45.1-254 - National pollutant discharge elimination system permits.
§ 45.1-254. National pollutant discharge elimination system permits.
A. Upon request of the Director, the State Water Control Board may delegateto the Director its authority, under the State Water Control Law, Chapter 3.1(§ 62.1-44.2 et seq.) of Title 62.1 to issue, amend, revoke and enforcenational pollutant discharge elimination system permits for the discharge ofsewage, industrial wastes and other wastes from coal surface miningoperations. Upon receiving such delegation, the authority to issue, amend,revoke and enforce national pollutant discharge elimination system permitsunder the State Water Control Law for the discharge of sewage, industrialwastes and other wastes from coal surface mining operations, to the extentrequired under the federal Clean Water Act, P.L. 92-500, as amended, shall bevested solely in the Director, notwithstanding any provision of law containedin Title 62.1, except as provided herein. For the purpose of enforcementunder this section, the provisions of §§ 62.1-44.31 and 62.1-44.32 shallapply to permits, orders and regulations issued by the Director in accordancewith this section.
B. After having received delegation of authority pursuant to subsection A ofthis section, the Director shall transmit to the State Water Control Board acopy of each application for a national pollutant discharge eliminationsystem permit received by the Director, and provide written notice to theState Water Control Board of every action related to the consideration ofsuch permit application.
C. Prior to the issuance or reissuance of a permit, applicants shall submitan application on a form approved by the Director and a fee of $300 for eachdischarge outfall point under the permit. If an application is approved thepermittee shall, on the anniversary of the permit approval for each year ofthe permit term, submit $300 for each discharge outfall point under thepermit. Each permit shall remain valid for five years. All fees provided forunder this section shall be in addition to any other fees levied pursuant tothis chapter.
D. No national pollutant elimination system permit shall be issued if, withinthirty days of the date of the transmittal of the complete application andthe proposed national pollution discharge elimination system permit, theState Water Control Board objects in writing to the issuance of such permit.Whenever the State Water Control Board objects to the issuance of such permitunder this section, such written objection shall contain a statement of thereasons for such objection and the effluent limitations and conditions whichsuch permits would include if it were issued by the State Water Control Board.
E. An applicant who is aggrieved by an objection made under subsection D ofthis section shall have the right to a hearing before the State Water ControlBoard pursuant to § 62.1-44.25. If the State Water Control Board withdraws,in writing, its objection to the issuance of a certificate, the Director mayissue the permit. Any applicant, aggrieved by a final decision of the StateWater Control Board made pursuant to this subsection, shall have the right tojudicial review in accordance with the provisions of the AdministrativeProcess Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.).
F. Whenever, on the basis of any information available to it, the State WaterControl Board finds that any person is in violation of any condition orlimitation contained in a national pollutant discharge elimination systempermit issued by the Director, it shall notify the person in allegedviolation and the Director. If beyond the thirtieth day after notification bythe State Water Control Board, the Director has not commenced appropriateenforcement action, the State Water Control Board may take appropriateenforcement action pursuant to §§ 62.1-44.15, 62.1-44.23, and 62.1-44.32.
G. The Director shall promulgate such regulations as he deems necessary forthe issuance, administration, monitoring and enforcement of nationalpollutant discharge elimination system permits for coal surface miningoperations.
H. For the purpose of this section, the terms "sewage," "industrialwastes" and "other wastes" shall have the meanings ascribed to them in §62.1-44.3.
(1979, c. 290; 1986, c. 615; 2008, c. 275.)