Chapter NR 216

NR 216.01   Purpose.

NR 216.02   Permit coverage required.

NR 216.023   Urbanized area exemption.

NR 216.024   Non-urbanized area exemption.

NR 216.025   Designation criteria.

NR 216.026   Petition for permit coverage.

NR 216.03   Application for permit coverage.

NR 216.031   General permit application requirements.

NR 216.032   Individual permit application requirements.

NR 216.04   Issuance of permits.

NR 216.065   Permittee responsibility and permit conditions.

NR 216.07   Permit requirements.

NR 216.075   Reliance on another entity.

NR 216.08   Permit fees.

NR 216.09   Individual permit reapplication.

NR 216.10   Authorized local program.

Subchapter II — Industrial Storm Water Discharge Permits

NR 216.20   Purpose.

NR 216.21   Applicability and exclusions.

NR 216.22   Application requirements.

NR 216.23   Permit coverage.

NR 216.24   Industry-specific general permits.

NR 216.25   Individual permit.

NR 216.27   Storm water pollution prevention plan.

NR 216.28   Monitoring requirements.

NR 216.29   Compliance and reporting requirements.

NR 216.30   Permit fees.

NR 216.31   Permit coverage transfers.

NR 216.32   Permit termination.

Subchapter III — Construction Site Storm Water Discharge Permits

NR 216.41   Purpose.

NR 216.42   Applicability.

NR 216.43   Notice of intent requirements.

NR 216.44   Notice of intent deadline.

NR 216.45   Incomplete notice of intent and time limit for department decision.

NR 216.455   Proof of permit coverage.

NR 216.456   Responsible parties.

NR 216.46   Erosion control plan requirements.

NR 216.47   Storm water management plan requirements.

NR 216.48   Reporting and monitoring requirements.

NR 216.49   Conformance with other applicable regulations.

NR 216.50   Amendments.

NR 216.51   Department actions.

NR 216.52   Use of information.

NR 216.54   Transfers.

NR 216.55   Notice of termination.

Ch. NR 216 Note Note: Corrections made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats., Register, August, 1997, No. 500. Chapter NR 216 as it existed on July 31, 2004 was repealed and a new chapter NR 216 was created Register July 2004 No. 583, effective August 1, 2004.

NR 216.001 NR 216.001 Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to establish criteria defining those storm water discharges needing WPDES storm water permits, as required by s. 283.33, Stats., and to implement the appropriate performance standards of subchs. III and IV of ch. NR 151. The goal of this chapter is to minimize the discharge of pollutants carried by storm water runoff from certain industrial facilities, construction sites and municipal separate storm sewer systems as identified in this chapter.

NR 216.001 History History: CR 03-028: cr. Register July 2004 No. 583, eff. 8-1-04.

NR 216.002 NR 216.002 Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter the following definitions are applicable:

NR 216.002 Note Note: Additional definitions may be found in s. NR 205.03.

NR 216.002(1m) (1m) “Benchmark” means a minimum numeric or narrative level of pollution control required to demonstrate progress toward a required level of pollution control.

NR 216.002(1r) (1r) “Best management practices” or “BMPs” means structural or non-structural measures, practices, techniques or devices employed to avoid or minimize soil, sediment or pollutants carried in runoff to waters of the state.

NR 216.002(2) (2) “Construction site” means an area upon which one or more land disturbing construction activities occur that in total will disturb one acre or more of land, including areas that are part of a larger common plan of development or sale where multiple separate and distinct land disturbing construction activities may be taking place at different times on different schedules but under one plan such that the total disturbed area is one acre or more. A long-range planning document that describes separate construction projects, such as a 20-year transportation improvement plan, is not a common plan of development.

NR 216.002(3) (3) “Contaminated storm water” means storm water that comes into contact with material handling equipment or activities, raw materials, intermediate products, final products, waste materials, byproducts or industrial machinery in the source areas listed in s. NR 216.27 (3) (e).

NR 216.002(4) (4) “Department” means the department of natural resources.

NR 216.002(5) (5) “Discharge” has the meaning given it in s. 283.01 (4), Stats.

NR 216.002(6) (6) “Discharge of pollutant” or “discharge of pollutants” has the meaning given it in s. 283.01 (5), Stats.

NR 216.002(7) (7) “Erosion” means the process by which the land’s surface is worn away by the action of wind, water, ice or gravity.

NR 216.002(7m) (7m) “Exceptional resource water” or “ERW” means waters designated under s. NR 102.11.

NR 216.002(8) (8) “Final stabilization” means that all land disturbing construction activities at the construction site have been completed and that a uniform perennial vegetative cover has been established with a density of at least 70% of the cover for the unpaved areas and areas not covered by permanent structures or that employ equivalent permanent stabilization measures.

NR 216.002(9) (9) “General WPDES permit” or “general permit” means a permit for the discharge of pollutants issued by the department under s. 283.35, Stats.

