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City of Stockton and County of San Joaquin Page 13 NPDES Permit CAS0083470 Response to Comments 12. Comment: Provision D.9.c & d could be interpreted to require Regional Board approval of the Storm Water Management Plan and any revisions,modifications, or amendments to the Plan. The Executive Officer could have the authority to approve the S WMT and changes thereto. Pursuant to 40 C.F.R. section 122.63 and Part 124, modifications of the permit that are not considered minor may only be approved by the Board, after public notice. If the SWMP were not part of the permit, but merely a plan required by the permit to be implemented,the Board would not be required to approve the SWMP or modifications thereto. Finding# 52 of the permit,however,provides"The SWMP and modifications or revisions to the SWMP that are approved in accordance with this Order, are an integral and enforceable component of this Order." So long as the SWMP is considered part of the Order and is approved by the Board as part of the Order, it can only be modified upon approval of the Board. It is entirely consistent with many permits issued by the Board to allow for the Executive Officer to approve the SWMP or any changes thereto. If Finding# 52 were modified to provide that the SWMP is required by the Order, rather than a component of the Order, the SWMP and modifications thereto could be approved by the Executive Officer. It is requested that this change be made. Response: Incorporating the SWMP into the Tentative Order so that it is an enforceable component of the permit is consistent with U.S.EPA's Report to Congress on the Phase I Storm Water Regulations (February 2000, pp. 3-4), wherein U.S. EPA states that once the NPDES permitting authority receives an MS4's Part 2 application, it issues an individual NPDES permit that incorporates the MS4's storm water management plan. The report states: "This permit requires implementation of the [storm water management plan] and may include other specific requirements necessary to ensure proper program management(e.g., conduct analytical monitoring and visual examinations)." Thus an MS4 permit should incorporate the SWMP so that it is an enforceable component of the permit. The Permittees failed to submit an adequate Report of Waste Discharge containing a complete SWMP. Consequently, the Regional Board is approving a permit that requires the Permittees to develop a SWMP and subsequently submit it for approval. Regional Board approval is required for the revised SWMP. Once the SWMP is approved by the Regional Board, minor changes may be approved by the Executive Officer,while significant changes must be approved by the Regional Board. The permit contains a process by which the Permittees will propose changes to the SWMP, after a public review period of 30 days, the Executive Officer will determine if those changes are significant or minor. For clarification, federal regulations only allow minor modifications of an NPDES permit without reopening the permitting process. Such modifications are limited to (a) correct typographical errors; (b)require more frequent monitoring or reporting by the permittee; (c) change an interim compliance date in a schedule of compliance,provided the date is not more than 120 days after the date specified in the existing permit and does not interfere with attainment of the final compliance date requirement; or(d) allow for a change of ownership or operational control [under certain conditions], [or] (e)(1) Change the construction schedule for a discharger which is a new source . . . (e)(2) delete a point source outfall when the discharge from that outfall is terminated. (40 C.F.R. § 122.63) Only the Regional Boards and State Board are authorized to issue waste discharge