06-096 C.M.R. ch. 526, § 11 - Application Processing Procedures for New Facilities. [See 40 CFR Section 125.89]

A. Permit application. The Department will review materials submitted by the applicant under sections 18 and 8 at the time of the initial permit application and before each permit renewal or reissuance.

(1) After receiving the initial permit application from the Owner or Operator of a new facility, the Department will determine applicable standards in section 6 to apply to the new facility. In addition, the Department will review materials to determine compliance with the applicable standards.

(2) For each subsequent permit renewal, the Department will review the application materials and monitoring data to determine whether requirements, or additional requirements, for design and construction technologies or operational measures should be included in the permit.

(3) For Track II facilities, the Department may review the information collection proposal plan required by section 8.C(2)(c). The facility may initiate sampling and data collection activities prior to receiving comment from the Department.

B. Permitting requirements. The requirements of this Chapter are implemented for a facility through a MEPDES permit. The Department will determine, based on the information submitted by the new facility in its permit application, the appropriate requirements and conditions to include in the permit based on the track (Track I or Track II) the new facility has chosen to comply with. The following requirements must be included in each permit:

(1) Cooling water intake structure requirements. At a minimum, the permit conditions must include the performance standards that implement the requirements of section 6, paragraphs B(1), (2), (3), (4) and (5); C(1), (2), (3) and (4); or D(1) and (2). In determining compliance with proportional flow requirement in sections 6.B(3)(b); C(2)(b); and D(2)(b), the Department will consider anthropogenic factors (those not considered "natural") unrelated to the new facility's cooling water intake structure that can influence the occurrence and location of a thermocline. These include source water inflows, other water withdrawals, managed water uses, wastewater discharges, and flow/level management practices (e.g., some reservoirs release water from below the surface, close to the deepest areas).

(i) If an Owner or Operator of a facility chooses Track I, the Department will review the Design and Construction Technology Plan required in section 8.B(4) to evaluate the suitability and feasibility of the technology proposed to minimize impingement mortality and entrainment of all life stages of fish and shellfish. In the first permit issued, the Department will include a condition requiring the facility to reduce impingement mortality and entrainment commensurate with the implementation of the technologies in the permit. Under subsequent permits, the Department will review the performance of the technologies implemented and require additional or different design and construction technologies, if needed to minimize impingement mortality and entrainment of all life stages of fish and shellfish. In addition, the Department will consider whether more stringent conditions are reasonably necessary in accordance with section 6.E.

(ii) If an Owner or Operator of a facility chooses Track II, the Department will review the information submitted with the Comprehensive Demonstration Study required in section 8.C(2) and evaluate the suitability of the proposed design and construction technologies and operational measures to determine whether they will reduce both impingement mortality and entrainment of all life stages of fish and shellfish to 90 percent or greater of the reduction that could be achieved through Track I. In addition, the Department will review the Verification Monitoring Plan in section 8.C(2)(d)(iv) and require that the proposed monitoring begin at the start of operations of the cooling water intake structure and continue for a sufficient period of time to demonstrate that the technologies and operational measures meet the requirements in section 6.D(1). Under subsequent permits, the Department will review the performance of the additional and/or different technologies or measures used and determine that they reduce the level of adverse environmental impact from the cooling water intake structures to a comparable level that the facility would achieve were it to implement the requirements of section 6.B(1) and (2).

(2) Monitoring conditions. At a minimum, the permit must require the permittee to perform the monitoring required in section 9. The Department may modify the monitoring program when the permit is reissued and during the term of the permit based on changes in physical or biological conditions in the vicinity of the cooling water intake structure. The Department may require continued monitoring based on the results of the Verification Monitoring Plan in section 8.C(2)(d)(iv).

(3) Record keeping and reporting. At a minimum, the permit must require the permittee to report and keep records as required by section 10.

Notes

06-096 C.M.R. ch. 526, § 11