Ohio Administrative Code|Rule 3745-33-03 | Applications.

                                                
[Comment: For dates of non-regulatory government
		publications, publications of recognized organizations and associations,
		federal rules and federal statutory provisions referenced in this rule, see
		rule 3745-33-01 of the Administrative Code.]
(A) Applications for Ohio NPDES permits
		  shall be filed only on forms approved by Ohio EPA and shall contain such
		  information as Ohio EPA deems necessary. These forms may be electronic. As a
		  minimum, these applications shall contain any NPDES application information
		  required by regulations adopted by the administrator, including 40 C.F.R. 122
		  to 125, 129 to 133, 136, 400 to 471, 501 and 503.
(B) Any person proposing to commence the
		  discharge of pollutants shall submit an application, including all data
		  required by the application form, at least one hundred eighty days prior to
		  commencement of the discharge. If a permit renewal application is submitted at
		  least one hundred eighty days prior to the expiration date of the existing
		  permit, and the director does not issue a new permit before the expiration
		  date, the conditions of the expired permit shall continue in force until the
		  director acts on the permit application.
(C) Application requirements for
		  materials added to wastewater.
(1) The applicant shall
			 attach to the application a list of treatment additives proposed to be
			 discharged including, but not limited to, maintenance chemicals and chemicals
			 used to aid in the treatment of the wastewater.
(2) If these treatment
			 additives proposed have not been approved in a permit to install issued under
			 Chapter 3745-42 of the Administrative Code, director's final findings and
			 orders, or NPDES permit issuance, the applicant shall also submit an
			 application to discharge the treatment additives in accordance with paragraph
			 (G) of this rule.. 
(D) Any application that fails to provide Ohio EPA with requested
		  information needed for ascertaining compliance with the applicable provisions
		  of this chapter, may be considered incomplete. Ohio EPA may either request
		  additional information or return the application to the applicant without
		  further processing. An indication of why the application was considered
		  incomplete shall accompany the application returned.
(1) Except as specified
			 in paragraph (D)(1)(b) of this rule, a permit application shall not be
			 considered complete unless all required quantitative data are collected in
			 accordance with sufficiently sensitive analytical methods approved under 40
			 C.F.R. Part 136 or required under 40 C.F.R. chapter I, subchapter N or
			 O.
(a) For the purposes of this requirement, a method approved
				under 40 C.F.R. Part 136 or required under 40 C.F.R. chapter I, subchapter N or
				O is "sufficiently sensitive" when any of the following conditions
				are met:
(i) The method
				  quantification level (QL) is at or below the level of the applicable water
				  quality criterion for the measured pollutant or pollutant
				  parameter.
(ii) The method QL is
				  above the applicable water quality criterion, but the amount of the pollutant
				  or pollutant parameter in a facilitys discharge is high enough that the
				  method detects and quantifies the level of the pollutant or pollutant parameter
				  in the discharge.
(iii) The method has the
				  lowest QL of the analytical methods approved under 40 C.F.R. Part 136 or
				  required under 40 C.F.R. chapter I, subchapter N or O for the measured
				  pollutant or pollutant parameter.
(b) When there is no analytical method that has been
				approved under 40 C.F.R. Part 136, required under 40 C.F.R. chapter I,
				subchapter N or O, and a specific analytical method is not otherwise required
				by the director, the applicant may use any suitable method but shall provide a
				description of the method. When selecting a suitable method, other factors such
				as a methods precision, accuracy or resolution may be considered when
				assessing the performance of the method.
[Comment: Common deficiencies include not
		  submitting the application fee, the listed operator on form 1.VIII should be
		  the responsible party as opposed to the person who does the day-to-day
		  operations and maintenance, the signatory not meeting the requirements in
		  paragraph (F) of this rule, form 2C not including analytical data of pollutants
		  believed present, form 2S not completed for small sanitary applicants using
		  form 2E and the submitted sample analysis not having a sufficiently sensitive
		  analytical method to determine compliance with applicable water quality
		  standards.]
(E) An applicant may request that
		  information submitted with applications be treated as confidential business
		  information.
(1) A request for
			 confidential treatment shall be submitted to Ohio EPA simultaneously with an
			 application with documentation sufficient to support that the information is
			 confidential. Failure to make such a timely request shall constitute a waiver
			 of the right to prevent public disclosure. A request at a later time will be
			 entertained by Ohio EPA, but Ohio EPA will not be liable for any information
			 released prior to receiving the request.
