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COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT <br />Water Quality Control Division <br />WQCD-PE-B2 <br />Cherry Creek Drive South <br />Denver, Colorado 80222-1530 <br />RATIONALE <br />STORMWATER DISCHARGES ASSOCIATED WITH <br />METAL MINING OPERATIONS AND MINE-WASTE REMEDIATION <br />GENERAL PERMIT IN COLORADO <br />COLORADO DISCHARGE PERMIT NUMBER COR-040000 <br />I. INTRODUCTION <br />The permit is for the regulation of stormwater runoff associated with meta[ mining operations and mine-waste <br />remediation projects. The term "metal" is used to distinguish this permit from the general permit for coal mining with <br />surface discharge only, and the general stormwater permit for sand and gravel mining and processing (and other <br />nonmetallic minerals). Other terms are defined in the permit. This Rationale will briefly explain the background of the <br />stormwater program, activities which are covered under this permit, how to apply for coverage under this permit, and <br />the requirements of this permit. <br />II. CHANGES IN RENEWAL PERMIT <br />The following major chm:ges have been made to this permit during renewal: <br />A. Mine-Waste Remediatioa: Stormwater Managemem Plan ("SWMP") requirements have been added that specifically <br />address stormwater concerns for operations that undertake mine-waste remediation and seek eventual permit <br />certification termination. These are described below at Section IV.B and VLB. <br />B. Terneination of Permit Coveraee: Provisions have been added to describe the criteria and process for termination <br />of permit coverage. These are described below at Section VI.H. <br />C. SWMP Format Chanees: The SWMP contents and requirements have been amended to eliminate redundancies. <br />SWMPs that were prepared in accordance with previous requirements are not required to be amended to conform <br />to the new SWMP format. The format of the SWMP has changed, but the essence of the requirements remains the <br />same. <br />D. Duplication: Redundancies between the permit and Rationale have been reduced. <br />E. Allowable Non-Stormwater Discharees: Several additions have been made to the list of non-stormwater discharges <br />which are allowed under this permit. These are described below at Section VI.A. <br />F. Other changes: Minor changes and clarifications have been made throughout the permit and Rationale. In <br />general, they do not affect the substance of the requirements. <br />.III. BACKGROUND <br />The federal Clean Water Act requires that industrial stormwarer discharges be regulated under the National Pollutant <br />Discharge Elimination System ("NPDES") program. (Note: the Colorado Program is referred to as the Colorado <br />Discharge Permit System, or CDPS, instead of NPDES.). <br />The Water Quality Control Division ("the Division') has stormwater regulations (5 CCR ]002-2, 6.1.0) in place. These <br />regulations specifically include mining operations where stormwater has come into contact with any overburden, raw <br />material, imermediate products, byproducts, finished products or waste products, as industrial facilities which must <br />obtain stormwater discharge permits. <br />J$e'-~. <br />