General conditions

General conditions. (1) The following conditions shall be included in all WPDES permits issued by the department. Other conditions that may be included in POTW and non-POTW permits are contained in subs. (2) and (3) , respectively. (a) Duty to comply. The permittee shall comply with all conditions of the permit. Any permit noncompliance is a violation of the permit and is grounds for enforcement action; permit termination, revocation and reissuance, or modification; or denial of a permit reissuance application. If a permittee violates any terms of the permit, the permittee is subject to the penalties established in ch. 283 , Stats. (b) Permit actions. As provided in s. 283.53 , Stats., after notice and opportunity for a hearing the permit may be modified, revoked and reissued, or terminated for cause. The filing of a request by the permittee for a permit modification, revocation and reissuance, or termination, or a notification of planned changes or anticipated noncompliance does not stay any permit condition. (c) Property rights. The permit does not convey any property rights of any sort, or any exclusive privilege. The permit does not authorize any injury or damage to private property or any invasion of personal rights, or any infringement of federal, state or local laws or regulations. (d) Inspection and entry. The permittee shall allow an authorized representative of the department, upon the presentation of credentials, to: 1. Enter upon the permittee’s premises where a regulated facility or activity is located or conducted, or where records are required under the conditions of the permit; 2. Have access to and copy, at reasonable times, any records that are required under the conditions of the permit; 3. Inspect at reasonable times any facilities, equipment (including monitoring and control equipment), practices or operations regulated or required under the permit; and 4. Sample or monitor at reasonable times, for the purposes of assuring permit compliance, any substances or parameters at any location. (e) Recording of results. For each effluent measurement or sample taken, the permittee shall record the following information. 1. The date, exact place, method and time of sampling or measurements; 2. The individual who performed the sampling or measurements; 3. The date the analysis was performed; 4. The individual who performed the analysis; 5. The analytical techniques or methods used; and 6. The results of the analysis. (f) Records retention. The permittee shall retain records of all monitoring information, including all calibration and maintenance records and all original strip chart recordings for continuous monitoring instrumentation, copies of all reports required by the permit, and records of all data used to complete the application for the permit for a period of at least 3 years from the date of the sample, measurement, report or application. All pertinent sludge information, including permit application information and other documents specified in the permit or ch. NR 204 , shall be retained for a minimum of 5 years. The department may request that this period be extended by issuing a public notice to modify the permit to extend this period. (g) Signatory requirement. 1. All permit applications, reports, and other information requested by the department shall be signed by a responsible executive or municipal officer, manager, partner or proprietor as specified in s. 283.37 (3) , Stats., or a duly authorized representative of the officer, manager, partner or proprietor that has been delegated signature authority pursuant to subd. 2. All applications and reports submitted to the department shall include the certification statement specified in subd. 3. 2. An officer, manager, partner or proprietor in subd. 1. may only delegate signature authority to a duly authorized representative if that person has responsibility for the overall operation of the facility or activity regulated by the WPDES permit. To delegate signature authority, the officer, manager, partner, or proprietor shall: a. Provide written permission to a duly authorized representative to submit specific documents on behalf of the officer, manager, partner, or proprietor for the permitted facility. b. The delegated authorization shall specify either a named individual or an employment position that has the signature authority and responsibility. c. The written permission must be submitted to the department prior to or together with the submittal of any required document. If there are any changes to this permission, a new written permission shall be submitted to the department. 3. Any person under subd. 1. or 2. signing a permit application, report or other form as required by the department shall provide the following certification statement: I certify under penalty of law that this document and all attachments were prepared under my direction or supervision in accordance with a system designed to assure that qualified personnel properly gather and evaluate the information submitted. Based on my inquiry of the person or persons who manage the system, or those persons directly responsible for gathering the information, the information submitted is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, true, accurate, and complete. I am aware that there are significant penalties for submitting false information, including the possibility of fine and imprisonment for knowing violations. 4. Upon written request to the department and subject to the department’s approval, a permittee may submit information by electronic media or electronic transmission provided the officer or authorized representative signs and submits a certification statement in accordance with subd. 3. (h) Compliance schedules. Reports of compliance or noncompliance with interim and final requirements contained in any compliance schedule of the permit shall be submitted in writing within 14 days after the schedule date, except that progress reports shall be submitted in writing on or before each schedule date for each report. Any report of noncompliance shall include the cause of noncompliance, a description of remedial actions taken and an estimate of the effect of the noncompliance on the permittee’s ability to meet the remaining schedule dates. (i) Transfers. A permit is not transferable to any person except after notice to the department. In the event of a transfer of control of a permitted facility, the prospective owner or operator shall file a new permit application and shall file a stipulation of permit acceptance