NPDES General Permits
Authority
SC Regulation R.61-9, Water Pollution Control Permits, allows the Bureau to issue "General Permits" to cover specific geographical areas and either stormwater or other categories of "point source discharge" provided the sources all:
NPDES/Pesticide Permit Information
Getting started. If you need to submit an NOI, you would need to submit an NOI at least 15 days prior to a discharge (allow some time to develop the NOI online and mail a signed copy to DHEC). Some operators will be covered by this permit without the need to submit an NOI (i.e., those operators that don't expect to exceed the threshold for a given use pattern). A link to the NOI form can be found on our website noted below.
NPDES Permitting Fees
August 14, 2019 - Stakeholder Informational Session
Additional information will be posted as it becomes available.
NPDES Fee Regulations Presentation - August 14, 2019
Application Fees. There are no application fees for NPDES Permits. However, there are annual operating fees. For new (first-time) permits, the first year's fee must be paid in full before the permit can be issued. The first year's fee is not prorated.
NPDES Permit - Stormwater
What is the purpose of this permit?
When we talk about NPDES permits, we're really talking about a family of permits. One branch of the family focuses on discharges from city and industrial wastewater treatment systems. Another branch deals with stormwater runoff from land disturbance activities. This fact sheet addresses the so-called "stormwater construction permit" related to land disturbance.
NPDES Permit Renewal Information
Overview
NPDES permits are issued for a term not to exceed five years. Permits must be renewed before they expire for a discharge to continue. To begin the renewal process, a permittee must submit a renewal application to the Bureau of Water (Bureau) at least 180 days prior to their permit's expiration date. The Bureau may allow a renewal application to be submitted at a later date but in no case past a permit's expiration date. Requests for an extension of the application due date must be made before the renewal application due date.
NPDES Permit Program Definitions
- "Administrator" means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency or any employee of the Agency to whom the Administrator may by order delegate the authority to carry out his functions under section 307(a) of the CWA, or any person who shall by operation of law be authorized to carry out such functions.
NPDES Permit Cancellations and Terminations
Cancellations
The major difference between cancellation and termination of a permit is that a cancellation is carried out with the consent of the permittee while terminations may be effected without the consent of the permittee. The Bureau of Water will cancel an NPDES permit in two situations. The first cancellation situation is when a facility closes and/or eliminates its discharge(s) and the permittee requests that the permit be canceled. The second situation is when a permit expires without the permittee reapplying for the permit.
Groundwater Protection Program
Overview
The Groundwater Protection Program is part of the Division of Monitoring, Assessment, and Protection in the Bureau of Water.