Preparing for the New Ohio Stormwater Permit

Recently, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) released a draft for the new General Stormwater Permit for Industrial Activity (OHR000007). The current permit is set to expire on May 31, 2022.

For facilities who are applying for the General Industrial Stormwater Permit:

1. Ensure that your facility’s stormwater discharges are “stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity” as defined in Appendix A of the Draft Permit.
2. Determine if your facility falls under one of the industrial categories to which this permit applies. The industrial categories may be found in Appendix D of the new Stormwater permit. Examples of regulated facilities include but are not limited to:

• Timber product creation (general sawmills and planning mills, wood preserving, etc.)
• Paper and allied products (paperboard mills, pulp mills, paper mills, etc.)
• Chemicals and allied products (agricultural chemicals, industrial inorganic chemicals, etc.)
• Oil and gas extraction and refining
• Primary metals (steel works, blast furnaces, nonferrous foundries, etc.).
• Asphalt paving and roofing materials and lubricants
• Glass, clay, cement, concrete, and gypsum products
• Mineral mining and dressing operations
• Hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal
• Scrap recycling
• Water and/or air transportation

3. If this permit is applicable to your facility, you must first submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) through the Ohio EPA E-Business Center for approval.

Renewing a General Industrial Stormwater Permit

To renew your general permit, a Notice of Intent (NOI) must be submitted to the Ohio EPA within 90 days of the effective date of the permit. NOI must be submitted electronically though the Ohio eBusiness Center.

1. Modify your existing benchmark sampling plan

The Ohio EPA’s benchmark sampling rule is now more stringent than in previous years. The new permit requires that 4 quarterly benchmark samples are taken within the first 2-years (8 quarters), of permit coverage, instead of 3-years (12 quarters). Ensure your sampling plan matches the new permit requirements.

2. Modify your benchmark sampling plan for when the benchmark value is exceeded

The Ohio EPA states that when a benchmark value is exceeded during the 1st or 2nd year of the permit’s implementation, corrective actions must be taken and an additional 4 quarterly samples must be taken during the 3rd and 4th year of the permit’s implementation.

The new General Permit for Industrial Stormwater contains 147 pages of rules and information on its own.