Activities Not Requiring a Permit

The following activities do not require a permit pursuant to M.G.L. c. 21, § 43 and 314 CMR 5.00: (1) (a) The construction, installation, modification, operation and maintenance of a facility that discharges a liquid effluent as a result of the treatment of sewage at a treatment works that is designed to receive and receives less than 10,000 gallons per day, provided that such facility and treatment works are designed, approved, constructed, operated and maintained in accordance with 310 CMR 15.000: The State Environmental Code, Title 5, Standard Requirements For the Siting, Construction, Inspection, Upgrade and Expansion of On-site Sewage Treatment and Disposal Systems and for the Transport and Disposal of Septage. (b) The operation and maintenance of a facility which discharges a liquid effluent as a result of the treatment of sewage at a treatment works that: Is designed to receive and receives 10,000 to 15,000 gallons per day, provided that the facility and treatment works were designed, approved, constructed and have been and are operated and maintained in accordance with 310 CMR 15.000: The State Environmental Code, Title 5, Standard Requirements For the Siting, Construction, Inspection, Upgrade and Expansion of On-site Sewage Treatment and Disposal Systems and for the Transport and Disposal of Septage and its predecessor Codes, as applicable; and provided further that the facility is not located in a nitrogen sensitive area designated by the Department in accordance with 310 CMR 15.215: Designation of Nitrogen Sensitive Areas, or the Zone A of a public water system. (c) As used in 314 CMR 5.05(1)(a) and (b), the word "maintained" includes, but is not limited to, upgraded, if upgrading is required by 310 CMR 15.000: The State Environmental Code, Title 5, Standard Requirements For the Siting, Construction, Inspection, Upgrade and Expansion of On-site Sewage Treatment and Disposal Systems and for the Transport and Disposal of Septage (d) For purposes of determining whether the design, construction, operation or maintenance of a facility is an activity not requiring a permit as provided in 314 CMR 5.05(1)(a) and (b), the volume of sewage the treatment works is designed to receive and receives shall be calculated in accordance with all applicable provisions of 310 CMR 15.000: The State Environmental Code, Title 5, Standard Requirements For the Siting, Construction, Inspection, Upgrade and Expansion of On-site Sewage Treatment and Disposal Systems and for the Transport and Disposal of Septage, including without limitation, 310 CMR 15.006: Facilities with a Design Flow of 10,000 GPD or Greater but Less than 15,000 GPD, 15.007: Campgrounds, 15.010: Division and Aggregation of Facilities, and 15.203: System Sewage Flow Design Criteria. (2) The application of Plant Nutrients and Agricultural Process Water to Agricultural Land in compliance 330 CMR 31.00: Plant Nutrient Application Requirements for Agricultural Land and Land Not Used for Agricultural Purposes. (3) A discharge in compliance with the written instructions of an On-scene Coordinator pursuant to 33 CFR Part 153 -Control of Pollution by Oil and Hazardous Substances, Discharge Removal and 40 CFR Part 300: Subchapter J -Superfund, Emergency Planning, and Community Right-to-know Programs, Subparts B and C; or if conducted as an Immediate Response Action in compliance with M.G.L. c. 21E and 310 CMR 40.0000: Massachusetts Contingency Plan; or compliance with an approval issued by the Department, as necessary to abate, prevent, or eliminate an imminent hazard to the public health, safety, welfare or the environment. (4) The construction, installation, modification, operation or maintenance of a closed-loop or direct exchange ground source heat pump well that has been installed and is operating in accordance with the Department's Guidelines for Ground Source Heat Pump Wells, and provided that the well is not used to produce water. (5) The construction, installation, modification, operation or maintenance of an open-loop ground source heat pump well that has applied for and been accepted for registration in accordance with 310 CMR 27.00: Underground Injection Control Regulations and the Department's Guidelines for Guidance Document for Ground Source Heat Pump Wells; provided the well remains in compliance with the registration and all applicable requirements of 310 CMR 27.00. (6) The construction, installation, modification, operation or maintenance of a facility used to discharge non-contact cooling waters, provided that: The temperature of the non-contact cooling water does not exceed 40EC; the discharge is not within 500 feet of a cold-water fishery; the facility is designed to ensure that the discharge does not break out onto the ground surface; and the discharge will not cause or contribute to a violation of 314 CMR 4.00: Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards. The discharge must be registered in accordance