with the department WPDES permit section. The department may require modification or revocation and reissuance of the permit to change the name of the permittee and to reflect the requirements of ch. 283 , Stats. (j) Proper operation and maintenance. The permittee shall at all times properly operate and maintain all facilities and systems of treatment and control which are installed or used by the permittee to achieve compliance with the conditions of the permit. The wastewater treatment facility shall be under the direct supervision of a state certified operator as required in s. NR 108.06 (2) . Proper operation and maintenance includes effective performance, adequate funding, adequate operator staffing and training as required in ch. NR 114 and adequate laboratory and process controls, including appropriate quality assurance procedures. This provision requires the operation of back-up or auxiliary facilities or similar systems only when necessary to achieve compliance with the conditions of the permit. (k) Duty to mitigate. The permittee shall take all reasonable steps to minimize or prevent the likelihood of any adverse impacts to public health, the waters of the state, or the environment resulting from noncompliance with the permit. (L) Duty to provide information. The permittee shall furnish the department, within a reasonable time, any information which the department may request to determine whether cause exists for modifying, terminating, suspending, revoking or reissuing the permit or to determine compliance with the permit. The permittee shall give advance notice to the department of any planned changes in the permitted facility or activity which may result in noncompliance with permit requirements. The permittee shall also furnish the department, upon request, copies of records required to be kept by the permittee. (m) Duty to comply with new federal sludge standards. The permittee shall comply with any new federal standards or prohibitions for sludge use or disposal established under section 405 (d) of the clean water act within the time provided in the federal regulations that establishes the standards even if the permit has not yet been modified to incorporate the new standards. (n) Duty to reapply. If the permittee wishes to continue an activity regulated by the permit after the expiration date of the permit, the permittee shall apply electronically, using the department’s web-based application system, for a new permit. (o) Need to halt or reduce activity not a defense. It is not a defense for a permittee in an enforcement action to claim that it would have been necessary to halt or reduce the permitted activity in order to maintain compliance with the conditions of the permit. (p) Sampling procedures. Samples and measurements taken for the purpose of monitoring shall be representative of the volume and nature of the monitored discharge and shall be taken at points specified in the permit using sample types specified in the permit and the following procedures: 1. For effluent flow measurement and sample collection — ch. NR 218 . 2. For groundwater sample collection and analysis — ch. NR 214 . 3. Monitoring shall be conducted according to test procedures specified in ch. NR 219 . For sludge use or disposal, monitoring shall be conducted as specified in ch. NR 204 . Additional test procedures may be specified in the permit on a case-by-case basis. (q) Reporting requirements. The permittee shall give notice to the department as soon as possible of any planned physical alterations or additions to the permitted facility. Notice is required only when: 1. The alteration or addition to a permitted facility may meet one of the criteria for determining whether a facility is a new source. 2. The alteration or addition could significantly change the nature or increase the quantity of pollutants discharged. This notification requirement applies to pollutants which are not subject to effluent limitations in the existing permit. 3. The alteration or addition results in a significant change in the permittee’s sludge use or disposal practices, and such alteration, addition, or change may justify the application of permit conditions that are different from or absent in the existing permit, including notification of additional use or disposal sites not reported during the permit application process nor reported pursuant to an approved land application plan. Additional sites may not be used for the land application of sludge until department approval is received, as required by ch. NR 204 . (r) Monitoring reports. Monitoring results shall be reported at the intervals specified in the permit. 1. Monitoring results shall be reported on an electronic discharge monitoring report (eDMR) or in a form approved by the department for reporting results of monitoring of sludge use or disposal practices. 2. If the permittee monitors any parameter more frequently than required by the permit, using test procedures specified in ch. NR 204 or 219 , or as specified in the permit, the results of this monitoring shall be included in the calculation and reporting of the data submitted in the eDMR or sludge reporting form submitted to the department. 3. Calculations for all limitations which require averaging of measurements shall utilize an arithmetic mean unless otherwise specified by the department in the permit. (s) Noncompliance and other reporting. 1. Sanitary sewer overflows and sewage treatment facility overflows shall be reported in accordance with s. NR 210.21 (4) . Permittees shall report all other noncompliance which may endanger health or the environment. Any information shall be provided orally within 24 hours from the time the permittee becomes aware of the circumstances. A written submission shall also be provided within five days of the time the permittee becomes aware of the circumstances. The written submission shall contain a description of the noncompliance and its cause, the period of noncompliance including exact dates and times, and if the noncompliance has not been corrected, the anticipated time it is expected to continue, and steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate, and prevent reoccurrence of the noncompliance. 2. The following are examples of noncompliance incidents that shall be reported within 24 hours in accordance with the requirements in subd. 1. : a. Except for a scheduled bypass approved pursuant to s. NR 205.07 (1) (u) 2. , any bypass which exceeds any effluent limitation in the permit. b. Any upset which exceeds any effluent limitation in the permit.