NPDES Storm Water Individual Permit
General Information
The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Individual Permit - NPDES No. NM0030759 (Permit or IP) was issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 6, on September 30, 2010 to Los Alamos National Security, LLC (LANS) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) (the Permittees); Modifications were incorporated and the IP became effective on November 1, 2010.
The Permit authorizes the discharge of storm water associated with industrial activities at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) from specified Solid Waste Management Units (SWMUs) and Areas of Concern (AOCs), collectively referred to as Sites.
The IP requires LANL to implement non-numeric technology-based effluent limitations (control measures a.k.a., “Best Management Practices”), coupled with a comprehensive monitoring program, to minimize* pollutants in LANL's storm water discharges. The EPA believes compliance with these technology-based effluent limitations and with other terms and conditions of the Permit will control discharges as necessary to meet the applicable water quality standards.
As used in the IP, "minimize" means to reduce and/or eliminate discharges of pollutants in storm water to the extent achievable.
Meetings
Technical Meeting
Sept 15, 2011
Public Meetings
January 26, 2012
December 6, 2011
- CANCELLED
May 17, 2011
Storm Water Plans
Implementation Documents
SDPPP-Site Discharge Pollution Prevention Plan
The Maps tab has direct links to all project maps.
- Volume 1 - Los Alamos/Pueblo Watershed, Revision 1
- Volume 2 - Sandia/Mortandad Watershed, Revision 1
- Volume 3 - Pajarito Watershed, Revision 1
- Volume 4 - Water/Cañon de Valle Watershed, Revision 1
- Volume 5 - Ancho/Chaquehui Watershed, Revision 1
Individual Permit Procedural Documents
- SOP-10013, Inspecting Storm Water Runoff Samplers and Retrieving Samples
- SOP-5215, Processing Storm Water Samples
- SOP-20012, Inspecting, Maintaining and Installing Control Measures
- EP-DIV-SOP-10004, Managing Electronic Precipitation Data for Storm Water Projects
- EP-DIV-SOP-10005, Operation and Maintenance of Gage Stations for Storm Water Projects
- EP-DIV-SOP-10008, Installing, Setting Up, and Operation ISCO Samplers
Documents
Updates
Register to receive email notifications when IP updates are available.
Quarterly Activity Updates
- Los Alamos/ Pueblo
- Sandia/Mortendad
- Pajarito
- Water/Cañon de Valle
- Ancho/Chaquehiu
Regulatory Documents
- Reports
- Certifications
- Baseline Control Measure
Maps
Site Monitoring Area Maps
The Site Monitoring Area (SMA) maps show surface hydrological features as well as: locations of the Site(s) assigned to the SMA; the SMA sampler; control measures (best management practices) installed at the SMA; and structures such as buildings and roads. The spatial location and boundaries for each Site shown on the SMA maps originate from activities conducted under the NMED Consent Order. The information displayed in each SMA project map is updated annually along with the SDPPP.
Volume 1—Los Alamos/ Pueblo Watershed
Volume 2—Sandia/Mortandad Watershed
Volume 3—Pajarito Watershed
Volume 4—Water/Cañon de Valle Watershed
Volume 5—Ancho/Chaquehui Watershed
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Question
Who is the permitting authority for LANL’s Storm Water Individual Permit?
Answer
The U.S. EPA Region 6 Office is the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting authority for the State of New Mexico. The NPDES Individual Permit was issued to Los Alamos National Security, LLC, and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) by the U.S. EPA Region 6 Office located in Dallas, TX.
Question
What are Baseline Control Measures?
Answer
Section A of the Permit requires the Permittees to install baseline control measures (BCMs) at all permitted Sites identified in Appendix A to the Permit as necessary to meet the non-numeric technology-based effluent limits intended to minimize pollutants in storm water discharges. The Permittees must select, design, install and implement BCMs - including best management practices (BMPs) - in accordance with good engineering practices and manufacturer’s specifications. The BCMs must address the following non-numeric technology-based effluent limitations as listed in Sections A.1 – 5 of the Permit.
