Region 1 Final Medium Wastewater Treatment Facilities General Permit for Massachusetts
EPA Region 1 has issued the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) General Permit for the Discharge of Wastewater from medium sized Wastewater Treatment Facilities (WWTFs) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Permit Number MAG590000), referred to as the "Medium Wastewater Treatment Facilities General Permit" ("Draft Medium WWTF GP" or the "Draft General Permit").
The Medium WWTF GP is designed to authorize discharges of wastewater from privately and publicly owned treatment works treating domestic sewage. Facilities eligible for coverage under the General Permit would include those in Massachusetts with a design flow between 1 and 5 million gallons per day (MGD). The Medium WWTF GP proposes effluent limitations, monitoring requirements, reporting requirements and standard conditions for facilities that discharge to fresh and marine waters in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Specific eligibility and notification requirements are provided for in the General Permit. See Attachment E of the Medium WWTF GP in the link below for a list of the 43 eligible facilities.
EPA solicited public comments on the Draft Medium WWTF General Permit from February 8, 2022 to April 26, 2022. EPA received many comments during this time and made several changes to the Medium WWTF GP as described in EPA's Response to Comments document posted below.
The Medium WWTF General Permit was issued on September 28, 2022 and the effective date is November 1, 2022. Eligible facilities may choose to submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) to EPA in accordance with 40 CFR § 122.28(b)(2)(i) & (ii). The details of such a submittal are outlined in the Part IV.A of the General Permit. As a convenience, eligible facilities may use this NOI template (pdf) and submit their NOI electronically to [email protected] (with copy to [email protected]) at any time before the deadline of December 1, 2022. Note that eligible facilities will not be covered by the General Permit until the effective date of their specific authorization, discussed below.
A copy of the Medium WWTF General Permit and other relevant documents are posted here:
- Medium WWTF General Permit (pdf)
- Part VII – Standard Conditions (pdf)
- Attachment A – Freshwater Acute Toxicity Test Procedure and Protocol, February 2011 (pdf)
- Attachment B – Freshwater Chronic Toxicity Test Procedure and Protocol, March 2013 (pdf)
- Attachment C – Marine Acute Toxicity Test Procedure and Protocol, July 2012 (pdf)
- Attachment D – Marine Chronic Toxicity Test Procedure and Protocol, November 2013 (pdf)
- Attachment E – List of Eligible Facilities (pdf)
- Attachment F – Reassessment of Technically Based Industrial Discharge Limits (pdf)
- Attachment G – NPDES Permit Requirement for Industrial Pretreatment Annual Report (pdf)
- Attachment H – PFAS Analyte List (pdf)
- Attachment I – Facility-Specific Permit Terms (pdf)
- Attachment J – Pretreatment Program Development Requirements (pdf)
- EPA's Response to Comments (pdf)
- 2023 Medium WWTF GP Minor Modification Letter (pdf)
- 2023 Medium WWTF GP Minor Modification Letter Medfield (pdf)
- Permittee PFAS Clarification Letter (pdf)
- Massachusetts State Water Quality Certification, dated July 1, 2022 (pdf)
- Medium WWTF General Permit Fact Sheet (Including Appendices A, B, and C) (pdf)
- 2024 Medium WWTF GP Minor Modification Letter Spencer (pdf)
After the General Permit becomes effective, EPA will send each eligible Permittee an authorization which will include their specific permit limits and other requirements and will indicate the date that their coverage under the General Permit will begin. All authorizations will be posted below once they are effective and will be available for public access throughout the permit term.
Authorizations:
City / Town (Receiving Water) | Applicant / Facility Name | Authorization Number | Authorization Date |
---|---|---|---|
Adams (Hoosic River, Hudson River Watershed) | Adams WWTP (pdf) | MAG590009 | 04/01/2023 |
Amesbury (Merrimack River) | Amesbury WPAF (pdf) | MAG590034 | 04/01/2023 |
Athol (Millers River, Connecticut River Watershed) | Athol WWTP (pdf) | MAG590016 | 04/01/2023 |
Ayer (Nashua River, Merrimack River Watershed) | Ayer WWTP (pdf) | MAG590031 | 04/01/2023 |
