Section R18-9-A301. Discharging Under a General Permit

A.      Discharging requirements.

1.        Type 1 General Permit. A person may discharge under a Type 1 General Permit without submitting a Notice of Intent to Discharge if the discharge is authorized by and meets:

a.         The applicable requirements of Article 3, Part A of this Chapter; and

b.        The specific terms of the Type 1 General Permit established in Article 3, Part B of this Chapter.

2.        Type 2 General Permit. A person may discharge under a Type 2 General Permit if:

a.         The discharge is authorized by and meets the appli- cable requirements of Article 3, Part A of this Chap- ter and the specific terms of the Type 2 General Permit established in Article 3, Part C of this Chap- ter;

b.        The person files a Notice of Intent to Discharge under subsection (B); and

c.         The person submits the applicable fee established in 18 A.A.C. 14.

3.        Type 3 General Permit. A person may discharge under a Type 3 General Permit if:

a.         The discharge is authorized by and meets the appli- cable requirements of Article 3, Part A of this Chap- ter and the specific terms of the Type 3 General Permit established in Article 3, Part D of this Chap- ter;

b.        The person files a Notice of Intent to Discharge under subsection (B);

c.         The person satisfies any deficiency requests from the Department regarding the administrative com- pleteness review and substantive review and receives a written Discharge Authorization from the Director; and

d.        The person submits the applicable fee established in 18 A.A.C. 14.

4.        Type 4 General Permit. A person may discharge under a Type 4 General Permit if:

a.         The discharge is authorized by and meets the appli- cable requirements of Article 3, Part A of this Chap- ter and the specific terms of the Type 4 General Permit established in Article 3, Part E of this Chap- ter;

b.        The person files a Notice of Intent to Discharge under subsection (B);

c.         The person satisfies any deficiency requests from the Department regarding the administrative com- pleteness review and substantive review, including any deficiency relating to the construction of the facility;

d.        The person receives a written Discharge Authoriza- tion from the Director before the facility discharges; and

e.         The person submits the applicable fee established in 18 A.A.C. 14 or according to A.R.S. §§ 49-107 and 49-112.

B.       Notice of Intent to Discharge.

1.        A person seeking a Discharge Authorization under a gen- eral permit under subsections (A)(2), (3), or (4) shall sub- mit, by certified mail, in person, or by another method approved by the Department, a Notice of Intent to Dis- charge on a form provided by the Department.

2.        The Notice of Intent to Discharge shall include:

a.         The name, address, and telephone number of the applicant;

b.        The name, address, and telephone number of a con- tact person familiar with the operation of the facility;

c.         The name, position, address, and telephone number of the owner or operator of the facility who has over- all responsibility for compliance with the permit;

d.        The legal description of the discharge areas, includ- ing the latitude and longitude coordinates;

e.         A narrative description of the facility or project, including expected dates of operation, rate, and vol- ume of discharge;

f.         The additional requirements, if any, specified in the general permit for which the authorization is being sought;

g.        A listing of any other federal or state environmental permits issued for or needed by the facility, includ- ing any individual permit, Groundwater Quality Pro- tection Permit, or Notice of Disposal that may have previously authorized the discharge; and

h.        A signature on the Notice of Intent to Discharge cer- tifying that the applicant agrees to comply with all applicable requirements of this Article, including specific terms of the general permit.

3.        Receipt of a completed Notice of Intent to Discharge by the Department begins the administrative completeness review for a Type 3 or Type 4 General Permit.

C.      Type 3 General Permit authorization review.

1.        Inspection. The Department may inspect the facility to determine that the applicable terms of the general permit have been met.

2.        Discharge Authorization issuance.

a.         If the Department determines, based on its review and an inspection, if conducted, that the facility con- forms to the requirements of the general permit and the applicable requirements of this Article, the Director shall issue a Discharge Authorization.

b.        The Discharge Authorization authorizes the person to discharge under terms of the general permit and applicable requirements of this Article.

3.        Discharge Authorization denial. If the Department deter- mines, based on its review and an inspection, if con- ducted, that the facility does not conform to the requirements of the general permit or other applicable requirements of this Article, the Director shall notify the person of the decision not to issue the Discharge Authori- zation and the person shall not discharge under the gen- eral permit. The notification shall inform the person of:

a.         The reason for the denial with reference to the stat- ute or rule on which the denial is based;

b.        The person’s right to appeal the denial, including the number of days the applicant has to file a protest challenging the denial and the name and telephone number of the Department contact person who can answer questions regarding the appeals process; and

c.         The person’s right to request an informal settlement conference under A.R.S. §§ 41-1092.03(A) and 41- 1092.06.

