Statewide Ohio EPA Permit No. OHN000005
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit Program
PUBLIC NOTICE
OF
ISSUANCE OF THE DRAFT GENERAL NPDES PERMIT AND PUBLIC HEARING
FOR
NON-CONTACT COOLING WATER DISCHARGERS
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
Division of Surface Water, Permits Section
50 West Town Street
P.O. Box 1049
Columbus, Ohio 43216-1049
(614) 644-2001
Public Notice No.: 15-11-030
Date of Issue of Public Notice: November 16, 2015
Public notice is hereby given that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA)
Division of Surface Water (DSW) has issued a draft renewal of the general National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit that may potentially provide
coverage to non-contact cooling water dischargers in the state of Ohio. This draft permit
represents a renewal of the non-contact cooling water permit issued on January 1, 2011.
Facilities with a discharge of less than 5 percent of the critical low flow (7day, 10 year low
flow) of the receiving stream are eligible for coverage under this permit. The most
significant addition to this renewal is allowing new discharges to be covered under the
permit, subjecting the permit to the requirements of antidegradation. Ohio EPA proposes
that a review of technical alternatives and social and economic issues related to the
degradation is not required based upon paragraph (D)(1)(j) of rule 3745-1-05, which
provides that an exclusion applies for any general permit developed by the Director in
accordance with the provisions of Chapter 3745-38 of the Administrative Code.
Ohio EPA will hold a public hearing on the draft General NPDES permit at 3:00 p.m. on
January 5, 2016 at Ohio EPA Central Office, Conference Room A, 50 West Town Street,
Suite 700, Columbus, Ohio 43215. The public hearing will end when all interested parties
have had an opportunity to provide testimony related to the draft permit. All interested
persons are entitled to attend or be represented and give written and/or oral comments on
the draft permit. The purpose of the hearing is to obtain additional information that will be
considered by the Director of Ohio EPA prior to any further action on the draft permit.
Ohio EPA will continue to accept written comments on the draft permit through the close of
business on January 12, 2016. Comments received after this date may not be considered
as part of the official record of the hearing. Persons wishing to be on the Ohio EPA’s
interested parties’ mailing list for this project or wishing to submit comments for Ohio EPA’s
consideration may do so in writing to Ohio EPA’s Division of Surface Water, Attention:
Permits Processing Unit, P.O. Box 1049, Columbus, Ohio 43216-1049 or via email to:
EPA.DSW[email protected].
Copies of the draft general NPDES permit and the associated fact sheet and
documentation can be obtained on the Ohio EPA-DSW web page at
http://epa.ohio.gov/dsw/permits/GP_NonContactCoolingWater.aspx or by calling
614-644-2001.
