NPDES Authorization to Construct

Authorization to Construct (ATC) Permit

After an NPDES permit has been issued by the Division of Water Resources, the permittee must obtain an ATC permit from the Division prior to commencement of the construction of modifications or expansion of wastewater treatment facilities.  

ATC permits are required for the following activities:

• Construction of new or expanding treatment facilities

• Any addition, deletion, or modification of equipment or processes at an existing facility which has the potential to affect the treatment process

• Upgrade or replacement of equipment with that of a different design or capacity that already permitted

• Installation of piping which has the potential to by-pass any equipment or treatment component

NOTE:  Session Law 2011-394, which became effective July 1, 2011, no longer requires an ATC permit for construction work at the following facilities with an NPDES permit: waste generated from manufacturing facilities, power generation operations, compost facilities, mine dewatering activities, groundwater remediation discharges, and drinking water treatment facilities.

ATC REVIEW PROCESS: Most applications for modifications that do not result in an increase in discharge capacity or are not required to meet stricter effluent limits will be approved based upon the engineer's certification and will not receive a full technical review by the Division.  In order to implement this process we have created a new application form and have consolidated design requirements into the Minimum Design Criteria for NPDES Wastewater Treatment Facilities.  Effective June 1, 2013, applicants must utilize the new application form and design criteria.  All others will be returned as incomplete.  All ATC applications for NPDES wastewater facilities will be processed by the NPDES Industrial Permitting Unit.

Application Forms & Minimum Design Criteria

If you have any ATC related questions, or to schedule a scoping or submittal meeting, please contact Ori Tuvia at 704-235-2190 or via email at ori.tuvia@deq.nc.gov.

To allow timely review of your ATC application and Engineer’s Certification, please submit the complete application package and certification to the address listed in the application form, and email a copy of all files to Ori Tuvia, Engineer III at 704-235-2190 or via email at ori.tuvia@deq.nc.gov.