Earlier this week, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) adopted an updated Industrial General Stormwater permit, after months of redrafting and discussions with RCRC and other industry stakeholders. The permit, first adopted in 1992, covers a wide range of industrial facilities that discharge stormwater offsite, including wastewater treatment plants, landfills, and vehicle maintenance shops, and streamlines the federal stormwater discharge permitting system for facilities that must comply. The permit is supposed to be updated every five years, but hadn’t been renewed since 1997.
The adoption of the permit has been years in the making, starting with the release of a preliminary draft in 2011. That draft was highly controversial as it would have been nearly impossible for permitted facilities to comply with the strict new requirements the draft would have imposed without incurring severe fines, or triggering third-party environmental lawsuits. The outcry from stakeholders, including RCRC and a broad coalition of regulated entities, was so strong that the state Legislature held a special hearing asking the agency to completely redraft the permit.
While the final permit will still be more expensive to implement, mandating a more aggressive sampling schedule and stricter requirements for mitigating pollution in stormwater runoff, compliance with the version adopted by the Board will be feasible for nearly all permitted facilities. The final permit and all related documents can be viewed on the State Water Board’s Industrial Stormwater website, accessed here.
For additional information, please contact RCRC Regulatory Affairs Advocate Staci Heaton at 916.447.4806 orsheaton@rcrcnet.org.