Page 111 - California Stormwater Workshop Handouts

Industrial General Permit Fact Sheet

any additional monitoring requirements established pursuant to Water Code section
13383. Dischargers who have not developed and implemented a monitoring
program in compliance with the California Ocean Plan’s model monitoring provisions
by January 1, 2015 or seven (7) days prior to commencing operations, whichever is
later, are ineligible to obtain coverage under this General Permit.

2. Areas of Special Biological Significance (ASBS) Exception

The State Water Board adopted the California Ocean Plan (California Ocean Plan)
in 1972, and has subsequently amended the Plan. The California Ocean Plan
prohibits the discharge of waste to designated ASBS. ASBS are ocean areas
designated by the State Water Board as requiring special protection through the
maintenance of natural water quality. The California Ocean Plan states that the
State Water Board may grant an exception to California Ocean Plan provisions
where the State Water Board determines that the exception will not compromise
protection of ocean waters for beneficial uses and the public interest will be served.

On March 20, 2012, the State Water Board adopted Resolution 2012-0012 (ASBS
Exception), which grants an exception to the California Ocean Plan prohibition on
discharges to ASBS for a limited number of industrial storm water Discharger
applicants. The ASBS Exception contains “Special Protections” to maintain natural
water quality and protect the beneficial uses of the ASBS. In order to legally
discharge into an ASBS, these Dischargers must comply with the terms of the ASBS
Exception and obtain coverage under this General Permit. This General Permit
incorporates the terms of the ASBS Exception and includes the applicable
monitoring requirements for all Dischargers discharging to an ASBS under the ASBS
Exception.

H. Training Qualifications

This General Permit and the previous permit both require Dischargers to ensure that
personnel responsible for permit compliance have an acceptable level of knowledge.
Stakeholders have observed that the previous permit did not adequately specify how to
comply with various elements of the permit, such as selecting discharge locations
representative of the facility storm water discharge and evaluating potential pollutant
sources, nor did it provide a clearly outlined Discharger training program. Guidance that
is available from outside sources can be complicated to understand or costly to obtain,
which can result in many Dischargers developing and implementing deficient SWPPPs
and conducting inadequate monitoring activities. Some Dischargers under the previous
permit had the resources to hire professional environmental staff or environmental
consultants to assist in compliance. Even in those cases, however, there was little
certainty that Dischargers received training regarding implementation of the various
BMPs being implemented and required monitoring activities under the previous permit.
Through this General Permit, the State Water Board seeks to improve compliance and
monitoring data quality, and expand each Discharger’s understanding of this General
Permit’s requirements.

This General Permit establishes the Qualified Industrial Storm Water Practitioner (QISP)
role. A QISP is someone who has completed a State Water Board sponsored or

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