood of
				  adversely affecting human health or the environment.
E. The permittee shall at all times properly
				  operate and maintain all facilities and systems of treatment and control (and
				  related appurtenances) that are installed or used by the permittee to achieve
				  compliance with the conditions of the permit. Proper operation and maintenance
				  also includes adequate laboratory controls and appropriate quality assurance
				  procedures. This provision requires the operation of back-up or auxiliary
				  facilities or similar systems that are installed by a permittee only when the
				  operation is necessary to achieve compliance with the conditions of the
				  permit.
F. Permits may be modified,
				  revoked and reissued, or terminated for cause. The filing of a request by the
				  permittee for a permit modification, revocation and reissuance, or termination,
				  or a notification of planned changes or anticipated noncompliance does not stay
				  any permit condition.
G. Permits do
				  not convey any property rights of any sort, or any exclusive
				  privilege.
H. The permittee shall
				  furnish to the department, within a reasonable time, any information that the
				  department may request to determine whether cause exists for modifying,
				  revoking and reissuing, or terminating the permit or to determine compliance
				  with the permit. The department may require the permittee to furnish, upon
				  request, such plans, specifications, and other pertinent information as may be
				  necessary to determine the effect of the wastes from the permittee's discharge
				  on the quality of state waters, or such other information as may be necessary
				  to accomplish the purposes of the law. The permittee shall also furnish to the
				  department upon request, copies of records required to be kept by the
				  permit.
I. The permittee shall
				  allow the director, or an authorized representative (including an authorized
				  contractor acting as a representative of the administrator), upon presentation
				  of credentials and other documents as may be required by law, to:
1. Enter upon the permittee's premises where
				  a regulated facility or activity is located or conducted, or where records must
				  be kept under the conditions of the permit;
2. Have access to and copy, at reasonable
				  times, any records that must be kept under the conditions of the
				  permit;
3. Inspect at reasonable
				  times any facilities, equipment (including monitoring and control equipment),
				  practices, or operations regulated or required under the permit; and
4. Sample or monitor at reasonable times, for
				  the purposes of assuring permit compliance or as otherwise authorized by the
				  CWA and the law, any substances or parameters at any location.