Belchertown (Lampson Brook, Connecticut River Watershed) | Belchertown WWTP (pdf) | MAG590015 | 04/01/2023 |
Bridgewater (Town River, Taunton River Watershed) | Bridgewater WWTF (pdf) | MAG590044 | 04/01/2023 |
Chicopee (Connecticut River) | South Hadley WWTP (Co-Permittee Town of Granby) (pdf) | MAG590021, MAG59C121 | 04/01/2023 |
Clinton (South Branch Nashua River, Merrimack River Watershed) | MWRA-Clinton WWTP (Co-Permittees Town of Clinton and Lancaster Sewer District Commission) (pdf) | MAG590033, MAG59C133, MAG59C233 | 04/01/2023 |
Concord (Concord River, Merrimack River Watershed) | Concord WWTF (pdf) | MAG590030 | 04/01/2023 |
Dartmouth (Buzzards Bay) | Dartmouth WPCF (pdf) | MAG590004 | 04/01/2023 |
East Templeton (Otter River, Connecticut River Watershed) | Gardner WWTF (Co-Permittee Town of Ashburnham) (pdf) | MAG590013, MAG59C113 | 04/01/2023 |
Easthampton (Connecticut River and Manhan River) | Easthampton WWTF (pdf) | MAG590022 | 04/01/2023 |
Erving (Millers River, Connecticut River Watershed) | Erving POTW 1 (pdf) | MAG590020 | 04/01/2023 |
Fairhaven (Acushnet River, Buzzards Bay Watershed) | Fairhaven WPCF (pdf) | MAG590006 | 04/01/2023 |
Grafton (Blackstone River) | Grafton WWTP (pdf) | MAG590002 | 04/01/2023 |
Great Barrington (Housatonic River, Connecticut River Watershed) | Great Barrington WWTF (pdf) | MAG590025 | 04/01/2023 |
Greenfield (Deerfield River, Connecticut River Watershed) | Greenfield WPCP (pdf) | MAG590014 | 04/01/2023 |
Hopedale (Charles River) | Milford WWTF (pdf) | MAG590007 | 04/01/2023 |
Hudson (Assabet River, Merrimack River Watershed) | Hudson WWTF (pdf) | MAG590029 | 04/01/2023 |
Hull (Boston Harbor, South Coastal Watershed) | Hull WPCF (Co-Permittee Town of Hingham) (pdf) | MAG590037, MAG59C137 | 04/01/2023 |
Ipswich (Greenwood Creek, North Coastal Watershed) | Ipswich WWTF (pdf) | MAG590036 | 04/01/2023 |
Lee (Housatonic River, Connecticut River Watershed) | Lee WWTF (pdf) | MAG590023 | 04/01/2023 |
Lenox Dale (Housatonic River, Connecticut River Watershed) | Lenox WWTP (pdf) | MAG590024 | 04/01/2023 |
Marshfield (Massachusetts Bay, South Coastal Watershed) | Marshfield WWTF (Co-Permittee Town of Duxbury) (pdf) | MAG590039, MAG59C139 | 04/01/2023 |
Maynard (Assabet River, Merrimack River Watershed) | Maynard WWTF (pdf) | MAG590028 | 04/01/2023 |
Medfield (Charles River) | Medfield WWTF (pdf) | MAG590008 | 07/01/2023 |
Medfield (Charles River) | Medfield WWTF (pdf) | MAG590008 | 04/01/2023 |
Middleborough (Nemasket River, Taunton River Watershed) | Middleborough WPCF (pdf) | MAG590042 | 04/01/2023 |
Newburyport (Merrimack River) | Newburyport (pdf) | MAG590035 | 04/01/2023 |
Norton (Three Mile River, Taunton River Watershed) | MFN Regional WPCF (Co-Permittees Towns of Mansfield, Norton, and Foxborough) (pdf) | MAG590043, MAG59C143, MAG59C243, MAG59C343 | 04/01/2023 |
Orange (Millers River, Connecticut River Watershed) | Orange WWTF (pdf) | MAG590019 | 04/01/2023 |
Pepperell (Nashua River, Merrimack River Watershed) | Pepperell WWTP (Co-Permittee Town of Groton) (pdf) | MAG590032, MAG59C132 | 04/01/2023 |
Plymouth (Plymouth Harbor, South Coastal Watershed) | Plymouth WWTP (pdf) | MAG590040 | 04/01/2023 |
Rockland (French Stream, South Coastal Watershed) | Rockland WWTP (pdf) | MAG590038 | 04/01/2023 |
Scituate (Tidal Creek to Herring River, South Coastal Watershed) | Scituate WWTP (pdf) | MAG590041 | 04/01/2023 |
Southbridge (Quinebaug River, Thames River Watershed) | Southbridge WWTP (pdf) | MAG590027 | 04/01/2023 |
Spencer (Cranberry River, Connecticut River Watershed) | Spencer WWTP (pdf) | MAG590010 | 04/01/2023 |
Spencer (Cranberry River, Connecticut River Watershed) | Spencer WWTP (Corrected) (pdf) | MAG590010 | 07/01/2024 |
Sturbridge (Quinebaug River, Thames River Watershed) | Sturbridge WPCF (pdf) | MAG590026 | 04/01/2023 |
Uxbridge (Blackstone River) | Uxbridge WWTF (pdf) | MAG590003 | 04/01/2023 |
Ware (Ware River, Connecticut River Watershed) | Ware WWTP (pdf) | MAG590012 | 04/01/2023 |
Wareham (Agawam River, Buzzards Bay Watershed) | Wareham WPCF (pdf) | MAG590005 | 04/01/2023 |
West Warren (Quaboag River, Connecticut River Watershed) | Warren WWTF (pdf) | MAG590011 | 04/01/2023 |
Whitinsville (Unnamed tributary to Blackstone River) | Northbridge WWTP (pdf) | MAG590001 | 04/01/2023 |
Winchendon (Millers River, Connecticut River Watershed) | Winchendon WPCF (pdf) | MAG590017 | 04/01/2023 |