Notice of Tentative Decision
Intent To Issue With Modifications The General Permit To Discharge From Subsurface Sewage Disposal Systems Serving Existing Facilities

TENTATIVE DECISION

The Commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection ("DEEP") hereby gives notice that a tentative decision has been reached to revoke, modify and issue, for a period of ten years, the General Permit to Discharge from Subsurface Sewage Disposal Systems Serving Existing Facilities, which will be retitled the General Permit to Discharge from Subsurface Disposal Systems.  Issuance of this proposed General Permit will supersede the existing General Permit entitled General Permit to Discharge from Subsurface Sewage Disposal Systems Serving Existing Facilities issued May 9, 2012. 

COMMISSIONER’S FINDINGS/REGULATORY CONDITIONS

In accordance with applicable federal and state law, the Commissioner has made a tentative decision that issuance of this proposed General Permit would not cause pollution of the waters of the state. The proposed General Permit, if issued, will require registration for eligible discharges, treatment of wastewater as may be required, monitoring of wastewater discharges, and compliance with effluent limitations, permit conditions and best management practices.

PROPOSED GENERAL PERMIT

The proposed General Permit to Discharge from Subsurface Disposal Systems (“General Permit”) will continue to authorize discharges that are already eligible for coverage under the General Permit to Discharge from Subsurface Sewage Disposal Systems Serving Existing Facilities (“Existing General Permit”), and will also include modifications that: 1) Authorize domestic sewage discharges through new subsurface sewage disposal systems to groundwater, 2) Revise discharge monitoring reporting requirements to include electronic data reporting, and 3) Establish fees for the new discharge categories and modify fees for existing discharges. 

Any Person or Municipality seeking coverage under the authority of this General Permit to discharge domestic sewage from a subsurface sewage disposal system or other system as defined in Section 2 of this General Permit, and any such Person or Municipality who is previously registered and authorized to discharge under the Existing General Permit, shall file a registration under this General Permit with the Commissioner.

This General Permit constitutes a modification of the Existing General Permit and issuance for a period of ten years.  Please refer to the Fact Sheet associated with this notice for more information on this proposed General Permit.

COMMISSIONER’S AUTHORITY

The Commissioner is authorized to issue this General Permit and approve or deny any registration under this General Permit pursuant to sections 22a-430 and 22a-430b of the Connecticut General Statutes and the Water Discharge Permit Regulations (section 22a-430-3 and 4 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies). 

INFORMATION REQUESTS/PUBLIC COMMENT

Interested persons may obtain a copy of this public notice, the proposed General Permit and the General Permit Fact Sheet on the DEEP website at http://www.ct.gov/deep/publicnotices. Questions may be directed to Antoanela Daha at 860-424-3025 or antoanela.daha@ct.gov.

Before making a final decision on this proposed General Permit, the Commissioner shall consider written comments from interested persons that are received within 30 days from the publication date of this notice. Written comments should be directed to Antoanela Daha, WPED, DEEP, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106-5127 and should also be submitted via electronic mail to antoanela.daha@ct.gov.

PETITIONS FOR HEARING
Petitions for a hearing shall be submitted within thirty (30) days from the date of publication of this public notice and should include the application number noted above and also identify a contact person to receive notifications. Petitions should also identify a person who is authorized to engage in discussions regarding the application and, if resolution is reached, withdraw the petition. In order to facilitate the filing of requests for hearing during the COVID-19 emergency and consistent with the Department’s Temporary Directive, the Office of Adjudications will accept electronically-filed petitions in addition to petitions submitted by mail.  Petitions with required signatures may be filed by email to deep.adjudications@ct.gov or mailed to the DEEP Office of Adjudications, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106.  Within thirty (30) days of filing the petition, original petitions that were filed electronically must be also be mailed to the Office at the above-noted address. If the original petition exists only in electronic format or signatures were produced using a computer or typewriter, the petition must be submitted with a statement bearing the wet-ink signature of the petitioner that the petition is only available in that format and has been submitted to satisfy the requirement that an original petition be filed. If a hearing is held, timely notice of such hearing will be published in a newspaper of general circulation and posted on the DEEP website at www.ct.gov/deep.  Additional information is available at www.ct.gov/deep/adjudications.

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer that is committed to complying with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Please contact Antoanela Daha at antoanela.daha@ct.gov if you are seeking a communication aid or service, have limited proficiency in English, or require some other accommodation. If you wish to file an ADA or Title VI discrimination complaint, you may submit your complaint to the DEEP Office of Diversity and Equity at (860) 418-5910 or via email at deep.accommodations@ct.gov.  In order to facilitate efforts to provide an accommodation, please request all accommodations as soon as possible following notice of any agency hearing, meeting, program or event.

/s/Betsey Wingfield     

Deputy Commissioner                     

Published in the Hartford Courant, New Haven Register, Connecticut Post, Waterbury Republican-American, New London Day and Willimantic Chronicle on July 21, 2021.

Draft Permit