- Erosion and sedimentation controls
- Management of Run-on and Runoff
- Employee Training
- Unauthorized Discharges
- Other controls, where applicable, such as:
- controls to ensure that no waste, garbage, or floatable debris are discharged to receiving waters
- minimization of dust generation and off-site vehicle tracking
- minimization of the introduction of raw, final, or waste materials to exposed areas; and/or
- placement of flow velocity dissipation devices if the flows would otherwise create erosive conditions
Question
How many Sites does LANL monitor for the Storm Water Individual Permit?
Answer
The Individual Permit authorizes the discharge of storm water from 405 Solid Waste Management Units (SWMUs) and Areas of Concern (AOCs), collectively referred to as ‘Sites.’ Section D.2 of the Permit allows LANL to monitor two or more Sites in conjunction at an associated ‘Site Monitoring Area’ (SMA) instead of monitoring at each individual Site, when appropriate based on drainage patterns for the affected Sites. For the purposes of monitoring, the 405 Sites are organized into 250 SMAs as listed in Appendix A to the Individual Permit.
Question
What is a High Priority Site and where are they listed in the Permit?
Answer
The Individual Permit designates 63 Sites as High Priority Sites for the purpose of completing the Corrective Action requirements described in Section E of the Permit. The list of 63 High Priority Sites is found in Section E.4 (a). LANL must certify completion of corrective action at all High Priority Sites within three (3) years of the effective date of the Permit.
Question
How were High Priority Sites determined?
Answer
The 63 High Priority Sites were identified based on previous detection of polychlorinated biphenyl compounds (PCBs) in storm water runoff discharged from the Site(s). The 63 High Priority Sites are assigned to 33 Site Monitoring Areas. Further information about the High Priority Sites can be found in the each of the five volumes of the Site Discharge Pollution Prevention Plan, or in the Storm Water Individual Permit Annual Report.
Question
When High Priority Sites and Moderate Priority Sites are in the same Site Monitoring Area (SMA), what is the deadline for Corrective Action at the SMA?
Answer
The Individual Permit establishes corrective action deadlines for Sites. However, LANL organizes the implementation of corrective action by SMA. The schedule for corrective action work at any SMA that has both a High Priority and Moderate Priority Sites is based on the schedule for High Priority Sites; i.e., within three (3) years of the effective date of the Permit.
There are three (3) SMAs that contain both High Priority and Moderate Priority Sites: LA-SMA-6.5; M-SMA-3.5; and PJ-SMA-18.
Question
What is an SMA?
Answer
Section D.2 of the Permit states that all samples taken for purposes of confirmation monitoring shall be taken at the Site Monitoring Areas (SMAs) specified in Appendix A to the Permit. Section D.2 further allows LANL to monitor two or more Sites in conjunction at an associated SMA instead of monitoring at each individual Site, when appropriate based on drainage patterns for the affected Sites. SMA locations are based on reasonable site accessibility for sampling purposes and LANL’s best judgment to ensure that samples taken at a particular point will be representative of discharges from Sites in the drainage area.
For the purposes of monitoring, the 405 Sites are organized into 250 SMAs as listed in Appendix A to the Individual Permit. The Site Discharge Pollution Prevention Plan (SDPPP) includes detailed information about the SMAs including: the location of each Site within the SMA drainage area; the coordinates for the sampling location; and estimates of the size of the drainage area for each of the Sites and the total drainage area of the associated SMA.
Question
What is an erosion control?
Answer
Appendix E to the Permit describes the purpose of erosion control measures as minimizing the potential for erosion occurring when storm water runoff flows across an area. Baseline control measures used for erosion control at LANL include the following major categories: capping, channel/swale, established vegetation, gabions, and seed and mulch.
Question
What is a sediment control?
Answer
Appendix E to the Permit describes the purpose of sediment control meaures as retaining storm water-transported sediment onsite. Baseline control measures used for sediment control at LANL include the following major categories: berms, check dams, gabions, and sediment traps and basins.
