§ 124.60 - Issuance and effective date and stays of NPDES permits.

§ 124.60 Issuance and effective date and stays of NPDES permits.

In addition to the requirements of §§ 124.15, 124.16, and 124.19, the following provisions apply to NPDES permits:

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 124.16(a)(1), if, for any offshore or coastal mobile exploratory drilling rig or coastal mobile developmental drilling rig which has never received a final effective permit to discharge at a “site,” but which is not a “new discharger” or a “new source,” the Regional Administrator finds that compliance with certain permit conditions may be necessary to avoid irreparable environmental harm during the administrative review, he or she may specify in the statement of basis or fact sheet that those conditions, even if contested, shall remain enforceable obligations of the discharger during administrative review.

(b)

(1) As provided in § 124.16(a), if an appeal of an initial permit decision is filed under § 124.19, the force and effect of the contested conditions of the final permit shall be stayed until final agency action under § 124.19(k)(2). The Regional Administrator shall notify, in accordance with § 124.16(a)(2)(ii), the discharger and all interested parties of the uncontested conditions of the final permit that are enforceable obligations of the discharger.

(2) When effluent limitations are contested, but the underlying control technology is not, the notice shall identify the installation of the technology in accordance with the permit compliance schedules (if uncontested) as an uncontested, enforceable obligation of the permit.

(3) When a combination of technologies is contested, but a portion of the combination is not contested, that portion shall be identified as uncontested if compatible with the combination of technologies proposed by the requester.

(4) Uncontested conditions, if inseverable from a contested condition, shall be considered contested.

(5) Uncontested conditions shall become enforceable 30 days after the date of notice under paragraph (b)(1) of this section.

(6) Uncontested conditions shall include:

(i) Preliminary design and engineering studies or other requirements necessary to achieve the final permit conditions which do not entail substantial expenditures;

(ii) Permit conditions which will have to be met regardless of the outcome of the appeal under § 124.19;

(iii) When the discharger proposed a less stringent level of treatment than that contained in the final permit, any permit conditions appropriate to meet the levels proposed by the discharger, if the measures required to attain that less stringent level of treatment are consistent with the measures required to attain the limits proposed by any other party; and

(iv) Construction activities, such as segregation of waste streams or installation of equipment, which would partially meet the final permit conditions and could also be used to achieve the discharger's proposed alternative conditions.

(c) In addition to the requirements of § 124.16(c)(2), when an appeal is filed under § 124.19 on an application for a renewal of an existing permit and upon written request from the applicant, the Regional Administrator may delete requirements from the existing permit which unnecessarily duplicate uncontested provisions of the new permit.

[65 FR 30912, May 15, 2000, as amended at 78 FR 5288, Jan. 25, 2013]