Section 140. Sector F - Primary metals

A. Discharges covered under this section. The requirements listed under this section apply to stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity from the following types of facilities in the primary metal industry, and generally described by the SIC code shown:

1. Steel works, blast furnaces, and rolling and finishing mills, including: steel wire drawing and steel nails and spikes; cold-rolled steel sheet, strip, and bars; and steel pipes and tubes (SIC Code 331).

2. Iron and steel foundries, including: gray and ductile iron, malleable iron, steel investment, and steel foundries not elsewhere classified (SIC Code 332).

3. Primary smelting and refining of nonferrous metals, including: primary smelting and refining of copper, and primary production of aluminum (SIC Code 333).

4. Secondary smelting and refining of nonferrous metals (SIC Code 334).

5. Rolling, drawing, and extruding of nonferrous metals, including: rolling, drawing, and extruding of copper; rolling, drawing and extruding of nonferrous metals except copper and aluminum; and drawing and insulating of nonferrous wire (SIC Code 335).

6. Nonferrous foundries (castings), including: aluminum die-castings, nonferrous die-castings, except aluminum, aluminum foundries, copper foundries, and nonferrous foundries, except copper and aluminum (SIC Code 336).

7. Miscellaneous primary metal products, not elsewhere classified, including: metal heat treating, and primary metal products, not elsewhere classified (SIC Code 339).

Activities covered include, but are not limited to, stormwater discharges associated with coking operations, sintering plants, blast furnaces, smelting operations, rolling mills, casting operations, heat treating, extruding, drawing, or forging of all types of ferrous and nonferrous metals, scrap, and ore.

B. Stormwater pollution prevention plan requirements. In addition to the requirements of Part III, the plan shall include, at a minimum, the following items.

1. Site description.

a. Site map. The site map shall identify where any of the following activities may be exposed to precipitation or surface runoff: storage or disposal of wastes such as spent solvents and baths, sand, slag and dross; liquid storage tanks and drums; processing areas including pollution control equipment (e.g., baghouses); and storage areas of raw materials such as coal, coke, scrap, sand, fluxes, refractories, or metal in any form. In addition, indicate sources where an accumulation of significant amounts of particulate matter could occur from such sources as furnace or oven emissions, losses from coal and coke handling operations, etc., and that could result in a discharge of pollutants to surface waters.

b. Summary of potential pollutant sources. The inventory of materials handled at the site that potentially may be exposed to precipitation or runoff shall include areas where deposition of particulate matter from process air emissions or losses during material handling activities are possible.

2. Stormwater controls.

a. Good housekeeping. The permittee shall implement the following measures, or equivalent measures, where applicable.

(1) Establishment of a cleaning and maintenance program for all impervious areas of the facility where particulate matter, dust, or debris may accumulate, especially areas where material loading and unloading, storage, handling, and processing occur.

(2) The paving of areas, where practicable, where vehicle traffic or material storage occur, but where vegetative or other stabilization methods are not practicable. Sweeping programs shall be instituted in these areas as well.

(3) For unstabilized areas of the facility where sweeping is not practical, the permittee shall consider using stormwater management devices such as sediment traps, vegetative buffer strips, filter fabric fence, sediment filtering boom, gravel outlet protection, or other equivalent measures, that effectively trap or remove sediment.

b. Routine facility inspections. Inspections shall be conducted quarterly. The requirement for routine facility inspections is waived for facilities that have maintained an active VEEP E3/E4 status. Inspections shall address all potential sources of pollutants, including (if applicable):

(1) Air pollution control equipment (e.g., baghouses, electrostatic precipitators, scrubbers, and cyclones) shall be inspected for any signs of degradation (e.g., leaks, corrosion, or improper operation) that could limit their efficiency and lead to excessive emissions. The permittee shall consider monitoring air flow at inlets and outlets, or equivalent measures, to check for leaks (e.g., particulate deposition) or blockage in ducts;

(2) All process or material handling equipment (e.g., conveyors, cranes, and vehicles) shall be inspected for leaks, drips, or the potential loss of materials; and

(3) Material storage areas (e.g., piles, bins or hoppers for storing coke, coal, scrap, or slag, as well as chemicals stored in tanks and drums) shall be examined for signs of material losses due to wind or stormwater runoff.

C. Benchmark monitoring and reporting requirements. Primary metals facilities are required to monitor their stormwater discharges for the pollutants of concern listed in Table 140 below.

Table 140 Sector F – Benchmark Monitoring Requirements
Pollutants of Concern	Benchmark Concentration
Steel Works, Blast Furnaces, and Rolling and Finishing Mills (SIC 3312-3317)
Total Recoverable Aluminum	750 μg/L
Total Recoverable Zinc	120 μg/L
Iron and Steel Foundries (SIC 3321-3325)
Total Recoverable Aluminum	750 μg/L
Total Suspended Solids (TSS)	100 mg/L
Total Recoverable Copper	18 μg/L
Total Recoverable Iron	1.0 mg/L
Total Recoverable Zinc	120 μg/L
Rolling, Drawing, and Extruding of Nonferrous Metals (SIC 3351-3357)
Total Recoverable Copper	18 μg/L
Total Recoverable Zinc	120 μg/L
Nonferrous Foundries (SIC 3363-3369)
Total Recoverable Copper	18 μg/L
Total Recoverable Zinc	120 μg/L

Historical Notes

Derived from Volume 15, Issue 09, eff. June 30, 1999; amended, Virginia Register Volume 20, Issue 16, eff. July 1, 2004; Volume 21, Issue 02, eff. November 3, 2004; Volume 25, Issue 19, eff. June 24, 2009; Volume 30, Issue 11, eff. July 1, 2014.

Statutory Authority

§ 62.1-44.15 of the Code of Virginia; § 402 of the federal Clean Water Act; 40 CFR Parts 122, 123, and 124.