1. What is NPDES?

   NPDES stands for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, which is the compliance system for the Clean Water Act. NPDES requires that all storm water discharges that enter waters of the United States meet minimum federal water quality requirements.

2. What is the ultimate goal of NPDES permitting?

   The goal of NPDES permitting is to improve and protect the quality of our nation’s waterways by eliminating pollution from storm water runoff to the maximum extent practicable.

3. Why is Greenville County concerned?

   The County was one of the first government agencies in SC to be issued a Phase I MS4 NPDES permit in 2001.

4. What is an NPDES permit?

   The Clean Water Act prohibits anybody from discharging "pollutants" through a "point source" into a "water of the United States" unless they have an NPDES permit. The permit contains limits on what you can discharge, monitoring and reporting requirements, and other provisions to ensure that the discharge does not hurt water quality or people's health. In essence, the permit translates general requirements of the Clean Water Act into specific provisions tailored to the operations of each person or entity (Greenville County) discharging pollutants.

5. What is a point source?

   The term point source means any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, such as a pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, discrete fissure, or container. It also includes vessels or other floating craft from which pollutants are or may be discharged. By law, the term "point source" also includes concentrated animal feeding operations, which are places where animals are confined and fed. By law, agricultural storm water discharges and return flows from irrigated agriculture are not considered "point sources".

6. What is a pollutant?

   This term includes any type of industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste discharged into water. Some examples are dredged soil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sad, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste. Construction site pollutants include sediment oil and grease, pesticides and fertilizers, and construction waste and materials.

7. Is it legal to have wastewater coming out of a pipe into my local receiving water (e.g. lake, stream, river, wetland)?

   It is a permissible activity as long as the wastewater being discharged is covered by and in compliance with an NPDES permit and there are enough controls in place to make sure the discharge is safe and that humans and aquatic life are being protected. To find out if a discharge is covered by a NPDES permit, call the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regional office or the state office responsible for issuing NPDES permits.

8. What are Sanitary Sewer Overflows?

   Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs) are discharges of raw sewage from municipal sanitary sewer systems. SSOs can release untreated sewage into basements or out of manholes and onto city streets, playgrounds and into streams before it can reach a treatment facility. SSOs are often caused by blockages or breaks in sewer lines. SSOs negatively affect water quality when untreated sewage is discharged into waterbodies. Renewal Water Resources (REWA), the provider of wastewater treatment services, works with the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (SCDES) and county sub-sewer districts to reduce infiltration and inflow (I & I) - the cause of Sanitary Sewer Overflows.

9. What is an Illicit Discharge?
   An ILLICIT DISCHARGE is any discharge to the stormwater drainage system that is not comprised entirely of stormwater, except those flows that are permitted or otherwise allowed to be discharged to the environment in accordance with the EPA National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).
   As required by their NPDES stormwater discharge permit, Greenville County developed an Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination (IDDE) program to detect and identify unlawful discharges and the illegal dumping of pollutants into the waters of the state via the Municipal Separate Stormwater Sewer System (MS4).
   Greenville County, together with the Cities of Fountain Inn, Simpsonville, Mauldin and Travelers Rest, form a network with other federal state and local agencies to control the discharge of spills, dumping, or disposal of materials into the waterways other than stormwater.
   Certain types of flows to the waters of the state are exempt:

   1. Unpolluted industrial cooling water with an appropriate NPDES permit; or
   2. Water line flushing performed or required by a governmental agency, diverted stream flows, rising ground waters, and unpolluted ground water infiltration; or
   3. Unpolluted pumped ground water; or
   4. Discharges from potable water sources, foundation drains, air conditioning condensation, irrigation water, springs, water from crawl space pumps, footing drains, lawn watering, individual car washing, residential pool backwashing, flows from riparian habitats and wetlands, and street wash water; or
   5. Other unpolluted water.

10. Who is considered responsible for an Illicit Discharge?

    Typically, the Property Owner is responsible for the activities that occur on a property through use agreements and would be ultimately responsible for any maintenance, upkeep, disposition, taxes and liability associated with the property itself. However, for regulatory and enforcement purposes, the person who causes or allows the Illicit Discharge to occur will be identified as the Responsible Person. This person can be the resident or occupant, renter or lessee, proprietor, plant manager or person in responsible charge of an operation, activity or process resulting in an Illicit Discharge to the environment. This person will be held responsible for its satisfactory removal and for documenting that the Illicit Discharge has been permanently eliminated.

1. Before and During Construction

   County staff ensures that all new construction projects meet EPA & SCDES standards for sediment and erosion control during construction as well as the monitoring of post-construction water quality standards. Our Plan Review staff reviews engineering calculations, construction plans, and details to ensure compliance with industry standards. We also have a team of Construction Inspectors who are certified in Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control that visit constructions sites monthly in order to make sure contractors are following the approved plans.

