North Carolina NPDES Industrial Stormwater General Permit 2026 Updates – What You Need to Know General Background of Stormwater Permits
Posted: June 17th, 2026
Author: Alex Ges
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) has published the draft permits and factsheets for six National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Industrial Stormwater General Permits. The proposed reissuances of these six draft General Permits include updates for monitoring and reporting requirements, compliance schedules, Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) requirements, and operational requirements.
Federal regulation 40 CFR §122.26 requires facilities with industrial stormwater discharges to apply for a NPDES permit; either an individual permit or a general permit from an authorized state, such as North Carolina, that has promulgated NPDES authority. In North Carolina, facilities that wish to seek general permit coverage do so through NCDEQ NPDES General Permit No. NCGXXXXXX for Stormwater Discharges Associated with Industrial Activities.
The Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources (DEMLR) was seeking public comment on the proposed revisions and re-issuance of six NPDES Industrial Stormwater General Permits. The public comment period ended at 5:00 pm on May 15, 2026. The current version of the draft General Permits and factsheets can be found here. The proposed reissuance date for permits in each industry group is no later than July 1, 2026, and the permit effective date will also be July 1st.
Industry Groups Impacted by NPDES Industrial Stormwater General Permits Updates
- NCG030000 – Metal Fabrication
- NCG060000 – Warehousing, Food and Kindred
- NCG080000 – Transit and Transportation
- NCG090000 – Manufacturing Paints, Varnishes, Lacquers, Enamels, and Allied Products
- NCG100000 – Used Motor Vehicle Parts and Automobile Wrecking for Scrap Facilities
- NCG120000 – Landfills
Monitoring and Reporting Requirements
The draft General Permits maintain the same benchmark concentrations and previous monitoring requirements for applicable parameters, retain the term “measurable storm event,” and maintain specific direction to the permittee about how to perform qualitative monitoring. A “measurable storm event” is defined in the NPDES Industrial Stormwater General Permits as a storm event that results in actual discharge from permitted site outfalls, and the previous measurable storm event must have been at least 72 hours prior.
Draft NPDES Industrial Stormwater General Permit Updates
Each of the draft NPDES Industrial Stormwater General Permits, listed above, have the same consistent updates across the sections listed below. The updates being introduced by NCDEQ are focused on updating the language of the NPDES Industrial Stormwater General Permits to bring greater clarity to permitees.
1) SWPPP Requirements Updates
- Evaluation of Stormwater Outfalls Section Updates: Language has been added to this section dictating to facilities to take corrective action if non-stormwater discharge is discovered.
- “If non-stormwater discharge is present during the facility’s annual evaluation of all stormwater outfalls and if the non-stormwater discharge is associated with the facility’s operations and is not otherwise permitted by rule or a different permit, the facility shall take corrective action. The permittee shall document the evaluation and steps taken in a summary written record and certification statement. The certification statement and summary written record shall be retained with the SWPPP and shall be dated and signed in accordance with the requirements found in H-1.”
- Annual On-Line SWPPP Certification (Forthcoming)
- This requirement has been removed from the draft NPDES Industrial Stormwater General Permits.
2) Operational Requirements
- Draw Down of Settling Ponds for Essential Maintenance Section Updates
- Formerly referenced as “Draw Down of Treatment Facilities for Essential Maintenance”. The NPDES Industrial Stormwater General Permits have replaced the section on treatment facility drawdowns with a similar section for settling ponds. A facility may draw down settling ponds if the following conditions are met in the NPDES Industrial Stormwater General Permits:
- “Settling ponds shall be drawn down in manner to ensure benchmarks are met;”
- “Analytical sampling data of the water stored in the settling pond demonstrates that the discharge will not exceed benchmarks in this permit. The sampling data shall be collected no more than 14 calendar days prior to the draw down; and”
- “The permittee has evaluated any accumulated stormwater for color, foam, odor, and visible sheens prior to release and documented such evaluation; and”
- “The drawdown is for essential maintenance to assure efficient operation.”
- Formerly referenced as “Draw Down of Treatment Facilities for Essential Maintenance”. The NPDES Industrial Stormwater General Permits have replaced the section on treatment facility drawdowns with a similar section for settling ponds. A facility may draw down settling ponds if the following conditions are met in the NPDES Industrial Stormwater General Permits:
- Bypasses of Stormwater Control Measures (SCM)
- Formerly referenced as “Bypasses of Stormwater Treatment Facilities,” the condition now relates to the bypass of all SCM utilized by a facility. The conditions for bypass have remained the same, but the introductory language is updated to the following:
- “Bypass of SCMs in a manner inconsistent with the design or applicable operation and maintenance plan is prohibited, and DEMLR may take enforcement action against a permittee for bypass unless the following conditions are met.”
- Formerly referenced as “Bypasses of Stormwater Treatment Facilities,” the condition now relates to the bypass of all SCM utilized by a facility. The conditions for bypass have remained the same, but the introductory language is updated to the following:
3) Analytical Monitoring of Stormwater Discharges
- Required Baseline Sampling
- Clarifying language regarding Non-Polar Oil & Grease sample collection and monthly usage tracking for all NPDES Industrial Stormwater General Permits except NCG080000 and NCG100000:
- “Grab samples shall be analyzed for Non-Polar Oil & Grease in vehicle or equipment maintenance areas in which more than 55 gallons of new motor oil and/or hydraulic oil per month is used when averaged over the calendar year.”
- “In addition to the grab samples, the average monthly usage of new motor and hydraulic oil used for vehicle maintenance at the facility shall be tracked and recorded.”
- Emerging Contaminants
- General Permits NCG060000, NCG090000, and NCG120000 include new language around emerging contaminants:
- “If required by a change in state or federal law, the Director may reopen this permit to require monitoring for Emerging Contaminants such as Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) subject to the requirements of 15A NCAC 2H.”
- General Permits NCG060000, NCG090000, and NCG120000 include new language around emerging contaminants:
- Recording Results Updates
- “The date, exact place, and time of sampling or measurements;”
- “The individual(s) who performed the sampling or measurements; “
- “The date(s) analyses were performed;”
- “The individual(s) who performed the analyses;”
- “The analytical techniques or methods used; and”
- “The results of such analyses.”
- Clarifying language regarding Non-Polar Oil & Grease sample collection and monthly usage tracking for all NPDES Industrial Stormwater General Permits except NCG080000 and NCG100000:
General Tips and Reminders for Facilities
Facilities are required to register for Stormwater Electronic Discharge Monitoring Reporting (eDMR) within 30 days of the Certificate of Coverage (COC) issuance date (unless otherwise informed by the Director). The link above provides registration information for facilities to upload facility owner information and to authorize a responsible official. Facilities are to submit their eDMR within 30 days after the end of the monitoring period.
For a facility’s COC to be automatically renewed on July 1st, 2026, a Facility is to have all outstanding fees paid. Facilities can visit the Stormwater ePayments site to check on any outstanding fees.
Facilities are required to update permit contact data as needed. If any permit data (contact data, facility name, etc.) needs updating, the necessary forms on the Stormwater Program Webpage are found under the “How to Update Permit Data” section.
If you have questions about how the draft NPDES Industrial General Permits updates could affect your NPDES stormwater compliance, or what your next steps should be when the General Permit updates become effective, please reach out to Alex Ges at ages@all4inc.com or 703.944.4796, or A.J. Golding at 984.960.3983 or agolding@all4inc.com. ALL4 monitors all updates published by NCDEQ on this topic, and we are here to answer your questions and assist your facility with any aspects of industrial general stormwater compliance.
