The Clean Water Act (CWA) establishes a comprehensive program “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters.” This includes the rivers, washes, and certain other drainages in Arizona. To achieve these goals, the CWA requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to authorize discharges through issuance of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits.
On October 30, 2000, EPA issued the Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP) for storm water discharges associated with industrial activity (MSGP-2000). The MSGP-2000 contained provisions that required facilities in 29 industrial sectors to implement control measures and to develop site-specific storm water pollution prevention plans (SWPPPs) to comply with NPDES requirements. The facilities in these sectors are defined by either a Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code or a general description of the facility’s industrial activities.
The Industrial Fact Sheet Series for Activities Covered Under EPA’s MSGP webpage contains links to fact sheets for the various types of industrial activities covered under the MSGP. Each fact sheet provides a brief summary of the industrial storm water permitting program, the types of facilities included in that sector, a summary of typical pollutants associated with each sector, and types of storm water control measures used to minimize the discharge of those pollutants.
On December 5, 2002, Arizona received authorization from EPA to implement the NPDES permit program on the state level. The state-specific program is called the Arizona Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (AZPDES) permit program and adopted the MSGP-2000 as an Arizona permit until a new AZPDES industrial storm water discharge permit could be issued. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) website contains background information on Arizona’s implementation of the multi-sector general permit. The MSGP-2000 expired on October 30, 2005 and has since been administratively continued in the state of Arizona.
On September 29, 2008, EPA issued a new MSGP (MSGP-2008) that applies only to facilities on Indian Country lands in Arizona (see the EPA MSGP-2008 webpage for further details). All other industrial facilities subject to the MSGP-2000 will be covered by a separate Arizona-specific MSGP and should disregard the filing deadline listed in EPA’s MSGP-2008.
Operators already covered under the MSGP-2000 must continue to implement their SWPPPs and comply with the requirements in the MSGP-2000. Operators in Arizona that did not obtain coverage under the MSGP-2000 before it expired are not covered and will not obtain coverage until ADEQ issues the Arizona-specific MSGP. ADEQ recommends operators prepare a SWPPP and implement the control measures as outlined in the MSGP-2008. ADEQ intends to use enforcement discretion for those industrial facilities without coverage that are implementing the control measures in good faith.
A draft Arizona-specific industrial storm water discharge permit (AZPDES MSGP-2009) is currently being developed by ADEQ. To receive announcements about the new AZPDES MSGP-2009 via e-mail, go to the ADEQ mailing list webpage and subscribe to the MSGP topic.
For further information, please contact:
Dennis L. Turner
Surface Water Consultant
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
1110 W. Washington Street
Mail Code 5415 A-1
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
602-771-4501
Christopher M. Henninger
Manager, Stormwater and General Permits Unit
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
1110 W. Washington Street
Mail Code 5415 A-1
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
602-771-4508