NR 216.002(10) (10) “Great Lakes areas of concern” means geographic areas that are severely degraded within the Great Lakes basin that include areas within the lower Fox river and Green Bay, Menominee river, Sheboygan river, St. Louis river and bay and the Milwaukee estuary.

NR 216.002(11) (11) “Illicit discharge” means any discharge to a municipal separate storm sewer system that is not composed entirely of storm water except discharges authorized by a WPDES permit or other discharge not requiring a WPDES permit such as landscape irrigation, individual residential car washing, fire fighting, diverted stream flows, uncontaminated groundwater infiltration, uncontaminated pumped groundwater, discharges from potable water sources, foundation drains, air conditioning condensation, irrigation water, lawn watering, flows from riparian habitats and wetlands, and similar discharges.

NR 216.002 Note Note: A discharge listed in the definition above may be regulated on a case-by-case basis under s. NR 216.07 (3) (b) or s. 283.31, Stats., if the MS4 permittee, municipality, or the department identifies it as a significant source of a pollutant to waters of the state.

NR 216.002(12) (12) “Impaired water” means a waterbody impaired in whole or in part and listed by the department pursuant to 33 USC 1313 (d) (1) (A) and 40 CFR 130.7, for not meeting a water quality standard, including a water quality standard for a specific substance or the waterbody’s designated use.

NR 216.002(12m) (12m) “Individual permit” means a permit for the discharge of pollutants by an individual or group issued by the department under s. 283.33, Stats.

NR 216.002(13) (13) “Infiltration system” means a device or practice such as a basin, trench, rain garden or swale designed specifically to encourage infiltration, but does not include natural infiltration in pervious surfaces such as lawns, redirecting of rooftop downspouts onto lawns or minimal infiltration from practices, such as swales or road side channels designed for conveyance and pollutant removal only.

NR 216.002(14) (14) “Land disturbing construction activity” means any man-made alteration of the land surface resulting in a change in the topography or existing vegetative or non-vegetative soil cover that may result in storm water runoff and lead to increased soil erosion and movement of sediment into waters of the state. Land disturbing construction activity includes clearing and grubbing, demolition, excavating, pit trench dewatering, filling and grading activities.

NR 216.002(15) (15) “Landowner” means any person holding fee title, an easement or other interest in property that allows the person to undertake land disturbing construction activity on the property.

NR 216.002(16) (16) “Major outfall” means a municipal separate storm sewer system outfall that meets one of the following criteria:

NR 216.002(16)(a) (a) A single pipe with an inside diameter of 36 inches or more, or from an equivalent conveyance (cross sectional area of 1,018 inch2) which is associated with a drainage area of more than 50 acres.

NR 216.002(16)(b) (b) A municipal separate storm sewer system that receives storm water runoff from lands zoned for industrial activity that is associated with a drainage area of more than 2 acres or from other lands with 2 or more acres of industrial activity, but not land zoned for industrial activity that does not have any industrial activity present is not classified as a major outfall under this paragraph.

NR 216.002(17) (17) “Municipal separate storm sewer system” or “MS4” means a conveyance or system of conveyances including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, constructed channels or storm drains, which meets all the following criteria:

NR 216.002(17)(a) (a) Owned or operated by a municipality.

NR 216.002(17)(b) (b) Designed or used for collecting or conveying storm water.

NR 216.002(17)(c) (c) Which is not a combined sewer conveying both sanitary and storm water.

NR 216.002(17)(d) (d) Which is not part of a publicly owned wastewater treatment works that provides secondary or more stringent treatment.

NR 216.002(18) (18) “Municipality” means any city, town, village, county, county utility district, town sanitary district, town utility district, school district or metropolitan sewage district or any other public entity created pursuant to law and having authority to collect, treat or dispose of sewage, industrial wastes, storm water or other wastes.

NR 216.002(18m) (18m) “Notice of intent” or “NOI” means an application for coverage under a WPDES permit. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, NOI and application mean the same thing.

NR 216.002(19) (19) “Outfall” means the point at which storm water is discharged to waters of the state or to a storm sewer.

NR 216.002(19m) (19m) “Outstanding resource water” or “ORW” means waters designated under s. NR 102.10.

NR 216.002(20) (20) “Permittee” means a person who has applied for and received WPDES permit coverage for storm water discharge under this chapter.

NR 216.002(21) (21) “Person” means an individual, owner, operator, corporation, partnership, association, municipality, interstate agency, state agency or federal agency.

NR 216.002(22) (22) “Point source” means a discernible, confined and discrete conveyance of storm water for which a permit is required under s. 283.33, Stats.

NR 216.002(23) (23) “Pollutant” has the meaning given it in s. 283.01 (13), Stats.

NR 216.002(23m) (23m) “Pollutant of concern” means a pollutant that has been identified as contributing to a water quality impairment of an impaired water.

NR 216.002(24) (24) “Pollution” has the meaning given it in s. 283.01 (14), Stats.