La. Admin. Code tit. 33 § IX-4719

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024

Section IX-4719 - What must the state administrative authority do to comply with the requirements of this Subchapter?

A. Permit Application. The state administrative authority must review materials submitted by the applicant under LAC 33:IX.2501.R.3 and 4713 at the time of the initial permit application and before each permit renewal or reissuance.

1. After receiving the initial permit application from the owner or operator of a new facility, the state administrative authority must determine applicable standards in LAC 33:IX.4709 to apply to the new facility. In addition, the state administrative authority must review materials to determine compliance with the applicable standards.

2. For each subsequent permit renewal, the state administrative authority must review the application materials and monitoring data to determine whether requirements or additional requirements for design and construction technologies or operational measures should be included in the permit.

3. For Track II facilities, the state administrative authority may review the information collection proposal plan required by LAC 33:IX.4713.C.2.c. The facility may initiate sampling and data collection activities prior to receiving comment from the state administrative authority.

B. Permitting Requirements. Section 316(b) of the CWA requirements are implemented for a facility through an LPDES permit. The state administrative authority must determine, based on the information submitted by the new facility in its permit application, the appropriate requirements and conditions to include in the permit based on the track (Track I or Track II) the new facility has chosen to comply with. The following requirements must be included in each permit.

1. Cooling Water Intake Structure Requirements. At a minimum, the permit conditions must include the performance standards that implement the requirements of LAC 33:IX.4709.B.1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, C.1, 2, 3, and 4, or D.1 and 2. In determining compliance with proportional flow requirement in LAC 33:IX.4709.B.3.b, C.2.b, and D.2.b, the state administrative authority must consider anthropogenic factors (those not considered "natural") unrelated to the new facility's cooling water intake structure that can influence the occurrence and location of a thermocline. These include source water inflows, other water withdrawals, managed water uses, wastewater discharges, and flow/level management practices (i.e., some reservoirs release water from below the surface, close to the deepest areas).

a. For a facility that chooses Track I, the state administrative authority must review the design and construction technology plan required in LAC 33:IX.4713.B.4 to evaluate the suitability and feasibility of the technology proposed to minimize impingement mortality and entrainment of all life stages of fish and shellfish. In the first permit issued, the state administrative authority must put a condition requiring the facility to reduce impingement mortality and entrainment commensurate with the implementation of the technologies in the permit. Under subsequent permits, the state administrative authority must review the performance of the technologies implemented and require additional or different design and construction technologies, if needed to minimize impingement mortality and entrainment of all life stages of fish and shellfish. In addition, the state administrative authority must consider whether more stringent conditions are reasonably necessary in accordance with LAC 33:IX.4709.E.

b. For a facility that chooses Track II, the state administrative authority must review the information submitted with the comprehensive demonstration study information required in LAC 33:IX.4713.C.2 and evaluate the suitability of the proposed design and construction technologies and operational measures to determine whether they will reduce both impingement mortality and entrainment of all life stages of fish and shellfish to 90 percent or greater of the reduction that could be achieved through Track I. If the state administrative authority determines that restoration measures are appropriate at the new facility for consideration of impacts other than impingement mortality and entrainment, the state administrative authority must review the evaluation of proposed restoration measures and evaluate whether the proposed measures will maintain the fish and shellfish in the water body at a substantially similar level to that which would be achieved through LAC 33:IX.4709.B.1 and 2. In addition, the state administrative authority must review the verification monitoring plan in LAC 33:IX.4713.C.2.d.iv and require that the proposed monitoring begin at the start of operations of the cooling water intake structure and continue for a sufficient period of time to demonstrate that the technologies, operational measures, and restoration measures meet the requirements in LAC 33:IX.4709.D.1. Under subsequent permits, the state administrative authority must review the performance of the additional and/or different technologies or measures used and determine that they reduce the level of adverse environmental impact from the cooling water intake structures to a comparable level that the facility would achieve were it to implement the requirements of LAC 33:IX.4709.B.1 and 2.

2. Monitoring Conditions. At a minimum, the permit must require the permittee to perform the monitoring required in LAC 33:IX.4715. The state administrative authority may modify the monitoring program when the permit is reissued and during the term of the permit based on changes in physical or biological conditions in the vicinity of the cooling water intake structure. The state administrative authority may require continued monitoring based on the results of the verification monitoring plan in LAC 33:IX.4713.C.2.d.iv.

3. Recordkeeping and Reporting. At a minimum, the permit must require the permittee to report and keep records as required by LAC 33:IX.4717.

La. Admin. Code tit. 33, § IX-4719

Promulgated by the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Environmental Assessment, Environmental Planning Division, LR 28:1774 (August 2002), repromulgated LR 30:232 (February 2004), amended by the Office of Environmental Assessment, LR 31:427 (February 2005).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:2001 et seq., and in particular Section 2074(B)(3) and (B)(4)