CC-12-009: NPDES General Permit for Stormwater Discharges from Construction Activities

The February 29, 2012, edition of the Federal Register contained a notice that EPA has issued the final NPDES General Permit for Stormwater Discharges from Construction Activities (the Construction General Permit or CGP). Issuance of this general stormwater permit may be significant. First, while EPA’s permit is valid only in limited areas where EPA acts as the direct permitting authority, states charged with issuing analogous permits often base their permit conditions on those contained in the EPA CGP. Second, EPA has made a number of substantive changes to the CGP by incorporating technology-based Effluent Limitations Guidelines and New Source Performance Standards issued by the Agency in 2009. Finally, while not specifically mentioned in the notice, construction of forest roads could be considered an activity for which a CGP may be required.