Massachusetts NPDES: What you need to know

Massachusetts permit procedures: 314 Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR) 2.01 to 2.12

Massachusetts surface water discharge permit rules: 314 CMR 3.01 to 3.19

Exemptions: 314 CMR 3.05

Permit conditions: 314 CMR 3.19

Reporting requirements: 314 CMR 3.19(20)

General permits: 314 CMR 3.06

Permit transfers: 314 CMR 3.14

Groundwater discharges: 314 CMR 5.01 to 5.16

Annual compliance fees: 310 CMR 4.03

Total maximum daily loads (TMDLs): 314 CMR 3.02

Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Bureau of Resource Protection (BRP) Division of Watershed Management

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 1

See ADDRESSES & CONTACTS for addresses and telephone numbers.

See national section for basic information and federal regulations.

• Rules. Massachusetts does not have authority from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to administer the federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program. Wastewater discharges in the commonwealth are subject to both federal and state permit requirements. The EPA and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issue joint permits. Applications for NPDES permits must be submitted to and approved by EPA Region 1 and the DEP.

For Massachusetts NPDES permits, facility owners or operators must also mail an identical copy of the EPA application forms to the DEP. The NPDES permits become effective when signed by the director of the EPA Region 1 office in Boston and the director of the Massachusetts DEP.

The permitting structure, process, and permit modification requirements in Massachusetts are similar to the federal permit program (314 CMR 2.01 to 2.12