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• i COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF )TE,ILTH -Water Quality Control Division Rationale -Page 2 Permit No. COR-040000 or siphoned from aaisr mining areas. 7hir is warn that is gennally clats~ed as process warn' and is marred undo the pre-costing Colorado Discharge Pctmit Syram (COPS). Stormwarer it swface runoff and is marred undo the new starmwater portion of the COPS. A. General Permits I)u regultuions allow rraty which have been delegated authority for the NPDES program to issue general pamiu or irrdividua! permits to rcg:rlate tndusrrial stormwater discharge. the State of Colorado lr a delegated matt, and has the authority to issue general permiu render the Colorado Warn QuaGry Control Act. (Note: TJre Colorado program is refereed ro as the Cobrado Discdrarge Permit Syrrtm, or COPS, instead of NPDES.) Tyre Watn Qua(iry Cameo! Division ('the Division') has ddnrninad that the use of general permits b the appropriate procrdwe jot handling the espeaed thousmrds of indutrrial rrormwater applications within the State. 1. T1~nv of General Permit:: Thar U the general permit to msrr stormrwter discharge from metal mining operations. Other stormwata general permiu an asalbbk for Ilght Industry, heavy industry, sand and gravel mining (and other nonmeraUic minnals), ronstruaion aalviries, and coo! mine with surface dudtarge only. 2. Temoorarv Gennal Permit Cos+eroee: Regulation oj:rornrwvtn lr a new field, and full impkauntarion of the Division's program wiU rake some time. Coverage of most faciUtiv under general permits is the jotter, mast efficient means of implonentirtg the program !n the shorn term Hown+rr, at ducribed elsewhere it thb Rariomk, genera! pnmir rovrragev not appropriate in the long tam jot some mining operations with a highn stormwater pollution pottntiaL 7hnrforc, the Division rcsaws the right to tempotmilj rover starmwater disrharee from mining aaivitiv under a general permit, even though individual permit mtrrage may be mare appropriate. Cert~cntion of thve aaivitle under a generol Pamir day not in any way It fringe on the Division's Nght to revoke that roverage and issue an individual permit or amend an tsisting individual permit, whin specialked jariliry attention is required B. Permit Reguiremenu Thin permit will not require submlrsion ojefjlaera monitoring data in the permit application or !n the permit iuelf. It it believed that far many mining situ a fully implemented Stormwater Management Plan (SR'MP) will be sufftriem to metro! water quality tmpatxr. However, far situ where a water quaGry impact from stormwatn Js known or suspected, an irtdividua! permit with additional rcquiranems wiU be required. Discharge ojsrormwatn assoriated with mining operations must mea al! applicable provisianr of Sections 301 and 402 of the Clean Watn Act. lhve provisions require ronrro! aj pollutant discharge to a les+el equivalent to But Available Technobgy Eronomimlly Achievable BAT) and Bvt Consrmianal Pollution Coruro! Teahnobgy (BCT), and any more srringem rontrols necvrary ra meet warn quality standards. The permit require disdrmgers ro metro! and eliminate the sorvcrs of poUutanrr in normwater through the devebpmem and implanentation oja SWMP. Tire plan must include But Managemcm Proctices (BMPa), which will include measure that reduce sources and prevent pollution. This will ronslirure BAT and BCT and should achieve rompGance with warn quality standards. .. This approach is ronristent with the Initial stage of the fourtier permitting strategy dvMbed by EPA rcgulat(ons, i. e., Tin 1, Baseline Permitting. Ibis erwbly the Division ro begin reducing pollutants Jn lndutMal starmwatn in the mart efficient acrd corttffective manner now available. Thor, err soon err possible, all disdrargers will ba required by the permit to begin implanenring proctim ro prevent pofhu/on. The narrative permit requirrmems afro include prohibitions againtr discharge of non-trormwarer.