Section 327IAC5-2-3. Permit application

   (a) Any person required to have an NPDES permit, except for persons covered by general NPDES permits under 327 IAC 15, shall submit a complete application to the commissioner in accordance with this section, 327 IAC 5-3, and 40 CFR 122.21. In lieu of the forms specified in this section, a person may submit the application using equivalent state forms provided by the commissioner.

  (b) An application for a permit shall be submitted to the commissioner by the time specified in 327 IAC 5-3-2 or, in the case of an application for a statutory modification of or variance from effluent limitations, by the time specified in 327 IAC 5-3-4.

  (c) The owner of the facility or operation from which a discharge of pollutants occurs is responsible for applying for and obtaining a permit, except where the facility or operation is operated by a person other than an employee of the owner in which case it is the operator's duty to apply for and obtain a permit.

  (d) All applicants for NPDES permits, other than POTWs, shall submit to the commissioner a completed Application Form 1, General Information EPA Form 3510-1, revised August 1990.

  (e) Existing industrial facilities, including manufacturing, commercial, mining, and silvicultural operations, applying for NPDES permits shall provide the commissioner with the additional information specified in Application Form 2C, Wastewater Discharge Information, EPA Form 3510-2C, revised August 1990.

  (f) New and existing concentrated animal feeding operations and concentrated aquatic animal production facilities shall provide the commissioner with the additional information specified in Form 2B NPDES, Applications for Permit to Discharge Wastewater, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations and Aquatic Animal Production Facilities, EPA Form 3510-2B, revised November 2008.

  (g) New and existing POTWs shall provide the additional information specified by 40 CFR 122.21(j) on NPDES Form 2A, Application Overview, EPA Form 3510-2A, revised January 1999. Pursuant to 40 CFR 122.21(j), the commissioner may waive any requirement of Form 2A that is not of material concern for a specific permit, if approved by EPA. The following POTWs shall provide the results of valid whole effluent biological toxicity testing to the commissioner:

(1) All POTWs with design influent flows equal to or greater than one million (1,000,000) gallons per day.

(2) All POTWs with approved pretreatment programs or POTWs required to develop a pretreatment program.

  (h) In addition to the POTWs listed in subsection (g), the commissioner may require other POTWs to submit the results of toxicity tests with their permit applications, based on consideration of the following factors:

(1) The variability of the pollutants or pollutant parameters in the POTW effluent (based on chemical-specific information, the type of industrial contributors).

(2) The dilution of the effluent in the receiving water (ratio of effluent flow to receiving stream flow).

(3) Existing controls on point or nonpoint sources, including total maximum daily load calculations for the waterbody segment and the relative contribution of the POTW.

(4) Receiving stream characteristics, including possible or known water quality impairment, and whether the POTW discharges to one (1) of the Great Lakes, or a water designated as an outstanding natural resource.

(5) Other considerations (including, but not limited to, the history of toxic impact and compliance problems at the POTW), which the commissioner determines could cause or contribute to adverse water quality impacts.

  (i) For POTWs required under subsection (g) or (h) to conduct toxicity testing, POTWs shall use EPA's methods or other established protocols, which are scientifically defensible and sufficiently sensitive to detect aquatic toxicity. Such testing must have been conducted since the last NPDES permit reissuance or permit modification under 40 CFR 122.62(a), whichever occurred later.

  (j) All POTWs with approved pretreatment programs shall provide, to the commissioner, a written technical evaluation of the need to revise local limits under 40 CFR 403.5(c)(1).

  (k) Except for stormwater discharges, all existing industrial facilities engaged in manufacturing, commercial, mining, and silvicultural operations shall provide the additional information specified in Application Form 2C, Wastewater Discharge Information, EPA Form 3510-2C, revised August 1990.

  (l) Except for storm water discharges, all new industrial facilities engaged in manufacturing, commercial, mining, and silvicultural operations shall provide the additional information specified in Application Form 2D, New Sources and New Dischargers: Application for Permit to Discharge Process Wastewater, EPA Form 3510-2D, revised August 1990.

  (m) Except for storm water discharges, all manufacturing, commercial, mining, and silvicultural dischargers applying for NPDES permits which discharge only nonprocess wastewater not regulated by an effluent limitations guideline or new source performance standard shall provide the commissioner with the additional information specified in Application Form 2E, Facilities Which Do Not Discharge Process Wastewater, revised August 1, 1990.

  (n) Discharges of storm water associated with new and existing industrial activity as defined in 40 CFR 122.26(b)(14) shall provide additional information specified in NPDES Form 2F, Application for Permit to Discharge Storm Water Discharges Associated with Industrial Activity, EPA Form 3510-2F, revised January 1992.

  (o) Applicants shall keep records of all data used to complete permit applications and any supplemental information submitted under this section for a period of at least three (3) years from the date the application is signed.

  (p) In the case of an application for permit reissuance by a manufacturing, commercial, mining, or silvicultural discharger who has previously submitted an application in accordance with subsection (e) or (l), the permittee may request a waiver of the submission of analytical data for toxic pollutants otherwise required as part of the application if:

(1) analyses reported in the previous application or applications of at least two (2) samples of the effluent did not detect the presence of the toxic pollutants; and

(2) the permittee certifies that, to the best of his knowledge, no change in his operation has occurred since the previous application or applications that would give reason to believe the previous results would no longer be applicable.

The commissioner may grant or deny, in the commissioner's discretion, a request for a waiver under this subsection.

  (q) For discharges to waters within the Great Lakes system, in addition to the other requirements of this section, applicants requesting a permit renewal shall submit valid, representative receiving waterbody monitoring data for every metal monitored or limited in the applicant's existing permit. If the existing permit contains monitoring for cadmium, chromium (III), copper, lead, nickel, or zinc, the applicant shall also submit receiving waterbody monitoring data for hardness. The commissioner may require waterbody monitoring for additional substances if the data are necessary to process the permit application. If valid, representative, monitoring data in the waterbody for these parameters are already available, the applicant may request that this existing data substitute for the monitoring required under this subsection. The commissioner may require the submission of this additional receiving waterbody monitoring data for applicants requesting a new, renewal of, or modification of an NPDES permit if these additional data are necessary to draft an NPDES permit.

  (r) The permit application forms described in this section are available online at http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/ or from the IDEM Office of Water Quality, Indiana Government Center North, 100 North Senate Avenue, Room N1255, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204. (Water Pollution Control Division; 327 IAC 5-2-3; filed Sep 24, 1987, 3:00 p.m.: 11 IR 618; filed Feb 26, 1993, 5:00 p.m.: 16 IR 1738; filed Jan 14, 1997, 12:00 p.m.: 20 IR 1422; errata filed Aug 11, 1997, 4:15 p.m.: 20 IR 3378; filed Oct 9, 2015, 4:07 p.m.: 20151104-IR-327100659FRA)