Section 92a.61. Monitoring

(a) The provisions of 40 CFR 122.48 (relating to requirements for recording and reporting of monitoring results (applicable to State programs, see § 123.25)) are incorporated by reference.

(b) The Department may impose reasonable monitoring requirements on any discharge, including monitoring of the surface water intake and discharge of a facility or activity, other operational parameters that may affect effluent quality, and of surface waters adjacent to or associated with the intake or discharge flow of a facility or activity. The Department may require submission of data related to the monitoring.

(c) Each person who discharges pollutants may be required to monitor and report all toxic, conventional, nonconventional and other pollutants in its discharge, at least once a year, and on a more frequent basis if required by a permit condition. The monitoring requirements will be specified in the permit.

(d) Except for stormwater discharges subject to the requirements of subsection (h), a discharge authorized by an NPDES permit for a facility that is not a minor facility or contains toxic pollutants for which an effluent standard has been established by the Administrator under section 307(a) of the Federal Act (33 U.S.C.A. § 1317(a)) shall be monitored by the permittee for at least the following:

(1) Flow (in GPD or MGD).

(2) Pollutants (either directly or indirectly through the use of accepted correlation coefficients or equivalent measurements) that are subject to abatement under the terms and conditions of the permit.

(3) Pollutants that the Department finds, on the basis of information available to it, could have an impact on the quality of this Commonwealth’s waters or the quality of waters in other states.

(4) Pollutants specified by the Administrator in regulations issued under the Federal Act as subject to monitoring.

(5) Pollutants in addition to those in paragraphs (2)—(4) that the Administrator requests in writing to be monitored.

(e) Each effluent flow or pollutant required to be monitored under subsections (c) and (d) shall be monitored at intervals sufficiently frequent to yield data that reasonably characterize the nature of the discharge of the monitored effluent flow or pollutant. Variable effluent flows and pollutant levels shall be monitored at more frequent intervals than relatively constant effluent flows and pollutant levels that may be monitored at less frequent intervals.

(f) The permittee shall maintain records of the information resulting from any monitoring activities required of it in its NPDES permit as follows:

(1) Records of monitoring activities and results must include for all samples:

(i) The date, exact place and time of sampling.

(ii) The dates analyses were performed.

(iii) Who performed the analyses.

(iv) The analytical techniques/methods used.

(v) The results of the analyses.

(2) The permittee shall also be required to retain for a minimum of 3 years any records of monitoring activities and results including all original strip chart recordings for continuous monitoring instrumentation and calibration and maintenance records. This period of retention may be extended during the course of any unresolved litigation regarding the discharge of pollutants by the permittee or when requested by the Department or the Administrator.

(g) The permittee shall periodically report, at a frequency of at least once per year, using a format or process established by the Department, results obtained by a permittee pursuant to monitoring requirements. In addition to these results, the Department may require submission of other information regarding monitoring results it determines to be necessary.

(h) Requirements to report monitoring results from stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity, except those subject to an effluent limitation guideline or an NPDES general permit, will be established in a case-by-case basis with a frequency dependent on the nature and effect of the discharge.

(i) The monitoring requirements under this section must be consistent with any National monitoring, recording and reporting requirements specified by the Administrator in regulations issued under the Federal Act.

(j) The Department may require that the permittee perform additional sampling for limited periods for the purpose of TMDL development, or for other reasons that the Department determines are appropriate.

Notation

Cross References

This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 92a.3 (relating to incorporation of Federal regulations by reference).