National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) 2026 Issuance of the Multi-Sector General Permit for Stormwater Discharges Associated With Industrial Activity

<NOTICE> ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY <DEPDOC>[EPA-HQ-OW-2024-0481; FRL 11244-01-OW]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) 2026 Issuance of the Multi-Sector General Permit for Stormwater Discharges Associated With Industrial Activity</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Notice; request for public comment. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> All 10 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regions are proposing for public comment the 2026 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permit for stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity, also referred to as the “2026 Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP)” or the “proposed permit.” The proposed permit once finalized will replace the EPA's existing MSGP that expires on February 28, 2026. The EPA proposes to issue this permit for five (5) years. Once finalized, this permit will be available in areas where the EPA is the NPDES permitting authority. The EPA solicits comment on all aspects of the proposed general permit and seeks public comment on specific requests for information as described in of this document. The public is encouraged to read the proposed permit fact sheet to better understand the proposed permit requirements. The proposed permit and fact sheet can be found at <E T="03">https://www.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater-discharges-industrial-activities</E> . </SUM> <DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Comments must be received on or before February 11, 2025. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act, comments on the information collection provisions must be received by OMB on or before January 13, 2025. </DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2024-0481, by any of the following methods: • <E T="03">Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/</E> (our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. • <E T="03">Mail:</E> U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center, Office of Water Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460. • <E T="03">Hand Delivery or Courier:</E> EPA Docket Center, WJC West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. The Docket Center's hours of operations are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday (except Federal holidays). <E T="03">Instructions:</E> All submissions received must include the Docket ID No. for this rulemaking. Comments received may be posted without change to <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov/</E> , including any personal information provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and additional information on the rulemaking process, see the “Public Participation” heading of the <E T="02">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION</E> section of this document. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Contact the appropriate EPA Regional office listed in section I.D of this document, or contact Alicia Denning, EPA Headquarters, Office of Water, Office of Wastewater Management, Mail Code 4203M, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-564-0018; email address: <E T="03">denning.alicia@epa.gov.</E> Electronic versions of the proposed permit and fact sheet are also available on EPA's NPDES website at <E T="03">https://www.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater-discharges-industrial-activities</E> . </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> This section is organized as follows: <HD SOURCE="HD1">Table of Contents</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. General Information</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Does this Action Apply to Me?</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Public Participation</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Finalizing the 2026 MSGP</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. EPA Regional Contacts for the Proposed MSGP</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Scope and Applicability</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Geographic Coverage</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Activities Covered</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Summary of Proposed Permit and Changes from the 2021 MSGP</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Specific Requests for Comment</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. Cost Impacts of the Proposed 2026 MSGP</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">V. Public Notice of Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification on Behalf of Tribes Without Treatment as a State Authority and for Lands of Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VI. Statutory and Executive Orders Reviews</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive Order 14094: Modernizing Regulatory Review</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations and Executive Order 14096: Revitalizing Our Nation's Commitment to Environmental Justice for All</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. General Information</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD2">A. Does this action apply to me?</HD> The proposed permit covers stormwater discharges from industrial facilities in the 30 sectors shown below: <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector A—Timber Products.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector B—Paper and Allied Products Manufacturing.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector C—Chemical and Allied Products Manufacturing.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector D—Asphalt Paving and Roofing Materials Manufactures and Lubricant Manufacturers.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector E—Glass, Clay, Cement, Concrete, and Gypsum Product Manufacturing.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector F—Primary Metals.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector G—Metal Mining (Ore Mining and Dressing).</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector H—Coal Mines and Coal Mining-Related Facilities.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector I—Oil and Gas Extraction.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector J—Mineral Mining and Dressing.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector K—Hazardous Waste Treatment Storage or Disposal.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector L—Landfills and Land Application Sites.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector M—Automobile Salvage Yards.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector N—Scrap Recycling Facilities.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector O—Steam Electric Generating Facilities.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector P—Land Transportation.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector Q—Water Transportation.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector R—Ship and Boat Building or Repairing Yards.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector S—Air Transportation Facilities.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector T—Treatment Works.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector U—Food and Kindred Products.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector V—Textile Mills, Apparel, and other Fabric Products Manufacturing.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector W—Furniture and Fixtures.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector X—Printing and Publishing.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector Y—Rubber, Miscellaneous Plastic Products, and Miscellaneous Manufacturing Industries.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector Z—Leather Tanning and Finishing.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1"> Sector AA—Fabricated Metal Products. </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector AB—Transportation Equipment, Industrial or Commercial Machinery.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector AC—Electronic, Electrical, Photographic and Optical Goods.</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Sector AD—Reserved for Facilities Not Covered Under Other Sectors and Designated by the Director.</FP> </EXTRACT> Coverage under the proposed 2026 MSGP is available to operators of eligible facilities located in areas where the EPA is the permitting authority. A list of eligible areas is included in Appendix C of the proposed 2026 MSGP. <HD SOURCE="HD2">B. Public Participation</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD3">1. Written Comments</HD> Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2024-0481, at <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov</E> (our preferred method), or the other methods identified in the <E T="02">ADDRESSES</E> section. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from the docket. The EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit to the EPA's docket at <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov</E> any information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI), Proprietary Business Information (PBI), or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of the primary submission ( <E T="03">i.e.,</E> on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). Please visit <E T="03">https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</E> for additional submission methods; the full EPA public comment policy; information about CBI, PBI, or multimedia submissions; and general guidance on making effective comments. <HD SOURCE="HD3">2. Will public hearings be held on this action?</HD> The EPA has not scheduled any public hearings to receive public comment concerning the proposed permit. All persons will continue to have the right to provide written comments during the public comment period. However, interested persons may request a public hearing pursuant to 40 CFR 124.12 concerning the proposed permit. Requests for public hearing must be sent or delivered in writing to the same address as provided above for public comments prior to the close of the comment period and must state the nature of the issue the requester would like raised in the hearing. Pursuant to 40 CFR 124.12, the EPA shall hold a public hearing if it finds, on the basis of request ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 37k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━