July 3, 2003 -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released news updates from its Office of Water.
EPA Issues Construction General Permit
EPA's Construction General Permit was published in the Federal Register today and covers all construction activity on sites one acre or larger* in states, territories, and Indian country where EPA is the permitting authority.
The new permit implements Phase II of the NPDES Stormwater Regulations which contains new requirements for construction sites between one and five acres. (Construction sites that are five acres or larger were regulated previously under Phase I of the program and earlier construction general permits.)
Under this Permit, construction site operators will need to develop and implement stormwater pollution prevention plans and file a "Notice of Intent" form at least 7 days prior to initiation of land-disturbing activities.
For more information, see http://www.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/cgp.
*or smaller sites that are part of a larger common plan of development or sale
NPDES Permits Available Online
EPA is making electronic copies of NPDES permits and fact sheets for major facilities available online. Permit documents are now available through Envirofacts for about 450 facilities that have had their NPDES permits issued or reissued since November 1, 2002.
EPA will continue to post copies of permits and fact sheets for major industrial and municipal facilities as existing permits are reissued and new permits are issued.
For more information about this project and detailed instructions on how to access the documents, see http://www.epa.gov/npdes/permitdocuments.
Withdrawing Federal Criteria for San Francisco Bay
In a Federal Register notice published on June 25th, EPA proposed to withdraw federal aquatic life copper and nickel water quality criteria for south San Francisco Bay (the area south of Dumbarton Bridge).
The State of California adopted, and EPA approved, numeric aquatic life copper and nickel water quality criteria for south San Francisco Bay. The federal criteria are no longer necessary.
You can learn more about this action by visiting the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/standards/sanfranbayfs.htm.
