Comments Due May 27 on Louisiana’s Draft LPDES Multi-Sector General Stormwater Permit
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) issued its draft LPDES Multi-Sector General Stormwater Permit LAR050000. LDEQ is accepting public comments on the draft permit through May 27.
The General Permit applies to discharges of storm water from certain industrial facilities, as defined in Louisiana Administrative Code 33:IX.2511. The proposed permit retains many of the same terms and conditions of the current LPDES General Permit, which expires May 8. However, it proposes some notable changes, including, in part:
- Adding sector-specific benchmark monitoring for Sectors I (Oil and Gas Extraction), P (Land Transportation and Warehousing) and R (Ship and Boat Building and Repairing Yards)
- Adding sector-specific effluent limitations for Sector J (Mineral Mining and Dressing)
- Requiring the submission of Discharge Monitoring Reports noting the “failure to monitor” in the regular reporting period relating to adverse weather events
- Adding new public signage requirements
Notably, the draft permit’s cover letter states repeatedly that changes were made to be consistent with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2020 draft Multi-Sector General Permit, not the final 2021 Multi-Sector General Permit, which took effect March 1. This is significant, as EPA made several changes to the proposed 2020 draft permit in its final 2021 version, largely in response to public comments.
All industrial facilities that have coverage under LPDES Permit LAR050000 or that may need coverage for future operations should review the proposed changes. Please contact David Topping or any member of Phelps’ Environmental team if you have questions about the proposed changes and their impact, as well as formulating and submitting comments to LDEQ by the late-May deadline.
