Final 401 Certification for U.S. EPA's Vessel General NPDES Permit

December 1, 2008

Notice is hereby given that the Director of Ohio EPA has issued a final Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification for the U.S. EPA Vessel General NPDES permit.

Background

U.S. EPA has issued a draft general NPDES permit for discharges from the operation of vessels. The permit would cover vessels nationwide, and covers and regulates a wide variety of discharges from vessels, including ballast water, bilge water and gray water discharged from vessels. Sanitary wastewater discharges are exempt from the Clean Water Act, but are covered by U.S. Coast Guard regulations.

All federal actions that could affect water quality in a state must obtain a certification from the state that the action meets state water quality standards. The issue affecting Ohio waters is the ballast water discharge and whether that discharge meets Ohio Water Quality Standards. Ballast water is water and associated suspended sediments taken into or discharged from ballast tanks to maintain the stability of the vessel.

Ohio EPA Documents

• Public Notice [PDF 14K]
• Final Section 401 Water Quality Certification - Effective December 1, 2008 [PDF 165K]

U.S. EPA Documents

• Go to the U.S. EPA website.

For additional information contact:

Eric Nygaard
DSW Permits & Compliance Section
(614) 644-2024
e-mail: eric.nygaard@epa.state.oh.us

Back to Section 401 Water Quality Certification page.
Back to NPDES General Permits page.

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