2014 Non-Contact Cooling Water General Permit (NCCW GP) for Massachusetts & New Hampshire

2019 Update for Permittees

The NCCW GP will expire on November 4, 2019.  The General Permit will be administratively continued in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act and remain in force until EPA either reissues the General Permit or a formal permit decision is made by the EPA Region 1 Director not to re-issue the General Permit, at which time the permittee must seek coverage under an alternative general permit or an individual permit (see Section 7.1 of the NCCWGP).

In order to retain your facility's authorization to discharge NCCW under the administratively continued NCCW GP, a permittee who was granted permit coverage prior to the expiration date of the NCCW GP's expiration date must, prior to December 4, 2019, provide EPA with the information requested in the below documents (Administrative Continuation Request (ACR) information). You may use the template provided or provide the same information submitted on company letterhead. Prior to completing the ACR, please review the previous Notice of Intent (NOI) submitted for coverage under the 2014 NCCW GP (see link to archive below).

PLEASE NOTE Federal regulations require this application to be signed as follows:

  1. For a corporation, by a principal executive officer of at least the level of vice president;
  2. For a partnership or sole proprietorship, by a general partner or the proprietor, respectively, or,
  3. For a municipality, State, Federal or other public facility, by either a principal executive officer or ranking elected official.

Return the completed form to:

John H. Nagle
U.S. EPA Region 1
5 Post Office Square Suite 100
Mailcode: WIP06-1
Boston, MA 02109-3912

OR EMAIL: nagle.john@epa.gov

Permit Information

The Notice of Availability of the final NPDES Non-contact Cooling Water General Permit (NCCW GP) in Massachusetts (MAG250000) and New Hampshire (NHG250000) was published in the Federal Register on October 2, 2014. The permit effective date is November 3, 2014, which is the first business day following 30 days after the publication date. This permit will expire at midnight on November 4, 2019.

The public comment period for the permit ended on June 16, 2014. EPA has included a response to comments received on the Draft NCCW GP and has made appropriate changes to the final permit. The comments and changes are discussed in the Response to Comments (pdf) (119 KB) document.

This general permit is intended to replace the non-contact cooling water general permit that was issued on July 31, 2008 and expired on July 31, 2013. The NCCW general permit is for discharges of non-contact cooling water to waters of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The permit establishes permit eligibility conditions, notice of intent requirements, effluent limitations, standards, prohibitions, and best management practices for facilities discharging NCCW. The eligibility requirements for coverage under the general permit are discussed in detail in Part 3 of the general permit.

Facilities looking to obtain coverage under the NCCW GP should submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) using the form in Appendix 5, available below (or send documentation including all of the requirements of Appendix 4). NOIs should be mailed to:

U.S. EPA, Region 1
NCCW GP Processing
Mail Code: OEP 06-4
5 Post Office Square, Suite 100
Boston, MA 02109-3912

Please note that NOIs submitted before the final permit authorization date will not be authorized for coverage until after that date. Please contact John Nagle (nagle.john@epa.gov) (EPA) with questions regarding submittal of NOIs and the permit authorization process.

Under the 2014 NCCW GP, permittees will be required to submit their Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs) electronically to EPA and the State offices (unless otherwise infeasible) using the NetDMR system, which is accessed from: https://netdmr.epa.gov.

Helpful Information and Links

EPA Contacts

State Contacts

MassDEP

NH DES

Notices of Intent

EPA will begin accepting Notices of Intent (NOIs) after final permit issuance. NOIs will be posted on this page for a minimum of 30 days after EPA receives them. Please contact John Nagle if you have any questions regarding NOIs. See the table below for a chronological listing of NOIs. Older NOIs are listed in the NCCWGP NOI archive.

Notices of Intent: Non-Contact Cooling Water General Permit (NCCW GP)
City / Town State Name of Facility Date Posted
Florence MA BI-QEM, Inc. (pdf) (2.1 MB) 03/18/2019
Marlborough MA Wachusett Aqueduct Pumping Station (MWRA) (pdf) (3.2 MB) 04/24/2018
Plymouth MA Harborview Place (pdf) (1.2 MB) 12/18/2017
Great Barrington MA Neenah Paper (pdf) (2.5 MB) 10/10/2017
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Last updated on April 1, 2025