NPDES Permit Writing Support

Along the coast, water flows from a pipe into ocean water breaking against a natural rockwall

Project Brief

The Challenge

Regulating the discharge of pollutants to our nation’s coastal waters, estuaries, rivers, streams, and lakes is critical for protecting human health and aquatic life. For over four decades, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program has controlled water pollution from point sources that discharge pollutants into U.S. waters. With close to 50,000 NPDES permittees across the nation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and authorized states must write thousands of NPDES permits every year—and each permit must reflect the latest relevant requirements in the continually evolving regulatory landscape. Contractor support is critical to help agencies keep up.


ERG's Solution

Water quality experts at PG Environmental (a division of ERG) have provided multifaceted support to EPA and states under the NPDES program—in some cases for more than 30 years. They have prepared hundreds of draft NPDES permits (both individual and general) spanning all types of discharges regulated under the program—including discharges from industrial/commercial and municipal wastewater treatment plants, industrial/construction stormwater, municipal separate storm sewer systems, confined animal feeding operations, vessels, sanitary sewer overflows, and combined sewer overflows. Drawing on their extensive hands-on permitting experience, PG Environmental experts also support EPA and states in assessing and improving the efficiency of the NPDES permit program and in developing tools and guidance for permit development.


Client

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency