TITLE 9. ENVIRONMENT
TITLE 9. ENVIRONMENT
STATE WATER CONTROL BOARD
Final Regulation
REGISTRAR'S NOTICE: The State Water Control Board is claiming an exemption from Article 2 of the Administrative Process Act in accordance with § 2.2-4006 A 4 a of the Code of Virginia, which excludes regulations that are necessary to conform to changes in Virginia statutory law or the appropriation act where no agency discretion is involved. The board will receive, consider, and respond to petitions by any interested person at any time with respect to reconsideration or revision.
Title of Regulation: 9VAC25-196. Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) General Permit for Noncontact Cooling Water Discharges of 50,000 Gallons Per Day or Less (amending 9VAC25-196-10; repealing 9VAC25-196-30).
Statutory Authority: § 62.1-44.15 of the Code of Virginia; § 402 of the Clean Water Act; 40 CFR Parts 122, 123, and 124.
Effective Date: November 9, 2022.
Agency Contact: Joseph Bryan, Department of Environmental Quality, 1111 East Main Street, Suite 1400, P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA 23218, telephone (804) 659-2659, FAX (804) 698-4178, or email joseph.bryan@deq.virginia.gov.
Summary:
Pursuant to Chapter 356 of the 2022 Acts of Assembly, the amendments conform the regulation to a statutorily change shifting authority to issue and enforce permits from the State Water Control Board to the Department of Environmental Quality.
9VAC25-196-10. Definitions.
The words and terms used in this chapter shall have the meanings defined in § 62.1-44.2 et seq. of the Code of Virginia (State Water Control Law) and 9VAC25-31 (VPDES Permit Regulation) unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, except that for the purposes of this chapter:
"Blowdown" means a discharge of recirculating water from any cooling equipment or cooling process in order to maintain a desired quality of the recirculating water. Boiler blowdown is excluded from this definition.
"Board" means the State Water Control Board. When used outside the context of the promulgation of regulations, including regulations to establish general permits, "board" means the Department of Environmental Quality.
"Cooling water" means water used for cooling which does not come into direct contact with any raw product, intermediate product (other than heat) or finished product. For the purposes of this general permit, cooling water can be generated from any cooling equipment blowdown or produced as a result of any noncontact cooling process.
"Department" or "DEQ" means the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
"Director" means the Director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, or an authorized representative.
"Total maximum daily load" or "TMDL" means a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still meet water quality standards and an allocation of that amount to the pollutant's sources. A TMDL includes wasteload allocations (WLAs) for point source discharges, and load allocations (LAs) for nonpoint sources or natural background or both, and must include a margin of safety (MOS) and account for seasonal variations.
9VAC25-196-30. Delegation of authority. (Repealed.)
The director, or an authorized representative, may perform any act of the board provided under this chapter, except as limited by § 62.1-44.14 of the Code of Virginia.
VA.R. Doc. No. R23-7271; Filed September 09, 2022