DEP Begins Issuing NPDES Permits With Revised Discharge Limits under the Chesapeake Bay Program

Posted on January 24, 2008 by Chip Haws

 After issuing draft NPDES permits in September 2007, the Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) began issuing final NPDES permits last week.  The permits are being issued as part of the first of three phases of implementation of the Department’s Bay Program.  The largest sewer plants in the Bay watershed comprise the facilities under the first phase of implementation.  The permits serve to impose monitoring requirements for nutrients, specifically nitrogen and phosphorus.  The permits contain compliance schedules for complying with permit specific nutrient levels based on the facilities permitted design flow or treatment capacity multiplied by a 6 mg/l for nitrogen and 0.8 mg/l for phosphorus. 

 

Each of the facilities that are to receive new NPDES permits under this first phase of implementation were to have submitted a report, which was to demonstrate the facilities ability to comply with the new effluent limits or a schedule for compliance with the new limits by upgrading the treatment facilities or by purchasing nutrient credits to off-set any exceedence of the new effluent.  The required plant upgrades will be expensive by any account, which cost will be passed on to rate payers.

 

There have been very few nutrient credit trades approved by DEP at this point, but it is anticipated that nutrient credit trading will increase as the new permit limits come into effect. with the first deadline for compliance set for the period between October 1, 2010 and September 30, 2011.

 

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