Wastewater 101:What is IDEM Up to Now?

Bruno Pigott Chief of Staff

Indiana Department of Environmental Management

Indiana Regional Sewer District Association Annual ConferenceOctober 26, 2015

Hamilton County 4H FairgroundsNoblesville, Indiana

Commissioner Carol Comer

What is IDEM Up to NOW?• Anti-Degradation• Metals• Nutrients• General Permits• Federal Initiatives

– Waters of the United States – Federal e-Reporting Rule

Antidegradation

• Indiana rule has been in place for years.

• What is the biggest source of controversy?

• Practically, what has it meant for permit applicants?

Metals• IDEM has proposed revisions to metals criteria

– Issued a first notice of rulemaking– Received no formal comments

• Changes meant to update nationally recommended criteria.

• Some become more stringent, others less so.• Rulemaking slowed to devote resources to

General Permits.

Nutrients

• August 2nd, Toledo municipal water supply infected with a toxin called microcystin in raw and finished water produced from Blue Green Algae.

• 500,000 residents told not to drink, boil or bathe in the water.

• Intensified EPA push to address nutrients.

Nutrients: Lake Erie Algae Bloom 2014

Nutrients: Regional Efforts• 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement

– Annex 4. Reduce Nutrient Loadings to Lake Erie– IDEM working with Great Lakes States and Canada

• Western Basin of Lake Erie Collaborative Agreement– Michigan, Ohio, Ontario– Agreed to achieve 40 percent load reduction in total

phosphorus– 2008 Data

• What is IDEM doing about Algae?– IDEM has built testing capacity– IDEM visits locations around the state to test for

Blue Green Algae. www.in.gov/idem/algae• What is IDEM doing about Nutrients in

Permits?– IDEM is placing 1 mg/l Phosphorus Limits on

Major Municipal NPDES Dischargers

Nutrients

General Permits

General Permits

• Like other states Indiana issues general permits for a variety of activities.

• Issuing general permits is efficient and fast.• Indiana General Permit Terms and Conditions

are currently embedded in rule.

General Permits• USEPA told IDEM that embedding General

Permits in rule had to change.– Petition for Withdrawal of NPDES program.– Conflict of Interest.– Terms and conditions not renewed.

• IDEM is in the process of issuing General Permits Administratively.– Rule Change Required– Permits must be written.

General Permits

• IDEM has Public Noticed 5 General Permits.– Sand and Gravel– Hydrostatic Testing of Commercial Pipelines– Noncontact Cooling Water– Petroleum Products Terminals– Ground Water Petroleum Remediation Systems.

General Permits

• The Environmental Rules Board passed a rule changing 327 IAC 15 to remove terms and conditions of the five general permits.

• Rule must be reviewed by Attorney General, Budget before becoming effective.

• IDEM will start issuing new General Permits after the rule is effective.

General Permits

• IDEM has not yet drafted storm water general permits for construction, industrial activities, MS4 entities, or coal.

• When IDEM drafts these rules, they will need to be approved by EPA.

• IDEM will share drafts with stakeholders, conduct public meetings prior to formal proposal of these permits.

Federal Initiatives

Waters of the United States• Started with a Supreme Court Case, Rapanos v.

United States. (2006)– Developer– Challenged jurisdiction over 22 acres of wetlands

• Court Ruling Split– Four conservatives argued for limited reading of ‘navigable

waters’– Four liberal justices argued for expansive reading.– Kennedy did not join either side. – Argued that wetlands must have significant nexus to

navigable waters

• USEPA Guidance Developed for site-by-site determinations.

• USEPA has proposed a rule that would clarify definition of Navigable Waters and include exceptions.

Waters of the United States

• Governor Pence’s Position:“Congress did not intend for the Clean Water Act to apply to every instance where a drop of water touches the earth. There are limits on federal authority, and the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers have overreached with their proposed Waters of the United States rule. They should withdraw the proposed rule and engage in a serious conversation with the states about where the lines of federal jurisdiction end and states’ authority over their own waters begins.”

• IDEM and ISDA sent comment letters.

Waters of the United States

Waters of the United States• Rule has been finalized.• August 27th, a federal district court judge for the

District of North Dakota issued a ruling granting a stay for North Dakota and 12 other states.

• Other district courts have declined to grant a stay• EPA considers the rule effective.• IDEM will continue to conduct business as usual

while the matter is litigated.

• EPA Drafted an electronic reporting rule.• Rule would require electronic submittal of:

• DMRs• General Permit NOIs, NOTs, No Exposure Exclusions• SSO or bypass events• Pretreatment Reports• CAFO Annual Reports• Annual Reports from biosolid generators• MS4 Annual Reports

Federal Electronic Reporting Rule

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Federal Electronic Reporting Rule• Time Frames

– One year from effective date, 90% of DMRs must be received from permit holders electronically.

– Two years from the effective date, 90% of all other reports must be received electronically

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• Rule Status:– Draft Federal Rule comment period in 2013. – Supplemental public comment period in 2014.– U.S. EPA working on revisions to the rule.– U.S. EPA goal: finalize rule by the end of 2015.

Federal Electronic Reporting Rule

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Federal Electronic Reporting Rule• IDEM is employing a system called NetDMR to

allow submission of DMRs electronically.

• Indiana Legislature passing a bill to allow IDEM to require Indiana facilities to submit electronically.

• Do not wait for the federal rule to pass!

• Sign up now, so your facility can become familiar and comfortable with NetDMR before it is a requirement!

• Operators who sign up for NetDMR now can receive 2 CEU credits.

Federal Electronic Reporting Rule

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Federal Electronic Reporting Rule

• How many have signed up already?– 600 NPDES permit holders now use NetDMR.– 34% of all NPDES permit holders.– 50% of major dischargers use NetDMR.– 50% of CSO communities using NetDMR.

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Thank You!

Bruno PigottChief of StaffIndiana Department of Environmental Management317-233-2550bpigott@idem.in.gov