It can be extremely challenging keeping up with all of the environmental regulatory requirements. For many companies, the person who “wears the environmental compliance hat” wears a dozen other hats as well.
An environmental compliance obligation that can easily be overlooked relates to stormwater discharge permitting. Stormwater discharges are regulated under the Clean Water Act, and permits for these discharges are issued under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). This regulation applies to thousands of Michigan companies and not just “heavy industry.” Further, we are seeing trends in other states, such as California, where more and more companies are required to obtain stormwater permits, and the requirements for compliance are becoming more onerous.
Do I Need A Stormwater Discharge Permit?
In Michigan, industrial stormwater discharge permits are required based on three factors:
If your stormwater discharges to a “Water of the State” you may need a permit (Photo Credit: Dragun Corporation).
- Does your SIC code fall into any of the eleven categories of industrial activity, defined in 40 CFR 122.26(b) (14) (i) – (xi)? If not, no permit is required, and the next step below does not apply.
- Assuming your SIC falls into one of the eleven categories and your stormwater runoff also discharges to surface waters of the state or to a separate storm sewer system that discharges to a surface water of the state, you may be required to have a permit. If you do not discharge to a water of the state (for example, if you discharge to a sanitary sewer), no permit is required, even if your SIC code is listed.
- If you have a listed SIC, a discharge to a surface water of the state, and industrial materials and/or activities are exposed to storm water runoff – a discharge permit is required. If no industrial activities or materials that could cause impacts to stormwater can be contacted by precipitation, permitting requirements can be avoided by submitting a No Exposure Certification.
This is a very brief overview of the industrial stormwater permitting requirements. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has additional and more detailed information available on their website.
You should also be aware that if you are required to obtain a stormwater permit, there are new requirements, which adds another layer of complexity to the process. Read about these new stormwater permitting requirements here.
If you have questions or need assistance with a permit, feel free to contact me (mschroeder@dragun.com) at 248-932-0228, ext 117.