(2) A decision as to
			 whether to treat the information as confidential shall be made by the director
			 within forty-five days of receipt of the request and accompanying
			 documentation. Until such decision is made, the information or part thereof,
			 shall be treated as confidential. The applicant requesting confidentiality
			 shall be notified in writing of the director's decision.
(3) Any information
			 determined to be confidential may be disclosed, as follows:
(a) To officers, employees or authorized representatives of
				the state or a federal agency, without the consent of the affected person, when
				necessary to sustain an action brought pursuant to Chapter 6111. of the Revised
				Code or during an adjudication hearing or when otherwise necessary to fulfill
				any requirement of the act or Chapter 6111. of the Revised Code.
(b) In any judicial proceeding in accordance with paragraph
				(E)(3)(d) of this rule.
(c) In any administrative hearing in accordance with
				paragraph (E)(3)(d) of this rule.
(d) Information determined to be confidential may be
				disclosed in any judicial proceeding or in any administrative hearing after
				notification to the affected person and the presiding officer sufficient to
				allow submission of comments by the affected person prior to disclosure of the
				information. Upon consideration of such comments, the presiding officer may
				condition disclosure of the information on the making of such protective
				arrangements and commitments found to be necessary and
				appropriate.
(e) Disclosure of information determined to be confidential
				in accordance with paragraph (E)(3) of this rule shall not, of itself, affect
				the eligibility of information for confidential treatment under the other
				provisions of this rule.
(4) Information required
			 by NPDES application forms provided by the director under this rule may not be
			 claimed confidential. This includes information on the forms themselves and any
			 attachments used to supply information required by the forms. Claims for
			 confidentiality will be denied for the following information:
(a) The name and address of any permit applicant or
				permittee.
(b) Permit applications, permits, and effluent
				data.
(F) An application submitted to the director pursuant to
		  this chapter shall be signed as follows:
(1) In the case of a
			 corporation, by a responsible corporate officer. For these purposes, a
			 responsible corporate officer means either of the following:
(a) A president, secretary, treasurer or vice-president of the
				corporation in charge of a principal business function, or any other person who
				performs similar policy-making or decision-making functions for the
				corporation.
(b) The manager of one or more manufacturing, production or
				operating facilities, provided the manager is authorized to make management
				decisions that govern the operation of the regulated facility including having
				explicit or implicit duty of making major capital investment recommendations,
				and initiating and directing other comprehensive measures to assure long-term
				environmental compliance with environmental laws and regulations; the manager
				can ensure that the necessary systems are established or actions taken to
				gather complete and accurate information for permit application requirements;
				and where authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the
				manager in accordance with corporate procedures.
(2) In the case of a
			 partnership, by a general partner.
(3) In the case of a sole
			 proprietorship, by the proprietor.
(4) In the case of a
			 municipal, state or other public facility, by either the principal executive
			 officer, the ranking elected official or other duly authorized
			 employee.
(G) Requesting approval to use and
		  discharge treatment additives.
(1) Permittees, except
			 for POTWs, shall obtain prior approval for the use of new treatment additives
			 and for the discharge of treatment additives.
(2) Requests for
			 approvals under this paragraph shall be filed only on forms approved by Ohio
			 EPA and contain such information as Ohio EPA deems necessary. The forms may be
			 submitted electronically.
[Comment: Ohio EPA recommends that facilities
			 submit requests at least forty-five days prior to when the facility plans to
			 discharge wastewater containing the requested additive.]
(3) All of the following
			 substances are exempt from the requirement to request approval prior to
			 use:
(a) Acids and bases used only to alter the pH of the
				discharge when the applicable outfall already includes an effluent limit for
				pH, including all of the following:
(i) Caustic soda (sodium hydroxide).
(ii) Magnesium hydroxide.
(iii) Ferric chloride.
(iv) Aluminum sulfate (alum).
(v) Lime.
(vi) Sulfuric acid.
(b) Sodium carbonate.
(c) Polyaluminum chloride.
(d) The following chlorination chemicals when the
				applicable outfall already includes an effluent limit for
				chlorine:
(i) Chlorine.
(ii) Sodium
				  hypochlorite.
(iii) Calcium
				  hypochlorite.
(e) The following dechlorination chemicals:
(i) Sodium
				  thiosulfate.
(ii) Sodium
				  sulfite.
(iii) Sodium meta
				  bisulfite.
(iv) Sodium
				  bisulfite.
(v) Sulfur
				  dioxide.