D.      Type 4 General Permit review.

1.        Pre-construction phase and facility construction. A per- son shall not begin facility construction until the Director issues a Construction Authorization.

a.         Inspection. The Department may inspect the facility site before construction to determine that the appli- cable terms of the general permit will be met.

b.        Review. If the Department determines, based on an inspection or its review of design plans, specifica- tions, or other required documents that the facility does not conform to the requirements of the general permit or other applicable requirements of this Arti-

cle, the Department shall make a written request for additional information to determine whether the facility will meet the requirements of the general permit.

c.         Construction Authorization. If the Department determines, based on the review described in sub- section (D)(1)(b) and any additional information submitted in response to a written request, that the facility design conforms with the requirements of the general permit and other applicable requirements of this Article, the Director shall issue a Construc- tion Authorization to the person seeking to dis- charge. A Construction Authorization for an on-site wastewater treatment facility shall contain:

i.         The design flow of the facility,

ii.        The characteristics of the wastewater sources contributing to the facility,

iii.      The general permits that apply, and

iv.       A list of the documents that are the basis for the authorization.

d.        Construction Authorization denial. If the Depart- ment determines, based on the review described in subsection (D)(1)(b) and any additional information submitted in response to a written request, that the facility design does not conform to the requirements of the general permit or other applicable require- ments of this Article, the Director shall notify the person of the decision not to issue a Construction Authorization. The notification shall include the information listed in subsections (D)(2)(d).

e.         Construction.

i.         A person shall complete construction within two years of receiving a Construction Authori- zation.

ii.        Construction shall conform with the plans and documents approved by the Department in the Construction Authorization. A change in loca- tion, configuration, dimension, depth, material, or installation procedure does not require approval by the Department if the change con- tinues to conform with the specific standard in this Article used as the basis for the original design.

iii.      The person shall record all changes made during construction, including any changes approved under R18-9-A312(G) on the site plan as specified in R18-9-A309(C)(1) or on documents as specified in R18-9-A309(C)(2) or R18-9-E301(E), as applicable.

f.         Completion of construction.

i.         After completing construction of the facility, the person seeking to discharge shall submit any applicable documents specified in R18-9- A309(C) with the Request for Discharge Authorization form for an on-site wastewater treatment facility and the Engineer’s Certificate of Completion specified in R18-9-E301(E) for a sewage collection system. Receipt of the doc- uments by the Department initiates the post- construction review phase.

ii.        If the Department does not receive the docu- mentation specified in subsection (D)(1)(f)(i) by the end of the two-year construction period, the Notice of Intent to Discharge expires, and the person shall not continue construction or discharge.

iii.      If the Notice of Intent to Discharge expires, the person shall submit a new Notice of Intent to Discharge under subsection (B) and the appli- cable fee under subsection (A)(4)(e) to begin or continue construction.

2.        Post-construction phase.

a.         Inspection. The Department may inspect the facility before issuing a Discharge Authorization to deter- mine whether:

i.         The construction conforms with the design authorized by the Department under subsection (D)(1)(c) and any changes recorded on the site plan as specified in R18-9-A309(C)(1) or other documents as specified in R18-9-A309(C)(2), or R18-9-E301(E), as applicable; and

ii.        Terms of the general permit and applicable terms of this Article are met.

b.        Deficiencies. If the Department identifies deficien- cies based on an inspection of the constructed facil- ity or during the review of documents submitted with the request for the Discharge Authorization, the Director shall provide a written explanation of the deficiencies to the person.

c.         Discharge Authorization issuance.

i.         Upon satisfactory completion of construction and documents required under R18-9- A309(C)(1) R18-9-A309(C)(2), or R18-9- E301(E), as applicable, the Director shall issue a Discharge Authorization.

ii.        The Discharge Authorization allows a person to discharge under terms of the general permit and applicable requirements of this Article and the stated terms of the Construction Authorization.

d.        Discharge Authorization denial. If, after receiving evidence of correction submitted by the person seek- ing to discharge, the Department determines that the deficiencies are not satisfactorily corrected, the Director shall notify the person seeking to discharge of the Director’s decision not to issue the Discharge Authorization and the person shall  not discharge under the general permit. The notification shall inform the person of:

i.         The reason for the denial with reference to the statute or rule on which the denial is based;

ii.        The person’s right to appeal the denial, includ- ing the number of days the applicant has to file a protest challenging the denial and the name and telephone number of the Department con- tact person who can answer questions regarding the appeals process; and

iii.      The person’s right to request an informal settle- ment conference under A.R.S. §§ 41- 1092.03(A) and 41-1092.06.

Historical Note

New Section adopted by final rulemaking at 7 A.A.R. 235, effective January 1, 2001 (Supp. 00-4). Amended by final rulemaking at 11 A.A.R. 4544, effective November 12, 2005 (05-3).