Wastewater Permitting
Most wastewater permitting is conducted in the Department of
Environmental Protection's (Department's) six District
Offices and delegated local programs. This webpage contains general
information about wastewater permitting in Florida as well as provides
many useful links. If you have any questions related to a specific
permitting issue or particular project, please contact the appropriate
District Office or delegated local program. Please note, the Department
is authorized to delegate some regulatory powers (permitting,
compliance, and enforcement involving certain collection/transmission,
treatment, reuse and disposal facilities) to local "delegated
authorities" or, as the Department refers to them, "local programs."
Discharges to surface waters, however, are not delegated to local
programs.
Who must obtain a permit |
NPDES | Industrial Vs Domestic
| Individual Permits
Generic Permits/General
Permits | Applications and Notices of Intent
| Permit Issuance | Underground Injection Well Permits
Who Must Obtain a Department Permit
According to
Part I of Chapter 403 of the Florida Statutes, unless exempted by
rule or statue, any facility or activity which discharges wastes into
waters of the State or which will reasonably be expected to be a source
of water pollution must obtain a permit from the Department. Generally,
persons who intend to collect, transmit, treat, dispose, or reuse
wastewater are required to obtain a wastewater permit. A wastewater
permit issued by this Department is required for both operation and
certain construction activities associated with domestic or industrial
wastewater facilities or activities.
A Department permit must also be obtained prior to construction of a
domestic wastewater collection/transmission
system. The
Department of Health (DOH) regulates on-site treatment and disposal
systems [AKA septic systems], septage management facilities, portable
restrooms, septic tank contractors and septage haulers. Please note that
while residuals (biosolids) and septage are both essentially the solids
generated from wastewater treatment, residuals originate from a domestic
wastewater treatment facility regulated by the Department, whereas,
septage originates from a septic system regulated by DOH.
- For more information on septic systems and agency jurisdiction
(who permits what) go to our septic system
information webpage.
NPDES
The National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program
is a federal program established by the Clean Water Act (CWA)
to control point source and stormwater discharges. Under Section 402 of
the CWA, any discharge of a pollutant from a point source to surface
waters (i.e. the navigable waters of the United States or beyond) must
obtain an NPDES permit. The NPDES permit requires compliance with both
technology-based as well as surface water
quality standards [e.g., Water Quality Based Effluent Limitations or
WQBELs].
Therefore, wastewater facilities that discharge to surface waters are
subject to the NPDES Program requirements. In 1995, the Department
received authorization from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) to administer the NPDES wastewater program in Florida. Since that
time, federal NPDES permit requirements for most wastewater facilities
or activities (domestic or industrial) that discharge to surface waters
are incorporated into a state-issued permit, thus giving the permittee
one set of permitting requirements rather than one for state and one for
federal. Please note that many NPDES facilities have other effluent
options or beneficial reclaimed water usages. Permit requirements for
these other options or usages are incorporated into their wastewater
permit along with the NPDES requirements.
Industrial vs Domestic
For purposes of permitting, wastewater facilities or activities are
categorized as either industrial or domestic based on the type of
wastewater the facility handles. Domestic wastewater is wastewater from
dwellings, business buildings, institutions, and the like, commonly
referred to as sanitary wastewater or sewage. Domestic wastewater
facilities include domestic wastewater sewers, pipelines, conduits,
pumping stations, and force mains that transmit wastewater to the plant;
the wastewater treatment plant; or residuals or septage management
facilities.
All wastewater that is not defined as domestic wastewater is
considered industrial wastewater. Sources of industrial wastewater
include large and small facilities and activities such as manufacturing,
commercial businesses, mining, agricultural production and processing,
and wastewater discharge from cleanup of petroleum and chemical
contaminated sites.
Individual Permits
Most wastewater facilities or activities are required to obtain an
"individual permit" which includes permit requirements and conditions
tailored to the specific wastewater treatment and disposal systems
regulated in the permit. Individual permits allow a permittee to both
construct and operate the wastewater treatment facility. A
Department-issued wastewater permits generally contain requirements for,
depending on the type of facility and disposal means, the treatment of
the wastewater, disposal to surface water (NPDES), discharge to ground
water, the land-application of reclaimed water, the beneficial use of
reclaimed water (e.g., landscape irrigation), influent and effluent
monitoring and reporting, and, in the case of a domestic wastewater
facilities, industrial pretreatment, and domestic residuals management.
Self-monitoring reports called monthly Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs) are routinely submitted to the
Department by the permittee.
Generic Permits
The Department also issues "generic permits" for regulating
categories of wastewater facilities or activities that involve the same
or similar types of operations or wastes. Generic permits are "permits
by rule" which means that all facilities or activities regulated under a
specific category of generic permit have similar permit requirements and
conditions. Use of a generic permit is subject to Department review and
approval and may involve discharge to surface water or ground water.
Monthly DMRs, as with individual permits,
are typically required for facilities or activities regulated by generic
permits. Currently, facilities or activities that may qualify for a
generic permit include discharges from concrete batch plants, dewatering
activities, discharges from petroleum contaminated sites, discharges
from fresh citrus fruit packing houses to percolation ponds, domestic
wastewater facilities that discharge to slow rate/restricted access land
application systems, and small domestic wastewater facilities that
discharge to rapid-rate infiltration basin and absorption field systems.
To use a generic permit, an applicant submits a "notice of intent" to
the Department.
General Permits
The Department also issues "general permits" for certain types of
facilities or activities that have minimal adverse environmental impact
when performed in accordance with specific requirements and practices.
General permits (like generic permits) are "permits by rule" and
facilities regulated by a specific type of general permit have the same
requirements and conditions. Monthly DMRs are not required for general
permits. General permits cannot be issued for discharges to surface
water. Examples of facilities or activities that may qualify for a
general permit include domestic wastewater
collection/transmission systems, sand and limestone mines, car wash
systems, tomato and fresh citrus wash water, and laundromats. As with
the generic permits, to use a general permit, an applicant submits a
"notice of intent" to the Department.
Applications and Notices of Intent
Applications for wastewater permits and, in the case of generic and
general permits, notices of intents must be submitted to the
Department’s appropriate permitting office,
except steam electric power plants discharging to surface waters. These
applications are submitted to the Industrial
Wastewater Section in Tallahassee. Once submitted the permitting
office reviews the application or notice and, based on this review, may
request additional information from the applicant. Once the application
has been deemed complete and no more additional information is required,
the Department then can act on the application or notice by issuing or
denying the permit.
The application form for an individual permit for a wastewater
treatment plant or reuse or disposal system (new, renewal, or
substantial modification) is Form 62-620.910(1) [AKA Form 2A]. Other
forms may be needed depending on the type of activities involved.
Applications for minor permit revisions are made on Form 62-620.910(9).
The application form for domestic wastewater
collection/transmission systems is Form
62-604.300(8)(a).
Permit Issuance
Wastewater permits are generally issued by one of the Department’s
six District Offices and delegated local programs,
except steam electric power plants discharging to surface waters as
discussed above. For more information on a specific permit, please
contact the appropriate permitting office or
delegated local program based on the physical location of the permitted
facility or activity.
Underground Injection Well Permits
Permits for underground injection wells are issued by the
Department’s Underground Injection Control
(UIC) Program. Facilities that dispose of effluent from a wastewater
treatment plant via an underground injection well must apply for a
separate UIC permit using Form 62-528.900(1).
For More Information
Please browse our website for more information about specific
wastewater activities. For permitting questions you may wish to contact
the appropriate District Office or delegated local program.
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