Question
What is the SDPPP?
Answer
Section F of the Permit requires LANL to prepare a storm water pollution prevention plan that is called the ‘Site Discharge Pollution Prevention Plan’ (SDPPP) in the Individual Permit. The Permit-required contents of the SDPPP and associated documentation are described in Section F. The SDPPP must be updated annually to fully incorporate all changes made during the previous year and to reflect any changes projected for the following year.
The SDPPP is a document that has three primary objectives:
- Identify and summarize potential pollutant sources, including potential sediment-borne pollutants, that may affect the quality of storm water discharges associated with the IP Sites
- Identify and describe the control measures intended to reduce or eliminate pollutants in storm water discharges
- Document the procedures and schedules for sample collection and site inspection
Question
Will LANL provide an agenda prior to the public meeting?
Answer
Section I.7 (c) of the Permit requires that LANL send email notifications to members of the public who have registered on the public website about public meetings which will be held approximately every 6 months. LANL must email a draft Agenda at least one week before the meeting and will consider suggestions from the public for changes or additions to the Agenda.
Question
Is there an easier way to view documents listed under the “Regulatory Documents” tab?
Answer
Documents are now hot-linked within the listing under the tab. Additionally the EPRR has made available the option to sort by “document category”.
Question
Why is it so difficult to find and navigate to the Individual Permit web page?
Answer
Links have been added to the “Storm Water” page under “Surface Water”; and also, from the Environment home page under the "What's Interesting" section on the right.
Question
In the EPRR, I received the message “The file is damaged and could not be repaired when trying to open a PDF.” What should I do?
Answer
If you are using Firefox and the PDF opens within the browser, change your settings to open the PDF "external" to the browser:
- Tools » Options » Applications
- Select Adobe Acrobat Document.
- In the drop-down box that appears, select "Use Adobe Acrobat v.#" (insert your version of Adobe Acrobat) instead of "Use Adobe Acrobat (in Firefox).
- Click OK.
Some PDFs may exceed the cache limits of the browser. This issue is more common on a PC than a MAC. If you are using Firefox, you may want to try another browser (IE, Safari). To increase your cache for Firefox:
- Tools » Options » Advanced » Network tab
- Change to 100 MB of space for cache.
If these suggestions are unsuccessful, please send an email to askoppie@lanl.gov with details, such as report number, author, and title. We will send you a copy of the PDF.
Question
I signed up for e-mail notifications but I only want to see items related to the Individual Permit. How can I change the notifications that I receive?
Answer
Log into the register to receive email notification; enter the e-mail address you receive notifications at and press enter (or click "Go"). Click on "Subscriber Preferences" which will list all topics you subscribed to receive. Click on the boxes next to line items you NO LONGER wish to see (items you want will NOT have check marks) then click "Submit" to delete the items marked from your list.
Acronyms
Acronyms
| List of Acronyms | |
| AOC | Area of Concern |
| ATAL | Average Target Action Level |
| BMP | Best Management Practice |
| CFR | Code of Federal Regulations |
| CWA | Clean Water Act |
| EPA | Environmental Protection Agency |
| EPRR | Electronic Public Reading Room |
| HE | High Explosive |
| IP | Individual Permit: NPDES Permit No. NM0030759 |
| LANL | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| LANS | Los Alamos National Security |
| MQL | Minimum Quantification Level |
| MTAL | Maximum Target Action Level |
| NMED | New Mexico Environmental Department |
| NNSA | National Nuclear Security Administration |
| NPDES | National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System |
| PCB | Polychlorinated biphenyl |
| PF | Permitted Feature |
| PPT | Pollution Prevention Team |
| RCRA | Resource Conservation and Recovery Act |
| RFI | Remedial Facilities Investigation |
| SDPPP | Site Discharge Pollution Prevention Plan |
| SMA | Site Monitoring Area |
| SWMU | Solid Waste Management Unit |
| TA | Technical Area |
| TAL | Target Action Level |
| TMDL | Total Maximum Daily Load |
