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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 99-1020

NOTICES

Availability of Final General NPDES Permit for Wastewater Discharges from Hydrostatic Testing of Tanks and Pipelines (PAG 10)

[29 Pa.B. 3256]

   In compliance with the provisions of the Federal Clean Water Act, The Clean Streams Law (35 P. S. §§ 691.1--691.1001), sections 1905-A, 1917-A and 1920-A of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. §§ 510-5, 510-7 and 510-20), the Department of Environmental Protection (Department) by this notice announces the availability of a final NPDES general permit, the permit application (Notice of Intent--NOI) and related documents for discharges from hydrostatic testing of tanks and pipelines for use within this Commonwealth. The NOI sets forth the eligibility criteria for submission of the permit application and other data submission requirements. The permit sets forth the effluent limitations, monitoring and reporting requirements and other terms and conditions for compliance with the general permit. This permit and related documents are applicable for discharges to all waters of the Commonwealth except in waters designated for ''Special Protection'' in 25 Pa. Code Chapter 93. In accordance with 25 Pa. Code § 92.83, an individual NPDES permit will continue to be required for discharges to waters designated for ''Special Protection.'' In addition, a public hearing is also required for discharges to exceptional value waters. Applicants for permits in these waters should contact the appropriate Department field office for application requirements and further information.

   A notice requesting public comments on the draft documents was published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on June 13, 1998. The 30-day comment period ended on July 12, 1998. The Department received comments from one commentator. The Department considered these comments. The comment received concerned perceived or expected delays associated with the proposed minimum 60-day permit processing and approval time. The 60-days processing time is on the lower side of the Department's normal processing times for other general permits which range from 60 to 90 days. In these cases, all of the effluent limitations, monitoring and reporting requirements, and other terms and conditions of the general permit would be operative and enforceable upon the permittee. The Department would forward a signed copy of the permit with a unique permit number to the permittee at a later date.

   To address a need for pollution prevention and emergency response, the Department has added a pollution prevention and contingency (PPC) plan requirement applicable to the type of pipeline and tank testing activities. The permittee should refer to the Department's ''Guidelines for the Development and Implementation of Environmental Emergency Response Plans (12/97).'' In addition, some missing instructions on signatory requirements also have been added. The NOI has been reformatted to look like NOIs for other NPDES general permits.

   The general permit allows the Department to approve Statewide and local or regional permit coverage depending upon the type of activity or operation. Only one NOI for coverage under the general permit must be submitted for Statewide use of the general permit for discharges from hydrostatic testing of pipelines that cross regional boundaries. For test water discharges from tanks, the NOI can also be used for requesting approval of coverage to discharge to a specific site or within a specific region. The instructions for the NOI provide the following general procedures to be used for approving Statewide or regional/site specific coverage.

   (1)  Statewide Coverage Approval:  All NOIs for a Statewide coverage should be submitted to the Harrisburg Central Office of the Department, Division of Wastewater Management, Bureau of Water Quality Protection, P. O. Box 8774, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8774. Due to the total length of pipeline crossing the State, the lack of specific known discharge points and the crossing of several regional office jurisdictions, the applicant may submit only one completed NOI for processing. The Central Office would process the NOI and if found to be acceptable, forward a signed copy of the permit with a unique permit number to the permittee. However, to operate under the general permit, the permittee must provide a 15-day written notification to the Department's affected regional office before discharging at any location. The notifications must demonstrate completion and implementation of the PPC plan, installation of necessary BMPs, obtaining of other required approval/permits prior to or at the time of the submission of notification to the regional office.

   (2)  Site or Region Specific Coverage Approval:  All NOIs for discharges resulting from regional or site specific testing of tanks should continue to be submitted to the appropriate regional office at locations provided in the NOI instructions. The NOI must be submitted at least 30 days before the proposed discharge. The regional office will process the NOI and if found to be acceptable, forward a signed copy of the permit with a unique permit number to the permittee. The notifications must demonstrate completion and implementation of the PPC plan, installation of necessary BMPs, obtaining of other required approvals/permits prior to or at the time of the submission of NOI to the Department.

   In either situation, the Department will publish the receipt of the NOI and the approval of general permit coverage in the Pennsylvania Bulletin together and issue a formal signed general permit with a unique permit number to the applicant following the publication.

   Upon duplication and posting on the DEP Web Site, the final permit documents will be available for downloading from the Department's Web Site at: http://www.dep.state.pa.us. The documents will also be available by contacting the appropriate Department Regional Office having jurisdiction over the county with the proposed discharge. Addresses of Regional Offices and the counties each office covers and of the Central Office are provided in the instructions to the NOI.

   The final General NPDES permit for wastewater discharges from hydrostatic testing of tanks and pipelines (PAG 10) is now available for use as provided for in the permit. The Department also may allow existing eligible individual permit holders of the discharges to apply for and obtain coverage under the general permit when the existing permit is due for renewal.

JAMES M. SEIF,   
Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 99-1020. Filed for public inspection June 25, 1999, 9:00 a.m.]


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