Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 391-3-6-.05 - Emergency Actions

(1) Purpose. The purpose of Paragraph 391-3-6-.05 is to provide procedures to handle any emergency which endangers the waters of the State.

(2) Definitions. All terms used in this Paragraph shall be interpreted in accordance with the definitions as set forth in the Act unless otherwise defined in this Paragraph or in any other Paragraph of these Rules.

(a) "Spill" means any discharge of raw sewage by a Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) to the waters of the State.

(b) "Major Spill"; means:

1. The discharge of pollutants into the waters of the State by a POTW that exceeds the weekly average permitted effluent limit for biochemical oxygen demand (5-day) or total suspended solids by 50 percent or greater for any one day, provided that the effluent discharge concentration is equal to or greater than 25 mg/L for biochemical oxygen demand or total suspended solids.

2. Any discharge of raw sewage that (1) is in excess of 10,000 gallons or (2) results in water quality violations in the waters of the State.

(c) "Consistently exceeding an effluent limitation" means a POTW exceeding the 30 day average limit for biochemical oxygen demand or total suspended solids for at least five days out of each seven day period during a total period of 180 consecutive days.

(3) Notice Concerning Endangering Waters of the State. Whenever, because of an accident or otherwise, any toxic or taste and color producing substance, or any other substance which would endanger downstream users of the waters of the State or would damage property, is discharged into such waters, or is so placed that it might flow, be washed, or fall into them, it shall be the duty of the person in charge of such substances at the time to forthwith notify the Division in person or by telephone of the location and nature of the danger, and it shall be such person's further duty to immediately take all reasonable and necessary steps to prevent injury to property and downstream users of said water. The following specific requirements shall apply to POTWS:

(a) The owner of a POTW shall immediately notify the Division, in person or by telephone, when a spill or a major spill occurs in the system. Within five (5) days of the incident, the owner of the POTW shall submit a written report to the Division which includes, at a minimum, the information required in (3)(e) below. The spill notification and report may be submitted electronically, as approved or required by the Division.

(b) The owner of a POTW responsible for a major spill shall publish a notice of the major spill in the legal organ of the County where the incident occurred. The notice shall be published within seven days after the date of the major spill. The notice at a minimum shall include the following:

1. Date of the major spill;

2. Location and cause of major spill;

3. Estimated volume discharged and name of receiving waters;

4. Corrective action taken to mitigate or reduce the adverse effects of the major spill.

(c) The owner of a POTW shall immediately establish a monitoring program of the waters affected by a major spill or by consistently exceeding an effluent limit, with such monitoring being at the expense of the POTW for at least one year. The monitoring program shall include an upstream sampling point as well as sufficient downstream locations to accurately characterize the impact of the major spill or the consistent exceedance of effluent limitations as described in (2)(c) above. At a minimum the following parameters shall be monitored in the receiving stream:

1. Dissolved Oxygen;

2. Fecal Coliform Bacteria;

3. pH;

4. Temperature.

The monitoring and reporting frequency as well as the need to monitor additional parameters will be determined by the Division. The results of the monitoring will be provided by the POTW owner to the Division and all downstream public agencies using the affected waters as a source of a public water supply.

(d) The Division and the owner of a POTW will provide notice of a major spill within 24- hours of becoming aware of the major spill to every county, municipality or other public agency whose public water supply is within a distance of 20 miles downstream and to any others which could potentially be affected by the major spill.

(e) The owner of a POTW responsible for a spill or a major spill shall report the incident to the local media (television, radio and print media) within 24 hours of becoming aware of the incident. The report shall include at a minimum the following:

1. Date of the spill or major spill;

2. Location and cause of spill or major spill;

3. Estimated volume discharged and name of receiving waters;

4. Corrective action taken to mitigate or reduce the adverse effects of the spill or major spill.

(f) The owner of a POTW responsible for a spill or a major spill shall immediately report the incident to the local health department(s) for the area affected by the incident. The report shall include at a minimum the same information required in (3)(e) above.

(g) The owner of a POTW responsible for a spill or a major spill shall immediately post a notice as close as possible to where the spill or major spill occurred and where the spill or major spill entered State waters. The notice shall include at a minimum the same information required in (3)(e) above. The intent of this requirement is for the POTW to notify citizens, who may come into contact with the affected water, that the spill or the major spill has occurred. The owner shall also post additional notices of the spill or major spill along the portions of the waterway affected by the incident (i.e. at bridge crossings, trails, boat ramps, recreational areas, and other points of public access to the affected waterway). These notices shall remain in place for a minimum of seven days after the spill or major spill has ceased.

(4) Noncompliance Notification. If, for any reason, the permittee does not comply with, or will be unable to comply with any effluent limitations specified in the permittee's NPDES permit, the permittee shall provide the Division with an oral report within 24 hours from the time the permittee becomes aware of the circumstances followed by a written report within five (5) days of becoming aware of such condition. The written submission shall contain the following information:

(a) A description of the noncompliance and its cause; and

(b) The period of noncompliance, including exact dates and times; or, if not corrected, the anticipated time the noncompliance is expected to continue, and steps being taken to reduce, eliminate, and prevent recurrence of the noncomplying discharge.

(c) The noncompliance notification and report may be submitted electronically, as approved or required by the Division.

(5) Emergency Orders. The Director shall have the authority to issue an emergency order pursuant to Section 20 of the Act, and Section 17(a) of the Executive Reorganization Act of 1972, as amended.

(6) Effective Date. This Rule shall become effective twenty days after filing with the Secretary of State's Office.

Notes

Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 391-3-6-.05

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-20 et seq.

Original Rule entitled "Emergency Actions" adopted. F. June 10, 1974; eff. June 30, 1974. Amended: F. Apr. 3, 1990; eff. Apr. 23, 1990. Amended: ER. 391-3-6-0.32-.05, adopted. F. May 1, 1996; eff. April 25, 1996, the date of adoption, to be in effect for 120 days or until the effective date of a permanent Rule covering the same subject matter is adopted, as specified by the Agency. Amended: Permanent Rule adopted. F. July 10, 1996; eff. July 30, 1996. Amended: F. May 31, 2001; eff. June 20, 2001. Amended: F. Jul. 18, 2012; eff. Aug. 7, 2012. Amended: F. Oct. 13, 2017; eff. Nov. 2, 2017.