Alaska Stormwater-General: What you need to know

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program: 18 Alaska Administrative Code (AAC) 15.120

Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Division of Water

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 10

See ADDRESSES & CONTACTS for addresses and telephone numbers.

· Rules. Alaska is authorized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to administer the federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program, known as the Alaska Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (APDES) program in the state, for wastewater discharges, including permitting authority for stormwater discharges. The state generally follows the federal rules for NPDES stormwater permits.

See the national section STORMWATER— GENERAL for more information on the federal program, and the state sections STORMWATER—INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES, STORMWATER—CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES and STORMWATER—MUNICIPALITIES for information on the state requirements for these specific types of stormwater discharges.

· Administration and enforcement. In Alaska, the DEC’s Division of Water is responsible for administering the stormwater permitting program.

TYPES OF REGULATED DISCHARGES

The following are the types of discharges regulated in the state, and the permit and/or review required for each:

• From construction activities—construction projects disturbing more than 1 acre require an APDES permit and DEC review
• From industrial activities—certain industries require a NPDES permit
• From municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s)—certain municipalities require a NPDES permit
• From sites served by storm sewer systems—these ...