State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) Permit Program
ARTICLE 17 TITLE 8, ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION LAW
IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS - 6NYCRR PART 750
Overview
New York is rich in surface and groundwater resources. Article 17 of the Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) entitled "Water Pollution Control" was enacted to protect and maintain these valuable resources. Article 17 authorized creation of the State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) program to maintain New York's waters with reasonable standards of purity.
The SPDES program is designed to eliminate the pollution of New York waters and to maintain the highest quality of water possible-- consistent with:
- public health
- public enjoyment of the resource
- protection and propagation of fish and wildlife
- industrial development in the state
New York's SPDES program has been approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for the control of surface wastewater and stormwater discharges in accordance with the Clean Water Act. However, the SPDES program is broader in scope than that required by the Clean Water Act as it controls point source discharges to groundwaters as well as surface waters.
EPA National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Electronic Reporting
NYSDEC is in the process of developing electronic processes and forms to fulfill this requirement. More information can be found on the DEC NPDES e-Reporting Rule webpage and on the EPA's NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule webpage (link leaves DEC's website.)
View SPDES Permits
This website is intended to enable interested parties to view and print issued State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) Individual and Multi-Sector General (MSGP) Permits (link leaves DEC's website). All permits are provided as PDFs. The permits and other facility documents are public information that can be found in this website. The documents are filed in individual facility folders that are organized geographically according to the DEC Regions. There is a Readme file and two Index files to assist the users in locating the permits and documents that they are looking for. Please read the Readme file first before you begin your search. This repository may not be complete, and new permits are added periodically. If the permit you are seeking is not available, you may contact the NYSDEC Division of Environmental Permits.
Certain draft SPDES permits are available to view and print on State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) Individual and Multi-Sector General (MSGP) Permits (link leaves DEC's website) during the public comment period. These are in the Draft SPDES Permits folder, listed in order by facility name. All questions and comments about the draft permit should be addressed to the contact person provided on the Environmental Notice Bulletin and Newspaper public notice.
Annual Fees For SPDES Permits
While no application fees are charged for review of permit applications, the Department assesses permittees for annual Environmental Regulatory Program Fees based on the type of facility, the type of authorization, and the discharge volume. In accordance with Article 72, Title 6 of the Environmental Conservation Law, fees for SPDES permits are:
| Type | Fees (per year) |
|---|---|
| MSGP | $110 |
| Aquatic Pesticides General Permit | $110 |
| PCI (to groundwater) | $110 |
| CAFO (Medium or Large) | $50 |
| Construction | $110 |
| Construction - one time initial authorization fee | $110 per disturbed acre and $675 per future impervious acre |
| Capacity | Fee (per year) | |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial | Less than 10,000 gpd | $675 |
| 10,000 - 99,999 gpd | $2,300 | |
| 100,000 - 499,999 gpd | $6,700 | |
| 500,000 - 999,999 gpd | $22,500 | |
| 1,000,000 - 9,999,999 gpd | $33,500 | |
| 10,000,000 gpd or more | $56,000 | |
| Municipal | Less than 200,000 gpd | $425 |
| 200,000 - 999,999 gpd | $2,000 | |
| 1,000,000 - 4,999,999 gpd | $8,000 | |
| 5,000,000 - 39,999,999 gpd | $15,500 | |
| 40,000,000 gpd or more | $38,500 | |
| Private/Commercial/ Institutional (PCI) |
Less than 100,000 gpd | $330 |
| 100,000 gpd or more | $675 | |
| Power Plant | any size | $56,000 |
| Ballast Dischargers | Less than 1,000,000 gals. in any 24 hr. period |
$100 |
| 1,000,000 gals. or more in any 24 hr. period |
$500 |
Disclaimer : When the fees indicated in the DEC regulations or the above table are not consistent with those contained in the ECL, the annual fees indicated in the ECL shall prevail.
2021 SPDES Priority Ranking List
DEC is providing the Environmental Benefit Permit Strategy (EBPS) priority rankings list (PDF) in conformance with section 17-0817(6) of the Environmental Conservation Law. The lists are based on a ranking system that prioritizes permits for full technical review and, when necessary, modification. Scoring data for each individual permit in the EBPS lists is available in the EBPS scoring details (PDF) document.
For additional information on EBPS, please refer to TOGS 1.2.2 or this brief EBPS Overview (PDF).
Engineering Report Outline for Wastewater Infrastructure Projects
Engineering Report Guidance (PDF, link leaves DEC's website) - requirements for SPDES engineering report submittals
More about State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) Permit Program:
- SPDES Permit Program: Do I Need a Permit? - Information to determine if one needs a SPDES permit
- SPDES Permit Program: Application Procedures - Procedures for applying for a State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit
- State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) Permit Application Forms - Downloadable application forms for State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permits.
- SPDES Permitting of Water Treatment Chemicals (WTCs) - Information on the water quality issues and the SPDES permitting of WTCs
- NPDES e-Reporting Rule - Information on the NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule and its requirements
- New York State Design Standards for Intermediate Sized Wastewater Treatment Systems - This manual provides engineering guidance for the design and implementation of intermediate sized wastewater treatment systems.
- Vessel General Permit - The EPA issued the Vessel General Permit (VGP) effective December 19, 2008.
- Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations - Information about permits for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO).
