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California Water Boards' Annual Performance Report - Fiscal Year  2017-18 

REGULATE: NPDES WASTEWATER FACILITIES

GROUP:
NPDES WASTEWATER FACILITIES

MESSAGE:  
The largest number of major facilities are concentrated in the most populated areas such as Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco.
MEASURE:
NPDES FACILITIES BY TYPE

Key Statistics for FY 2017-18
Number of Major Facilities:252
Number of Individual Minor:201
Number of General Minor:138

MEASUREMENTS  - Data Last Updated on: December 19, 2018

Regional
Offices		 Major Facilities Minor Facilities Total
Individual
Permits		 Individual
Permits		 General Permit
Enrollees
11224036
2483827113
320123163
44840088
5F5409
5R1220032
5S3131264
5 all.48552105
6A1315
6B14611
6 all.27716
7912728
82483668
94152874
TOTAL252201138591

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abcdefhiklmnopqrstuvwxyz024487296120Region 1Region 2Region 3Region 4Region 5FRegion 5RRegion 5SRegion 6ARegion 6BRegion 7Region 8Region 9Major Facilities Individual Permits Minor Facilities Individual Permits Minor Fac. Gen. Permits Enrollees

WHAT THE MEASURE IS SHOWING

463 facilities are regulated under individual NPDES permit, of those facilities 254 are classified as major facilities and 209 are classified as minor facilities. Major NPDES facilities are concentrated in the most populous areas, with 75 percent of the state's major facilities in the San Francisco Bay Region (Region 2), the Los Angeles Region (Region 4), the Central Valley Region (Region 5), and San Diego Region (Region 9). In addition to individually permitted facilities, the NPDES Program also regulates 150 facilities under a General NPDES Permit.

 

WHY THIS MEASURE IS IMPORTANT

In order to ensure that discharges to surface waters do not adversely affect the quality and beneficial uses of such waters, NPDES permits must be reviewed and revised to reflect new standards and requirements (such as new TMDLs and other water quality plans and policies adopted) and updates to monitoring and reporting requirements (reflecting previous facility performance and compliance history). NPDES permits expire five years after issuance and are required to be reissued (i.e., renewed) every five years or less (40 CFR Part 122.46 and California Water Code section 13380). Typically, permit requirements remain in effect until the permit is reissued, however NPDES permits may also be revoked or terminated. Revising and reissuing permits for major facilities requires a significant amount of time and resources, and is considered a good indicator of overall program performance.

 

TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS

 

GLOSSARY

Major Facility
Major municipal dischargers include all facilities with design flows of greater than one million gallons per day and facilities with approved industrial pretreatment programs. Major industrial facilities are determined based on specific ratings criteria developed by US EPA/State.

Minor Facility
A minor facility is a discharge with a design flow of less than one million gallons per day (MGD) that has not been determined to have an actual or potential adverse environmental impact classifying the discharge as major.

General Facility
A general facility is a discharge with a design flow of less than one million gallons per day (MGD) that has not been determined to have an actual or potential adverse environmental impact classifying the discharge as major.

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
The NPDES permit program (Section 402 of the Clean Water Act) controls water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States. Point sources are discrete conveyances such as pipes or man-made ditches. Individual homes that are connected to a municipal system, use a septic system, or do not have a surface discharge do not need an NPDES permit; however, industrial, municipal, and other facilities must obtain permits if their discharges go directly to surface waters. US EPA has approved the Water Board's program to issue NPDES permits.

NPDES Permit
The Clean Water Act prohibits anybody from discharging "pollutants" through a "point source" into a "water of the United States" unless they have an NPDES permit. The permit contains limits on what can be discharged, monitoring and reporting requirements, and other provisions to protect water quality and public health. In essence, the permit translates general requirements of the Clean Water Act into specific provisions tailored to the operations of each person discharging pollutants.