with the 310 CMR 27.00: Underground Injection Control Regulations, and remain in compliance with the registration and all applicable requirements of 310 CMR 27.00. (7) The construction, installation, modification, operation and maintenance of a facility that recirculates landfill leachate on top of the landfill over an area that has been specifically designed with a liner and collection system for the purpose of recycling the leachate, provided the facility has been approved by the Department in accordance with 310 CMR 19.000: Solid Waste Management and is in compliance with the approval and all applicable requirements of 310 CMR 19.000. (8) The construction, installation, modification, operation and maintenance of a conveyance or system of conveyances operated primarily for the purpose of collecting and conveying stormwater runoff that does not constitute a stormwater discharge subject to the provisions of 314 CMR 5.04(2). (9) Any introduction of pollutants from non-point source agricultural, silvicultural, land management or right-of-way maintenance activities including runoff from orchards, cultivated crops, pastures, range lands, forest lands and rights-of-way, but not including point source discharges from concentrated animal feeding operations, or point source discharges of silvicultural process water. (10) The construction, installation, modification, operation or maintenance of a landfill approved by the Department pursuant to 310 CMR 19.000: Solid Waste Management, provided that the facility remains in compliance with the approval and all applicable requirements of 310 CMR 19.000, does not result in a point source, and does not result in a discharge which will: cause or contribute to a violation of 314 CMR 4.00: Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards; impair the use of the ground water as an actual or potential source of potable water, or result in a threat to public health, safety, welfare, or the environment. (11) Any land application of sewage sludge performed in accordance with 310 CMR 32.00: Land Application of Sludge and Septage and a plan approved by the Department. (12) The construction, installation, modification, operation or maintenance of a reclaimed water system in accordance with all the terms and conditions of a permit issued by the Department pursuant to 314 CMR 20.00: Reclaimed Water Permit Program and Standards, and in compliance with all applicable requirements of 314 CMR 20.00. (13) The construction, installation, modification, operation, or maintenance of a satellite reclaimed water system in accordance with 314 CMR 20.00: Reclaimed Water Permit Program and Standards. (14) The use of reclaimed water in accordance with 314 CMR 20.00: Reclaimed Water Permit Program and Standards. (15) Any discharge for which a UIC registration has been approved by the Department, provided that the discharge remains in compliance with the conditions stated in the Department’s approval and 310 CMR 27.00: Underground Injection Control Regulations. Discharges potentially eligible for a UIC registration include, but are not limited to: Aquifer recharge wells; salt water intrusion barrier wells; stormwater wells not subject to 314 CMR 5.04(2); water purification backwash wells; swimming pool drainage wells; the injection of uncontaminated water used for the purpose of subsidence control (i.e., to reduce or eliminate subsidence associated with the overdraft of ground water); and ground water infiltration (e.g., sump pumps). (16) Any discharge that results from a response action conducted or performed in accordance with the provisions of M.G.L. c. 21E and 310 CMR 40.0000: Massachusetts Contingency Plan. (17) Any discharge from water supply treatment works to a lined lagoon, followed by a discharge of supernatant from the lined lagoon to an unlined lagoon; provided the water supply treatment works, and the discharge design and location, are approved by the Department and remain in compliance with the approval and all applicable requirements of 310 CMR 22.00: Drinking Water. (18) The on-site infiltration of produce pack house wash water into the ground provided that only clean potable water containing no detergents or other additives is used for washing. Infiltration best management practices, such as gravel or stone pads, must be designed, sited and maintained to prevent off-site run-off and protect sensitive resources, including drinking water wells, surface waters and wetlands. This exemption does not include point source discharges of such wash water. (19) The construction, installation, modification, operation or maintenance of waste treatment areas used for the treatment of agricultural process waters that are installed and maintained in accordance with the Conservation Practice Standards for Waste Treatment Code 629 (“NRCS Code 629”), March 2011, and Vegetated Treatment Area Code 635 (“NRCS Code 635”), March 2009, developed by the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.