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All industrial stormwater permittees were recently emailed a courtesy
message to remind them about the sampling requirements within the 2015-2020
industrial stormwater permit. The current general permit was issued April 2015
and all renewing permittees were required to start sampling on a quarterly
basis, for four quarters, starting July 2015. Here are the first six sampling
quarters:
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Quarter 1: July, August, September 2015 (form was due no later than
October 21, 2015)
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Quarter 2: October, November, December 2015 (form was due no later than
January 21, 2016)
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Quarter 3: January, February, March 2016 (form was due no later than
April 21, 2016)
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Quarter 4: April, May, June 2016 (form was due no later than July 21,
2016)
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Quarter 5: July, August, September 2016 (if sampling was still required,
form was due by Oct 21, 2016)
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Quarter 6: October, November, December 2016 (if sampling is still required,
form is due by Jan 21, 2017)
June 30, 2016 marked the end of the first year/four quarters of
industrial stormwater sampling requirements for most permittees. New applicants (anyone who
received permit coverage on or after July 1, 2015) should have started sampling
during the next calendar quarter after receiving permit coverage and continued
sampling once quarterly for at least four quarters.
Submit your sampling results on your facility-specific sampling form. To
download and fill out the form, go to the Industrial
Stormwater Permit Information Access website and type in your Permit ID
number or facility name.
Use this handy “Industrial
Stormwater Sampling Worksheet” to
record and review your sampling data. Previously, we had, as a courtesy,
sampling results and sampling calendars on our website to let permittees know
if they had to continue sampling. Due to our agency-wide data system
upgrade, that functionality is currently not available. We are working on
bringing back that functionality.
Remember:
- Having high
results for a single sample or your yearly average is not a violation.
- Not reacting
to a years’ worth of exceedances and making BMP changes is a violation.
- Not
attempting to sample is a violation.
- Not
submitting the required sampling form is
a violation.
Frequently-asked questions:
What if I didn’t collect samples
during four separate quarters? Continue attempting to sample. Be sure to submit a sampling form
with a “no sample collected” explanation for any quarter you didn’t collect a
sample but are required to sample. If you were able to collect stormwater
samples from four different quarters, calculate the average value of each
parameter’s monitoring results and compare with the benchmark values listed in
the general
permit and on your
facility-specific sampling form.
What if my sample is below or
above the benchmark value in my permit? If your averaged value is less than the permit benchmark value,
you’re done monitoring for that parameter for the rest of this permit cycle. If
your average value is more than the benchmark value, continue sampling until
your averaged values of results during four separate quarters’ of sampling results
fall below the benchmark values. If you are unsure whether or not you
have to continue sampling, please contact any industrial stormwater technical
staff and we’ll be happy to help you.
I
had sampling requirement for two (or more) parameters. For my averages, I
passed one of them but exceeded for others. Do I have to re-sample for all
parameters? What should I record on the sampling form? For
the results where sampling is no longer required, you no longer have to sample
for those parameters. Put the word “passed” for the result to let us know you
no longer have to sample for that parameter.
What if I am below the permit benchmark
values for all of my parameter(s) at all of my monitoring location(s)? Great! You do not need to notify the MPCA that you’re “done” with
the sampling requirements. Keep the individual and averaged results
documented within your Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan.
What if I couldn’t collect a sample in
each of the first four quarters? What if I collected samples from all four
quarters but the averaged results exceed my permit’s values? Continue
sampling in either scenario. Submit a sampling form each quarter, with either
sample results or a “no flow” explanation. If the averaged results exceeded
your permit’s values, continue sampling once per quarter until you have averaged
results below your permit’s values for four quarters’ worth of results in a
row.
What if I can’t ever collect a
stormwater sample? You will still have to submit a
sampling form for any quarter you’re required to collect a sample with a “no off-site
discharge” explanation. If you can’t ever collect a sample, you’ll be required
to submit a sampling form with that “no discharge” explanation for each quarter
of the 2015-2020 permit cycle.
How do I update a site
contact? Please fill out and submit the change form.
Our winter 2017 ISW training sessions schedule is set!
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Tuesday January 31, 2017 at the MECA pre-conference
events at the Verizon Wireless Center in Mankato, MN. This half-day session will address SWPPP
modifications due to benchmark monitoring test result exceedances. Register at
http://mnerosion.org/
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Tuesday March 7, 2017 at the MNDOT Training
Facility in Arden Hills, MN. This day-long session will cover permit basics,
SWPPP development and implementation and stormwater monitoring and reporting
requirements. For additional information or to register,
please visit the U
of M Erosion and Stormwater Management Certification Program’s website
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May 10, 2017, at the MNDOT Training Facility in
Arden Hills, MN. This half-day session will address SWPPP
modifications due to benchmark monitoring test result exceedances. For additional information or to register,
please visit the U
of M Erosion and Stormwater Management Certification Program’s website
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