2. Detention Pond Maintenance

   County staff inspects existing detention ponds previously built in the County once every 5 years to ensure they are functioning as designed. They also respond to complaints on ponds that are not being properly maintained.

3. Illicit Discharges
   County staff is responsible for receiving all reports of suspected and confirmed Illicit Discharges from within the permitted area. Our staff endeavors to identify and resolve those Potential Illicit Discharges reported and follow up with the effective and permanent elimination of any Illicit Discharges that are found to exist within the authorized MS4 jurisdiction.
   
   To Report an Illicit Discharge
   

   Call 911 for EMERGENCY reporting of MAJOR CHEMICAL SPILLS, a HAZARDOUS MATERIAL DISCHARGE, or an event causing a catastrophic or disastrous impact requiring an IMMEDIATE or URGENT response by trained professionals. Situations involving spills, leakage or discharge of pollutants observed by emergency responders require follow-up reporting to SCDES and will, in turn, be reported to the Greenville County MS4 for tracking purposes.
   
   Call 864.467.4610 to report all other observed Illicit Discharges located within the Cities of Mauldin, Simpsonville, Fountain Inn, Travelers Rest and the other unincorporated areas of Greenville County. The City of Greenville and the City of Greer are independently designated MS4 jurisdictions and Illicit Discharges within those permitted areas should be reported to the respective municipality.
   
   The person reporting an Illicit Discharge to LDD should be prepared to describe the type of illicit discharge observed and provide accurate location and contact information for follow-up purposes. Basically, the concerned person reporting the discharge should be able to generally classify the observed discharge as one of two types or categories of illicit pollutant discharges, Acute (Class II) or Chronic (Class III). They should also be able to provide the time and date the reported discharge was observed. Initially, each reported Class II or Class III discharge is logged into the Illicit Discharge Reporting (login) System as a Potential Illicit Discharge until sufficient information can be documented to properly identify the source and qualify the reported discharge as an actual Illicit Discharge requiring elimination.
   
   Illicit Discharge Classifications
   

   
   Class I – Catastrophic Discharge causing Imminent Danger
   uch as a ruptured or overturned chemical or fuel tank pouring dangerous quantities of hazardous or flammable materials into the stormwater conveyances or waterways. This type of incident requires immediate attention by emergency response personnel who are "on-call" and qualified to deal with related environmental impacts involving implementation of emergency notification/evacuation plans and the filing of incident reports with the proper authorities.
   Class II - Acute Pollutant Discharge
   would be regarded a severe, but non-emergency situation indicating a less urgent response. This type of Illicit Discharge would require a prompt response to investigate, document and require elimination of the Illicit Discharge as prescribed by the SWMP. These types of Illicit Discharges would include non-life-threatening releases of untreated industrial or domestic wastewater. They could include chemical, fuel or process leaks of noticeable, but non-lethal quantities that if left unabated, could result in a fish kill or other intense impairment or damage to the environment.
   Class III – Chronic Pollutant Discharge
   indicates a less severe, more long-term deleterious effect or nuisance to the environment, such as a grey water discharge, a septic tank malfunction, sewer service leakage, frequent overflow from a malfunctioning grease trap, a discharge or placement of non-toxic nuisance material into the drainage system or waterway. These types of Illicit Discharges alone have minimal impact to the environment, but left unchecked could collectively have a cumulative detrimental effect on the health of the watershed.

4. Monitoring our Creeks and Rivers

   Greenville County maintains and monitors a series of rain gauges and water monitoring stations along the Reedy River and creeks and streams in other watersheds for overall Water Quality health.

5. Illegal Dumping Enforcement

   The County has an ordinance in place that addresses illegal dumping and litter. Enforcement of this ordinance is part of the County’s Phase I permit requirements. The Environmental Services division of the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office Environmental Services staff pursues illegal dumping of debris and other materials.

• Notice to Carpet Cleaning, Upholstery Cleaning, and Other Mobile Cleaning Services Operating within Greenville County
• Portable Toilet Notice
• Concrete Manufacturer Notice

Detention ponds are used to safeguard the quality of urban water runoff from roads, parking lots, residential neighborhoods, commercial areas, and industrial sites. Detention ponds help to reduce peak stormwater runoff rates by providing temporary storage during storm events.

For detention pond education and maintenance tips, click here.

This booklet contains standard plans and procedures sufficient for typical residential building construction; it is not intended to address all circumstances. All projects that will clear, grade or otherwise disturb the site must provide erosion and sediment control measures to prevent the transport of sediment from the site to drainage facilities, streams, lakes, wetlands, adjacent properties, and streets. The primary objection is perimeter control with best management practices (BMP's) being utilized to prevent erosion and minimize sediment from leaving the site. Additionally, since streets are conduits for storm water, it is important to keep mud and sediment off the streets. The building permit holder is responsible for ensuring that adequate BMP's are in place and functioning until the construction project is brought to a close.

Booklet (PDF - 1.85MB)