NPDES Industrial Program

The NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) Industrial Stormwater Program is federally mandated and covers a wide variety of industrial activities under one of the following types of permits:

Individual Industrial Permits apply to industrial activities that are not eligible for any of the general permits. (approx. 160 facilities in NC)
General Industrial Permits apply to numerous broad categories of industrial activities with potential stormwater discharges. (approx. 3,200 facilities in NC)
No Exposure Certifications apply to industrial activities that do not expose industrial materials or activities to precipitation, and provide secondary containment on the site. (approx. 880 facilities in NC)

See the Schedule for Renewing NPDES SW Permits for information on which year your permit will be renewed.

Access permit records in our Laserfiche Stormwater Program Repository. If you have questions about the industrial stormwater permitting program, please contact Stormwater staff.

Sign up for the NPDES Industrial Stormwater Email List

How to Submit Paper DMRs Before eDMR is Implemented

The Stormwater Program is planning for NPDES Stormwater Industrial permitted facilities to use electronic Discharge Monitoring Reports (eDMR) by January 1, 2022. Until your facility begins using eDMR, follow this NEW procedure for submitting eDMRs:

Download the applicable DMR from the NPDES Stormwater Industrial Individual website or the NPDES Stormwater General Permit website.
Complete, sign, scan and upload the DMR to the NPDES Stormwater Permit Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) Upload form within 30 days of receiving sampling results.
Mail the original, signed hard copy of the DMR to the appropriate DEMLR Regional Office.
Do not send DMRs to Central Files in Raleigh! (This is a change from the previous procedure.)
Check to make sure you are using the most updated DMR forms for your permit.

How to Pay an Annual Permit Fee

Invoices are sent when fees are due and go out on an annual basis beginning one year after initial permit issuance. For fee information, see the updated Permit Fees here.

Electronic payment of annual permit fees is preferred. Click on "Stormwater ePayments" on the lower right corner of this page. There is no fee for eCheck. The convenience fee for a credit card is 2.65% and the convenience fee for a debit card is $3.95.

Who can sign NPDES Permit Applications and Reports

40 CFR 122.22 sets forth who can sign NPDES applications and reports. For corporations, permit documents must be signed by responsible corporate officer, and authorized manager, or a delegated individual. An authorized person may delegate an individual using the Stormwater Permit Delegation of Signature Authority (DOSA) Form.

After completing the Stormwater Permit DOSA Form, scan and upload it to the Permit Contact Update Request Form. Mail the original signed hard copy to the Stormwater Program, Attn: Stormwater Program Administrative Specialist, 1612 MSC, Raleigh, NC 276990-1612.

How to Update Permit Data

Enter your stormwater permit number into the Stormwater Permit Summary Report and you will see a form that includes the address of the facility, contact information for the permit, and the regulated stormwater outfall(s) for the facility. See guidance below for updating the following:

Facility/Company name or ownership, complete the Name/Ownership Change Form.
Legally responsible person (Owner Affiliation), complete the Permit Contact Update Request Form.
Delegation of Signature Authority (DOSA), complete the Permit Contact Update Request Form.
Billing contact, complete the Permit Contact Update Request Form.
Permit contact, complete the Permit Contact Update Request Form.
Facility contact, complete the Permit Contact Update Request Form.
Facility address only, email Joyce Sanford.
Stormwater outfall information, email Brittany Cook (General Permits) or Brianna Young (Individual Permits).

Request Representative Outfall Status

New ROS Requests: Submit the completed Representative Outfall Status (ROS) Request Form with this Stormwater Upload Form. Mail one hard copy of the form and supporting documents directly to the appropriate Regional Office. There is no fee for a representative outfall status request.

Renewing ROS for a new permit term: If you had Representative Outfall Status in the previous permit term, use the the Stormwater Upload Form to submit both (1) the completed ROS Renewal Certification Form and (2) prior documentation that was provided when the Division originally granted ROS. This certification also helps ensure eDMR information is kept up to date for your permit.

Renew an Existing Industrial Permit

For Individual permits, complete the application forms in the Renew an Existing Individual Permit section of this website, no later than 180 days prior to expiration of your current permit. Mail one hard copy of the form and supporting documents to Brianna Young, 1612 MSC, Raleigh, NC 27699-1612. In addition, e-mail the form and supporting documents to Brianna Young. You may pay on the e-payment site.

For General permits, your certificate of coverage (COC) will be renewed automatically as long as annual fees are up to date. There is no need to submit a new Notice of Intent (NOI) application. You may pay on the e-payment site.

Rescind an Existing Industrial Permit

Complete the Rescission Request Form and mail one hard copy of the form to Joyce Sanford, 1612 MSC, Raleigh, NC 27699-1612. In addition, e-mail the form to Joyce Sanford. There is no fee for industrial permit rescissions. Please note that it can take 1-2 months to process the request because we cannot rescind the permit until DEQ staff conduct a site visit.

Dormant Status

If you would like to request dormant status for your permit (a temporary suspension of industrial activities and monitoring requirements), please use this Stormwater Upload Form and indicate the upload is a Dormant Status Initial Request. For questions about dormant status, contact Brittany Cook or Bethany Georgoulias.