1273 Availability of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System general permit for discharges from hydrostatic testing of tanks and pipelines (PAG-10)

Availability of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System General Permit for Discharges from Hydrostatic Testing of Tanks and Pipelines (PAG-10)

[45 Pa.B. 3775]
[Saturday, July 11, 2015]

 Under The Clean Streams Law (35 P. S. §§ 691.1—691.1001) and sections 1905-A, 1917-A and 1920-A of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. §§ 510-5, 510-17 and 510-20), the Department of Environmental Protection (Department), by this notice, informs the public of the availability of the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) PAG-10 General Permit for Discharges from Hydrostatic Testing of Tanks and Pipelines (PAG-10). The General Permit will become effective at 12 a.m. on July 11, 2015.

 PAG-10 is intended to provide NPDES permit coverage to those who wish to conduct hydrostatic testing and discharge the water used for this testing to surface waters of the Commonwealth that are not considered high quality or exceptional value.

 Notice of the availability of a draft PAG-10 General Permit was published at 45 Pa.B. 1454 (March 21, 2015). A 30-day comment period was provided for as part of the draft permit publication. During the 30-day comment period, the Department received comments from Bankson Engineers, Inc., Columbia Pipeline Group, the Marcellus Shale Coalition, the Fish and Boat Commission and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. No hearings were held with respect to the draft PAG-10 General Permit.

 The annual installment of the Notice of Intent (NOI) fee for coverage under PAG-10 is $500 per each year the permittee operates under the General Permit. The fee will be paid in installments, with the initial fee of $500 submitted with the NOI for permit coverage and an installment of $500 to be submitted with the annual report due March 1 of each year if the permittee does not wish to terminate permit coverage. The Department anticipates that after coverage under PAG-10 is autho-rized, coverage will continue without the need to submit an NOI for renewal of coverage as long as the PAG-10 General Permit is renewed, unless the Department specifically requires the submission of an NOI in writing.

 The following changes were made to the final PAG-10 General Permit in comparison to the draft PAG-10 General Permit published at 45 Pa.B. 1454:

 • Language in Part C II.A.4 of the General Permit has been revised from ''average volume of the stream'' to ''volume of the stream at the time of withdrawal.''

 • Language in Part C II.A.5 of the General Permit has been revised from ''The discharge must be controlled to the lowest possible rate (preferably less than 100 GPM) to minimize any potential impact on aquatic life and reduce erosion'' to ''The permittee shall limit the volume to be discharged to the lowest possible rate to minimize any potential impact on aquatic life and to reduce the potential for erosion.''

 • Clarification was made in Part C II.A.5 of the General Permit that discharges to stocked trout streams during the trout stocking season from March 1 to June 15 are not authorized.

 • Reporting of the anticipated number of discharges per year was added as a requirement to the 15-Day Notification Form.

 • Reporting of the anticipated volume of water per discharge event was added as a requirement to the NOI.

 • Submission of an additional copy of the NOI and the 15-Day Notification Form to the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, when applicable, was added as a requirement.

 • A requirement was added for owners of an existing Natural Gas Transmission Line to monitor for Polychlorinated Biphenyls.

 • While the draft General Permit included average monthly and instantaneous maximum (IMAX) limitations for Total Residual Chlorine of 0.02 mg/L and 0.05 mg/L, respectively, the Department has decided to establish only the IMAX limit in the final General Permit, consistent with the previous version of the PAG-10 General Permit.

 The permit document package can be accessed through the Department's eLibrary web site at www.elibrary.dep.state.pa.us (Select ''Permit and Authorization Packages,'' then ''Point and Non-Point Source Management,'' then ''National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System—NPDES,'' then ''General Permits'' then ''PAG-10 Discharges Resulting from Hydrostatic Testing of Tanks and Pipelines.'')

 For PAG-10 General Permit NOIs, the Department will publish notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin for approvals of coverage only (see 25 Pa. Code § 92a.84(c)(3) (relating to public notice of general permits)).

 Questions regarding PAG-10 General Permit for Hydrostatic Testing of Tanks and Pipelines should be directed to Andrew Gaul, [phone], [e-mail].

JOHN QUIGLEY, 
Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 15-1273. Filed for public inspection July 10, 2015, 9:00 a.m.]