EPA Proposes Draft NPDES Permit for General Electric facility in Pittsfield, Mass.
BOSTON – (Sept. 20, 2023) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the General Electric (GE) facility located in Pittsfield, MA. This is a re-issuance of GE's existing NPDES Permit.
The draft permit addresses discharges of stormwater, groundwater, and potable water from 10 outfalls at the GE facility to the East Branch of the Housatonic River and three outfalls at the GE facility to Unkamet Brook. A small volume of treated process water is also authorized for discharge (e.g., power washing). The draft permit imposes requirements for discharges during both dry weather and wet weather and prohibits the discharge of untreated groundwater, including groundwater that infiltrates into the stormwater collection system that is flushed out during wet weather flows.
The draft permit contains limits for Total Suspended Solids, pH, and Oil and Grease and PCBs. It also includes monitoring and reporting for several parameters including per- and poly-fluoro alkylated substances (PFAS), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs).
The draft permit:
- Contains requirements for whole effluent toxicity testing, including sampling of the Housatonic River.
- Requires Best Management Practices (BMPs) to meet non-numeric limits (e.g., good housekeeping, spill prevention, pollutant minimization) and to document the BMPs by developing, implementing, and submitting a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP).
- Requires BMPs to meet non-numeric limits that require GE to eliminate discharges of PCBs through an iterative process (e.g., source identification, optimization, minimization).
EPA is accepting public comment on the draft NPDES permit until November 20, 2023.
EPA has also scheduled a virtual public informational meeting and a public hearing for November 8, 2023. The information meeting will be at 6:00 p.m. and the hearing will be at 7:00 p.m.
The full proposed permit and supporting documents, and instructions on how to submit comments and register for the public meeting and hearing, are available at:
https://www.epa.gov/ma/public-notice-draft-permit-general-electric-company-pittsfield-pittsfield-ma-ma0003891.