2024 Non-Contact Cooling Water General Permit (NCCW GP) for Massachusetts & New Hampshire

Permit Information

EPA Region 1 has issued the Final NPDES General Permit for facilities that discharge non-contact cooling water (NCCW) to certain waters of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the State of New Hampshire. This permit will replace the NCCW General Permit (NCCW GP) that expired on November 4, 2019. The permit establishes permit eligibility conditions, notice of intent (NOI) 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 1 of the general permit.

EPA published a Notice of Availability (NOA) for the Draft NCCW GP in the Federal Register on September 22, 2023. The public comment period ran for sixty (60) days and there were no comments on the Draft GP received during this time. Therefore, the Final NCCWGP was effective on the date of signature, April 18, 2024 and will expire on March 31, 2029.

Notices of Intent

To be covered by this General Permit, operators of eligible facilities must submit to EPA and the appropriate State, a complete and signed NOI. For purposes of this General Permit, the NOI consists of either:

• The suggested NOI format of Appendix 5 of this permit, or
• Another format of official correspondence containing all of the information required in the NOI instructions in Appendix 4 of this permit.

Existing Permitted Discharges: Facilities with existing coverage under the NCCW General Permit that expired on November 4, 2019 and that wish to seek coverage under this General Permit, must file an NOI with EPA and the respective State for coverage within 60 days of the effective date of this permit. An NOI is not required if the permittee submits a notice of termination (NOT), before the 60 day time frame expires.

Proposed New Discharges: Facilities with proposed new discharges of NCCW that are seeking coverage under this General Permit must submit an NOI to EPA and the respective State, at least 60 days prior to the commencement of discharge.

NOIs will be posted on this webpage for a minimum of 30 days after EPA receives them. Please contact George Papadopoulos 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.

Final NCCW GP Documents

• Final Non-Contact Cooling Water General Permit (pdf) (424 KB)
• Attachment A - Standard Conditions and Definitions (pdf) (284 KB)
• Attachment B - Example Engineering and Dilution Factor Calculations (pdf) (206 KB)
• Attachment C - Example BTA Components (pdf) (124 KB)
• Appendix 1 - Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) in Massachusetts (pdf) (128 KB)
• Appendix 2 - Endangered Species Act Review and Requirements (pdf) (263 KB)
• Appendix 3 - National Historic Preservation Act Review & Requirements (pdf) (153 KB)
• Appendix 4 - Notice of Intent and Notice of Termination Instructions (pdf) (184 KB)
• Appendix 4 - Table A. List of the 37 Facilities covered under the 2014 NCCW GP (pdf) (129 KB)
• Appendix 5 - Suggested Notice of Intent (NOI) Form (pdf) (476 KB)
• Appendix 6 - Suggested Notice of Termination (NOT) Form (pdf) (137 KB)
• Appendix 7 - Notice of Change (NOC) Suggested Form & Instructions (pdf) (261 KB)
• Appendix 8 - EPA, MassDEP, and NHDES Mailing Addresses (pdf) (143 KB)
• Appendix 9 - Minimum Levels and Test Methods for Groundwater Sources of Non-Contact Cooling Water (pdf) (123 KB)

Helpful Information and Links

• Draft General Permit for Facilities that Discharge Non-Contact Cooling Water (NCCW GP) in Massachusetts & New Hampshire
• 2014 Non-Contact Cooling Water General Permit (NCCW GP) for Massachusetts & New Hampshire

EPA Contact

• George Papadopoulos (papadopoulos.george@epa.gov), 617-918-1579

State Contacts

MassDEP

• Xiaodan Ruan (Xiaodan.Ruan@mass.gov), 857-256-4172

NHDES

• Hayley Franz (Hayley.G.Franz@des.nh.gov), 603-271-0671