Types of Individual DGW Permits

NJPDES permits are required for discharges to ground water of both sanitary and industrial wastes, as defined in N.J.A.C. 7:14A-1.9. These permits, which limit the mass and/or concentration of pollutants discharged, are issued to sanitary and industrial facilities that have ongoing, operational discharges of wastewater to ground water. The pollution control requirements contained in NJPDES ground water permits are those conditions necessary to restrict the discharge of pollutants to the ground waters of the State and protect the public health and the environment. For the purposes of regulating facilities that require an individual DGW permit, the BNPC has determined that the type of discharge unit dictates the structure and composition of the individual permit document.

The Bureau of Nonpoint Pollution Control currently permits (10) different discharge to ground water categories a facility may apply for and maintain a permit under.  These categories differentiate the discharge unit type, as well as the type of monitoring and permit conditions the facility may be required to maintain.

Discharge Units or Categories

G – Spray Irrigation (Industrial)
H – Overland Flow (Industrial)
I – Infiltration/Percolation Lagoon (Industrial)
J– Surface Impoundment (Industrial)
K – Underground Injection Control (UIC) (Industrial and Nonsanitary)
O - Operating Sanitary Landfill

P – Spray Irrigation (Sanitary)
Q – Overland Flow (Sanitary)
R – Infiltration/Percolation Lagoon (Sanitary)
S – Surface Impoundment (Sanitary)
T – Underground Injection Control (UIC) (Sanitary)

The individual permit includes a number of parts that create a Ground Water Protection Plan (GWPP) for the facility. The GWPP includes the Best Management Practices (BMPs), operation and maintenance procedures for discharge units, as well as the monitoring and sampling plan the facility is required to report to the Department. The GWPP is developed by BNPC staff based on information from the “Technical Report” submitted by the applicant, and also contains the regulatory requirements associated with all NJPDES-DGW permitted facilities. BNPC staff work with the applicant through the development of the permit and the applicant is generally offered the ability to review the permit prior to issuance of the draft permit.

Sampling and monitoring requirements are a combination of discharged wastewater (effluent) points and may include a network of ground water monitoring wells designed to track any plume of discharged pollutants through an aquifer. The results of monitoring requirements are reported to the Department on either Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) forms or Waste Characterization Report (WCR) forms. In association with the applicable regional Bureau of Water Compliance & Enforcement, staff evaluate the results of monitoring to ensure a facility's method of wastewater disposal and treatment are performing within State regulations.

Because of the complexity of operations or site characteristics, facilities may also be required to maintain Discharge to Surface Water (DSW) permits issued by Bureau of Point Source Permitting.  In addition, the Bureau of Nonpoint Pollution Control also issues Discharge of Stormwater (DST) permits that may be combined with a facility’s Individual NJPDES-DGW permit.